Last week I was invited to attend a financial event at the local baseball stadium. A friend of mine has been a client of a major investment/insurance company for years and was encouraged to bring a couple friends to this small event. (There were about 70 people total) I’m normally not very interested to attend speaking engagements like this but because it was at the nice stadium and included cocktails, dinner, and a tour of the ballpark with a couple friends I hadn’t seen in awhile, I couldn’t resist.
Overall, I was impressed with the whole thing. The evening started with a cocktail hour and lots of tasty food. My friends and I really enjoyed hanging out in an exclusive bar that was deep within the stadium. (It wasn’t a place I’d normally ever see because it was for people with a LOT more money than I have). After they had liquored us up a bit, we went on a behind the scenes tour of the stadium which included checking out the owners suite. Wow. I can’t imagine having access to a suite like that in a major MLB stadium on a regular basis.
After the tour ended, it was time to listen to the presentation. This consisted of author Doug Lennick spending 30 minutes or so talking about concepts from his books and what drives us to make decisions with our money. I was impressed with his demeanor and enjoyed listening to him, although I found myself continually waiting to hear how we should jump right in and sign up with the financial company that invited him to speak. He really never did that, although he did state that he believed they were trustworthy and the kind of people we should consult when we needed financial help.
I was appreciative of his insights in to emotional and rational decision making about money but I left knowing that I still am not interested in using a financial advisor that is paid based on the commissions they earn from the investments they recommend. I’ve yet to consult with a financial advisor but when I do, I’ll definitely use a “fee only” advisor. Anyway, it was a fun night and I was grateful to be able to attend.