How Your Retirement Advisor Came to Be in the words of our founder, Brian Saranovitz

I’ve always asked “why” whenever anyone has told me something…whether that was playing professional football or attending a financial conference. ‘Because’ has never been enough for me. I’ve always sought out the reasons and the research behind the theories. The financial services industry runs amok with empty statements and misleading marketing claims, as well as extreme biases from the likes of insurance agents and stockbrokers. I’ve always wanted to provide a better answer than ‘Because’ for my clients. We both deserve more. This is the basis of my “Why”. And what also led to our Eureka moment.

Several years back I was trying to find some data on the effect of taxes in retirement as this had been a topic of discussion in a recent meeting with one of my clients. Because we had ‘heard’ varying opinions on tax implications,  we wanted to find the facts and the research to support the best tax strategies in retirement. As I was peering over my laptop, I realized that many people like me, baby boomers and anyone preparing for retirement for that matter, needed access to academic retirement research. As I dug a little more (sinking deeper into a Google coma), I discovered that our population is woefully illiterate when it comes to finances and retirement… two thirds of Americans cannot pass a test of basic financial literacy¹ and only 20% of people passed a retirement literacy quiz administered by the American College².

At the same time, I was noticing more and more of  my clients struggling with retirement planning and looking to me for answers. For much of my career I focused on helping people accumulate assets and protect their loved ones with life insurance.

As I continued researching the tax topic, I had an ‘aha’ moment…I wanted (and needed) to become a retirement advisor. I needed to help my clients (the people who I counted as friends and members of my business family), as well as the 78 million people who will be retiring over the next 10 years, retire better. And then I needed to figure out how to help the generations that will inherit the baby boomer’s wealth become financially educated and responsible…and prosperous for life.

I needed to become the guardian of retirement!! 🙂

And so I did. For anyone that knows me, when I decide to focus on something, I pour my entire self into it. And this is what I did with retirement planning. Being average at my retirement knowledge was not going to be good enough. My competitive spirit kicked in and I decided right then and there that I wanted to be the best retirement advisor possible. This meant going outside of my comfort zone and back into “training”, immersing myself in retirement and all the nuances it represents. I had to understand an entire new set of risk, rules and strategies that are unique to the distribution phase of life. I’ve never been one to back down to a challenge so I entered this new challenge with every part of my being.

Not long after, I decided (with the help of a marketing guru), to re-brand my company to Your Retirement Advisor to demonstrate my singular commitment to helping people get their retirement right. That was nearly four years ago. Ever since, I’ve been obsessed with learning as much as possible about retirement. I’ve discovered along the way that I have a knack for researching and gathering information, uncovering the facts and understanding the strategies (many of which are quite progressive), and then organizing, delivering and taking action to deliver better retirement outcomes for my clients.

What I’ve also discovered is that retirement (regardless of your age) should be that time in your life when you can get off the hamster wheel and work if you want to, not because you have to. I like to refer to this as finding your financial freedom date. Retirement should defy working like a dog just to make ends meet.

Your Retirement Advisor is my way to share “the search for retirement truths” journey we’re on with people everywhere, and to help them plan a more confident and comfortable retirement. I believe that the evidence-and outcome-based planning my team and I do, and the intellectually honest information we uncover to support our planning, is the better way to go. Join us and experience a smarter, more efficient and more intimate kind of retirement advice…and leave with a renewed purpose, a comprehensive plan and peace of mind.

Sincerely,

Brian H. Saranovitz, Guardian of Your Retirement

Here more about my philosophies about retirement planning, work, football and life in this Daily Grind podcast.

¹ 2016 National Capability Study by the FINRA Foundation.

² 2017 RICP Retirement Income Literacy Survey, American College

Our online retirement readiness kit provides: how to guides, videos and retirement calculators.  We’re here if you have any questions or would like any number of assessments.