What’s Your CARES SCORE ™ ?

Are you important to you? That sounds like a strange question, but often someone gets so busy helping others they forget about taking care of themselves. You will need to consider what you want out of life and make your personal well-being a priority. Are you willing to consider your personal importance? On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest importance of yourself, what level would you like to be?

It is important to determine how much you care. Do you care enough to take the necessary time to actively participate in an interactive process and take appropriate action, for your success? On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest level of caring, how would you rank yourself?

Another key to success is Organized, Accurate, and Relevant Information. Having good information helps establish a trusting relationship, and provides a basis for you to make appropriate informed decisions. Without the appropriate information we both would be relying on luck and guesswork. Is having organized, accurate, and relevant information important to you? On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest level of importance, what would you say your level is?

Have you ever questioned what you truly value in life and what would make it better for you? To serve you better you will need to learn, understand and record what is really important to you. Do you feel it is important to establish a conscious awareness of your values? What value do you place in these intangible feelings along with your goals which are tangible? Are determining and recording your values something that is important to you? On a scale of 1- 10, with 10 being the highest level of importance, what would you say your level is?

Analysis that is easy to understand yet comprehensive is essential to make informed decisions and convert information to wisdom. Wouldn’t it be great to determine the viability of your goals and have an understanding of your expectations and prioritize your goals and commitments and how potential changes in the future may affect them? An analysis of many variables such as your current investments, future savings, assumed rates of returns, etc. provides a basis to make those informed decisions. Is analysis important to you? On a scale of 1- 10, with 10 being the highest level of importance, what would you say your level is?

The Good News is YOU HAVE MANY CHOICES including solutions for Longevity Protection, Minimum Guaranteed Rate Savings, Debt Instruments (Bonds), Equity Investments (Stocks), and Alternative Investments. The Bad News is it may be confusing. Would you like the ability to compare solutions, decide what solutions provide the most value and explore various options and tradeoffs? You should also have an in depth comparison of possible solutions that is comprehensive yet easy to understand based on your specific input and unique situation. Is this type of help in developing custom solutions for your unique situation important for you? On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest level of importance, what would you say your level is?

How do you feel about quality service? How do you feel about establishing a wellstructured and quality service understanding to provide ongoing service, and make possible future adjustments and communications? Do you believe a well-structured service understanding is a NECESSITY? There are many issues that may affect you in the future. You will need to continually make possible adjustments if those issues arise. How do you feel about quality service? On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest level of caring, what would you say your level is?

How do you feel about working with an advisor who has the legal responsibility of a Fiduciary? Five key elements of the Fiduciary responsibilities are: 1) Put clients’ interests first, 2) Act with utmost good faith and individual loyalty to you, 3) Provide full and fair disclosure of all material facts, 4) Not mislead clients, 5) Disclose all conflicts of interest to clients. Registered Investment Advisors and their Investment Advisor Representatives are required by law to act as fiduciaries. Stock Brokers, Registered Representatives of Broker Dealers, and Insurance Agents usually DON’T HAVE FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY and sell financial products under a much lower standard of suitability. We hope you care enough to work with someone who puts your interests before theirs and meets fiduciary standards. Is fiduciary responsibility of an advisor important to you? On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest level of importance, what would you say your level is?

An advisor should truly care about you and be committed to your success and be a lifelong learner that accepts a fiduciary responsibility to provide for your current and future needs. Is it important to you for an advisor to have the knowledge, dedication, available resources to be your personal trusted advisor? Are you excited about maintaining a long term and mutually rewarding relationship with an advisor/fiduciary based on providing Real Value? On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest level of importance, what would you say your level is?

To provide help with all of these issues, a structured, comprehensive, yet easy to implement process is necessary. It allows an advisor/fiduciary to help and motivate you to take action and stay on track, not with fear but with enthusiasm and confidence. How do you feel about a structured process that addresses these issues while helping you strive for success? On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest level of importance, what would you say your level is?