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08/01--Financial Adviser doles out Tips on ’Today’

From The Wakefield Observer
Reprinted with permission from the Community Newspaper Company

By Dinah Cardin
DCARDIN@CNC.COM

Wednesday, July 16, 2003

A financial planner from Wakefield’s Back Bay Financial Group recently had the opportunity to share her expertise with women from all over the country when she participated last month on NBC’s "Today" show in a "Money for Women" segment." The popular morning show provided a toll-free number to speak with members of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisers, where Jeanne Gibson Sullivan is affiliated.

The 46-year-old mother of two answered women’s questions ranging from whether they should refinance or pay off a mortgage to how to invest a recent inheritance. The economy and stock market were certainly among a list of concerns.

Women are looking for security, said Sullivan.

"It used to look easy to invest. In the last three years, people are asking am I going to be able to retire, educate my children, provide for my family if something happens to me?"

While getting rich might have been the goal in the past, attitudes have changed with the economy’s downturn, she said.

"I don’t really see a lot of people out there, men or women, doing that. That’s not what they are all about."

"Don’t take on more risk than you need to. Why? There is no reason to. In the late ’90s people weren’t worried about risk. The market seemed to head in only one direction. It’s better to have a more moderate portfolio, one that is more temperate or less aggressive. It may not be as fun in the good times, but it’s a lot less painful in the down times."

The "Money for Women" series highlighted the five biggest financial concerns facing women based on a survey of "Money Magazine" readers. "Today Show" financial editor and "Money" reporter Jean Chatzky chose NAPFA for the issue of eroding retirement savings.

True to that theme, Sullivan is seeing quite a few baby boomers who are looking to protect their investments, rather than continuing to grow them.

One of her clients, looking to retire, called it the "pile theory." When he once focused on getting as many piles of money as possible, now his concern is more about protecting those piles from eroding.

"What was nice about a national effort like this is it helped us reach people out there who might not have access to an adviser," said Sullivan.

A caller from rural Pennsylvania said there was no one she could talk to about money matters. She told Sullivan she did not make a lot of money, but that she and sister had piled up pennies. They were savers. She had no big stock options. But she needed validation on when she could stop working.

"That’s a hard question to answer in a five minute phone call," said Sullivan. But one that is frequently asked, she said.

"I think that a lot of women need more validation. They often can make good decisions on their own. But they need more education to make a decision, particularly older women are more hesitant to make financial decisions."

Sullivan, an adjunct professor of finance at Bentley College, has given brief financial seminars at her children’s PTO in Reading.

"There’s a thirst out there for information...and objective information," she said.

She also spoke to many callers who didn’t realize there were "fee-only" advisers like herself, said Sullivan, who bills hourly for her expertise.

"One woman was really being taken advantage of by being hounded by an insurance company. She didn’t have an objective person to advise her."

Advisers often sell stocks or insurance and take a commission.

It often requires a life-changing event to drive people to a financial adviser, said Sullivan. Those who will seek out help are often people who are planning for children or retirement. Above all, it takes work and emotional commitment on the part of the client, she said, to face their finances.

"It’s like house cleaning. You know it needs to be done, but you have to commit."