Phil Cannella Protects Another Consumer
The Crash Proof Retirement System, created by Phil Cannella, has helped thousands of people to secure their retirement futures. Today, we focus the Crash Proof Retirement spotlight on Dr. Ken Smith.
Dr. Smith works as a dentist and has had a Crash Proof Retirement for the past five years. As you can imagine, working as a dentist requires a fiduciary responsibility, meaning that Dr. Smith puts his patients’ needs before his own. Unfortunately, that responsibility can be taken for granted. It’s not surprising that a dentist or any doctor would put his patients first. The danger comes when you assume that other professionals share the same code of ethics.
Variable Annuities: World’s Worst Investment!
That was the case with Dr. Smith, who mistakenly assumed that the concept of fiduciary responsibility existed in the financial industry as well. Imagine his surprise when he realized that his financial advisor—a personal friend—had placed him in a variable annuity, notoriously known as one of the worst investments for people in or near retirement.
“He was a friend of mine for a number of years,” recalled Dr. Smith, “It was explained to me that the variable annuity was an insurance policy that involved secure assets where I would never lose money. I would be guaranteed 5-6 percent.”
Sounds too good to be true, right? Guess what? It was.
“It wasn’t until later that I realized there were so many fees and charges involved,” Dr. Smith lamented. “It’s a very deceitful program.”
That was Dr. Smith’s rude awakening to the reality of the financial industry. Fortunately, he came into the Crash Proof Retirement offices and shared his frustration with Phil Cannella. Phil shared Dr. Smith’s dismay at the lack of disclosure. As a consumer advocate, Phil wasted no time taking action. He called the issuing company to get to the bottom of Dr. Smith’s variable annuity.
“Phil did something that was really amazing,” said Dr. Smith. “He got on the phone and had them explain their charges.”
That was the good news.
“We found out the charges were with one-quarter of a percent of the amount I was to receive as an income from the variable annuity,” said Dr. Smith.
That’s just one reason variable annuities are a mistakes for investors nearing retirement. But Dr. Smith’s now-former financial advisor never bothered to explain that or any of the other potential pitfalls of the investments. By contrast, Phil Cannella not only addressed and explained the problem, he did so in a way that made sense.
“Phil made it simple to understand,” Dr. Smith confirmed.
Safety And Security
Today, Dr. Smith’s money is out of that costly variable annuity, and invested in safe, risk-free Crash proof vehicles. His retirement is now 100% Crash Proof, and for that he expressed gratitude to Phil Cannella, Joann Small and First Senior Financial Group.
“At my age, it’s important to have the assurance that your monies are secure,” Dr. Smith summarized. “I feel much better as a result of getting together with Phil and having him explain everything. I have a much more secure situation in these Crash Proof vehicles.”
