From stunned, to appalled and terrorized.
My financial man passed away unexpectedly about 6 years ago. I thought I had a bit of time to find a new financial advisor, but as it turns out, things happened quickly. I was unsure how to find an advisor that was reliable and safe. I talked with anyone in my circle of life asking for suggestions. One problem is that all folks my age (70 and older) are facing similar problems. From whole agencies being sold to the retirement of our advisors, we all agree that it is just as much about the agent as it is the agency. It’s not like many of the people in my circle even have investments, so I’m getting desperate. My financial investments have been unsupervised for several years now and I just can’t bring myself to blindly walk in to an agency with all these concerns and trust that I will just happen upon the right person. So, I am coming here for advice. Here is the quick- and-dirty of my situation:
I lost half of my life savings in the 2008 crash. At the time I was with a very reputable financial advisor through my husband’s employer. However, that man at the time was taken to court and sued because his people had excessive losses during the crash. We won in court, but the government won’t let me recoup that loss except for claiming $3,000 loss on my taxes each year. It will take me 50 more years to get credit for all of it. I am 74 now and I have been claiming since 2009 already. After that debacle, I got a new financial man- Jim. Jim was smart, dependable, professional and trustworthy and I have missed him greatly. He died around 2017. So, I am frozen with fear to have this happen again.
Not only do I need a trustworthy financial advisor to handle my finances, but I’ve been wanting to purchase stocks in a few things and I don’t know how. Also, I would like to open a few IRA’s for my grandchildren, but I don’t know how to do that either. But HERE is where my financial mess goes off the rails…
I received a notice about 2 years ago that my variable annuities with Prudential had been SOLD. My finance guy Jim, the one who passed away, and I had researched for nearly 6 months before purchasing this “product” with prudential. Prudential sold them to a company called Fortitude Re. out of Bermuda. I suppose Prudential saw these “Products” (retirees’ life savings) as a risk, so they sold them. But now some smaller, no-name organization has all of my life savings and income resources in Bermuda and I’m terrorized that they will go out of business or will not follow through with the terms of the annuity or SOMETHING that will wreck me financially. There is absolutely NO WAY to get someone on the phone from that organization, ever. They send things sometimes that I do not understand, at all. I have no one to ask for guidance. So, it’s a done deal. I have asked around and apparently, this is all totally legal and they can do whatever they want with the “product” even though it is the life savings of a lot of folks. The website says Fortitude is Bermuda’s “largest multiline re-insurer” whatever that means. “Reinsurer” sounds like a made-up title to get out from under a bunch of IRA products that are no longer profitable and seem like a liability to Prudential. The website says, “We are here for the long haul and committed to delivering innovative solutions for our partners.” Innovative solutions for PRUDENTIAL, not us, the customers. I need someone who can look over these contracts and tell me what should be done.
I have consulted with a few people in the past year as I thought of pulling all of my money out and buying new “products” with new companies, but because of fiduciary responsibilities (thankful) two people have said they can not offer a product that matches the terms of the ones I have (I have two). Which is probably why Prudential sold them in the first place! -- These two products have guaranteed lifetime income, I can leave them as they are and pass them on to my kids and they include long-term care insurance. I get a lump sum payout from each of these “products” once a year. I need that payout to survive financially. Here are the names of each product.
-Advanced Series XTra Credit SIX, HD Lifetime 7 plus with Lifetime Income Accelerator (SM)
-Advanced Series APEX II Annuity, Highest Daily Lifetime 7 Plus (SM)
Does anyone have any guidance as to how to find a solid financial advisor that is the same quality and caliber as Jim, any insight into this situation with Prudential/Fortitude and any guidance that may help me navigate this stuff?
My daughter lives with me now and has helped me put this letter together and set up an account here at Bogleheads. Thanks to her. And thanks to you for reading through this. I appreciate any insight you might have.
