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they don’t want to think about it– and
hope it all works out.”
Baer well knows how that kind of
plan is not a plan at all. He and Maffett
encourage callers to seek professional
assistance for piecing together
a framework, crafted from
their existing financial assets such as
employer-sponsored retirement, social
security benefits as well as other
non-retirement assets. Realizing the
weekly show isn’t enough to guide
someone through financial planning,
Baer feels it is at least a start – an outreach
– that can better inform people
of their needs and hopefully prompt
them to contact an advisor.
“Every person needs a picture of
how their money – how their assets –
should be distributed throughout their
lifetime to ensure they have income
that lasts,” Baer insisted.
That need is more relevant today as
the American lifespan increases. In the
past, many Americans were fortunate
if they enjoyed a mere ten years of retirement.
“Today,” he said, “as many
Americans live to be 90 or more years
of age, a 25 to 30 year retirement is no
longer uncommon.”
Baer checks regularly to see if a client’s
nest egg is big enough by running
inflation calculators. These can illustrate
what the purchasing power of
today’s money will be tomorrow. He
also talks to clients about the typical
life cycle of retirement.
“In their first years of retirement,
most clients tend to spend perhaps
even more money than they used to
when working, because they travel
a lot,” he notes. “Then in the middle
years of retirement, they settle down.
They aren’t spending as much then.
But during the end years of retirement,
much more tends to get spent because
of health-related issues. So, we make
sure we are building a spending plan
around those needs, constantly monitoring
and talking – and seeing how
that plan is evolving.”
As one example, Baer references
an extremely healthy client currently
living in Florida who has been retired
since 1987. Careful planning has
allowed the client to achieve this independence.
Another client, now 15
years into retirement, is in the same
boat, but with more than enough money
to last, according to Baer. “(This client)
plays golf four days a week and
tennis three times a week,” he said.The
same was the case with a client with
whom his father – and founder of Baer
Wealth Management, William E. Baer
– worked for 30 plus years. Kenny
Baer says “I have worked with them
now for the past ten years and they
are living their retirement years quite
comfortably.”
Achieving this takes a disciplined
approach to investing.
“Oftentimes, clients can get caught
up in all the statistics out there,” Baer
said. “They ask questions such as,
‘How did my portfolio do?’ or ‘How
am I performing in the current market?’
And what we do is to play the
role of keeping them in a disciplined
approach that will get them to their
ultimate goal. We manage their money
to that goal and not necessarily with
the goal of beating the market.”
Baer keeps the bulk of client assets –
close to 99 percent of what the firm has
under management – in mutual funds
and exchange-traded funds. Only
rarely, and after very careful scrutiny,
does he recommend that a client invest
in limited partnerships.
“Every person needs a picture of how their
money – how their assets – should be distributed
throughout their lifetime to ensure they have
income that lasts,” - Kenny Baer
“We have to gain a full understanding
of what the principals of any limited
partnership we consider are doing,”
Baer said. “We do full background
checks. We expect them to hand over
all of their personal information for
verification. And we make sure that
the principals have the same amount
of investment in the limited partnership
as they are recommending that
our client take on.”
“Looking at the success of our clients
– those are the greatest successes
of my career.”
101 Village Parkway, Bldg 1, Suite 200
Marietta, GA 30067
www.baerwealth.com
THE SUIT MAGAZINE p.49