Page 36 - Ready Set Retire

Stephen J. Kelley

in annual advertising, without having to deal with the legal
responsibility of being a fiduciary.

How do I know this? No fiduciary anywhere would put a
person’s whole livelihood in energy partnerships. Does that
mean a fiduciary would never present them? Not necessarily.
One might, after making sure the client had allocated the
secure income and growth needed, present energy partnerships
as a place to put a portion of the money designated to high-
risk growth. A small portion. Why? Because energy
partnerships are risky. Risky means likely to fail. This
representative of a very well-known financial services giant
recommended a widowed school teacher with two young
children put her life savings in an arrangement which was more
than likely to fail.

Does this sound like a person looking out for the needs of his
client? Or does this sound like a person more interested in
hawking the products being promoted by his company and the
lucrative commissions that brought to him? Who in this
arrangement was looking out for the client? No one is who.

Had this family been my client two things would have
happened. First, I would have insisted that the husband, while
still alive, have enough life insurance to take care of his family
if something should happen to him, or at least try to. One sad

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