-Irene
My financial man passed away unexpectedly about 6 years ago. I thought I had a bit of time to find a new financial advisor, but as it turns out, things happened quickly. I was unsure how to find an advisor that was reliable and safe. I talked with anyone in my circle of life asking for suggestions. One problem is that all folks my age (70 and older) are facing similar problems. From whole agencies being sold to the retirement of our advisors, we all agree that it is just as much about the agent as it is the agency. It’s not like many of the people in my circle even have investments, so I’m getting desperate. My financial investments have been unsupervised for several years now and I just can’t bring myself to blindly walk in to an agency with all these concerns and trust that I will just happen upon the right person. So, I am coming here for advice. Here is the quick- and-dirty of my situation:
I lost half of my life savings in the 2008 crash. At the time I was with a very reputable financial advisor through my husband’s employer. However, that man at the time was taken to court and sued because his people had excessive losses during the crash. We won in court, but the government won’t let me recoup that loss except for claiming $3,000 loss on my taxes each year. It will take me 50 more years to get credit for all of it. I am 74 now and I have been claiming since 2009 already. After that debacle, I got a new financial man- Jim. Jim was smart, dependable, professional and trustworthy and I have missed him greatly. He died around 2017. So, I am frozen with fear to have this happen again.
Not only do I need a trustworthy financial advisor to handle my finances, but I’ve been wanting to purchase stocks in a few things and I don’t know how. Also, I would like to open a few IRA’s for my grandchildren, but I don’t know how to do that either. But HERE is where my financial mess goes off the rails…
I received a notice about 2 years ago that my variable annuities with Prudential had been SOLD. My finance guy Jim, the one who passed away, and I had researched for nearly 6 months before purchasing this “product” with prudential. Prudential sold them to a company called Fortitude Re. out of Bermuda. I suppose Prudential saw these “Products” (retirees’ life savings) as a risk, so they sold them. But now some smaller, no-name organization has all of my life savings and income resources in Bermuda and I’m terrorized that they will go out of business or will not follow through with the terms of the annuity or SOMETHING that will wreck me financially. There is absolutely NO WAY to get someone on the phone from that organization, ever. They send things sometimes that I do not understand, at all. I have no one to ask for guidance. So, it’s a done deal. I have asked around and apparently, this is all totally legal and they can do whatever they want with the “product” even though it is the life savings of a lot of folks. The website says Fortitude is Bermuda’s “largest multiline re-insurer” whatever that means. “Reinsurer” sounds like a made-up title to get out from under a bunch of IRA products that are no longer profitable and seem like a liability to Prudential. The website says, “We are here for the long haul and committed to delivering innovative solutions for our partners.” Innovative solutions for PRUDENTIAL, not us, the customers. I need someone who can look over these contracts and tell me what should be done.
I have consulted with a few people in the past year as I thought of pulling all of my money out and buying new “products” with new companies, but because of fiduciary responsibilities (thankful) two people have said they can not offer a product that matches the terms of the ones I have (I have two). Which is probably why Prudential sold them in the first place! -- These two products have guaranteed lifetime income, I can leave them as they are and pass them on to my kids and they include long-term care insurance. I get a lump sum payout from each of these “products” once a year. I need that payout to survive financially. Here are the names of each product.
-Advanced Series XTra Credit SIX, HD Lifetime 7 plus with Lifetime Income Accelerator (SM)
-Advanced Series APEX II Annuity, Highest Daily Lifetime 7 Plus (SM)
Does anyone have any guidance as to how to find a solid financial advisor that is the same quality and caliber as Jim, any insight into this situation with Prudential/Fortitude and any guidance that may help me navigate this stuff?
My daughter lives with me now and has helped me put this letter together and set up an account here at Bogleheads. Thanks to her. And thanks to you for reading through this. I appreciate any insight you might have.
-Irene
Statistics: Posted by CourtneyandIrene — Sun Feb 25, 2024 5:49 pm — Replies 17 — Views 2283