Have you ever recommended your advisor to a friend or associate?

Sure, I have. My advisor and I go back a couple of decades by now, and we play golf now and then. He’s a great guy. A few years ago, we were out on the green, and he just said, “Hey, Drew, if you think any of your buddies could benefit from talking to me, let me know.” Then he gave me a couple of his business cards. I did end up giving one to my brother-in-law. I don’t think he ever called him, though.
-Andrew, 66, Austin, Texas

Yes, we have recommended our current advisor to two people: our daughter’s husband’s mother received a life insurance payment when her husband died. She had no idea what to do with it, so we gave her the number of our advisor. I think she was pretty happy with what he did. And we have a neighbor who had made some real estate investments before the crash. We thought they sounded too risky, so we suggested he see an advisor and gave him the number of our guy.
-Lillian, 67, Des Moines, Iowa

I kind of feel like something sensitive like other people’s financial investments is none of my business, so, no, I have not recommended my advisor. Once, after we had been to see him, he sent us a nice note asking if there was anyone we knew who could use his expertise. There wasn’t really anyone we knew, but even if there was, I don’t know if I would want to pry into their business and ask if they needed financial advice.
-Gemma, 72, Wausau, Wis.