Episode 158 – Strategic Options to Deal with Inflation

On this week’s episode of On the Money with Secure Money, Brian Quaranta discusses ways to protect your retirement income from the impact of today’s inflation and cost of living.

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Radio Show Transcript

Announcer 00:00

Investment advisory services are offered through foundation investment advisors, LLC. an SEC registered investment advisor Brian Quaranta and his guests provide general information not individually targeted, personalized advice and are not liable for the usage of information discussed. Exposure to ideas and financial vehicles should not be considered investment advice or recommendation to buy or sell any of these financial vehicles. This information should also not be considered tax or legal advice. As performance is not a guarantee of future results, investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested. Any comments regarding safe and secure investments and guaranteed income streams refer only to fixed insurance products, they do not refer in any way to securities or investment advisory products, fixed insurance and annuity product guarantees are subject to the claims paying ability of the issuing company.

Brian Quaranta 00:39

The recession fears are real, but you know, there’s some good happening to some are accepting the inevitable truth of the state of the country’s economic position and strength of the financial crisis and the manageability of these concerns to prevent the perfect storm from wreaking havoc on the economy. We’re going to talk about a lot of that coming up next here with On the Money with Secure Money when we come right back.

Announcer 01:00

And now On the Money.

Brian Quaranta 01:03

Any good retirement plan starts with the foundation,

Announcer 01:06

asset protection, tax reduction, holistic planning.

Brian Quaranta 01:10

These are the things that start to move you towards having a retirement plan.

Announcer 01:14

Retirement doesn’t have to be complicated.

Brian Quaranta 01:15

You think that’s the difficult part. That’s just getting started!

Announcer 01:19

And now on the money with Secure Money.

Steve 01:28

Hey, welcome, everybody. This is On the Money with Secure Money, and Brian Quaranta is here. Brian, of course, is an author, a great new book called Right Track your Retirement, a simple planning strategy to help you reduce risk, build income and provide peace of mind. That’s a mouthful.

Brian Quaranta 01:46

There’s a lot in that book, Steve, there’s a lot in that way. I know. The extremely valuable read I just had I just had an individual email me over the weekend said, you know, thank you so much for taking the time to write that book. I’ve been so confused about how to approach retirement planning. And this was really a simple approach. That definitely gives me peace of mind when I think about implementing it. So, you know, it’s a, it’s a well done book. You know, I get right to the point, I hate long reads. So, I kept it, I call it an airport read, I always like a plane that I read a book that I can read on the plane. So that that was the idea behind the book was to get right to the point, teach people how to do it right out of the gates, no hidden agenda, given the facts. And I believe that when people are given good facts, they make good decisions.

Steve 02:34

Thank you right there, Brian. And again, one of the things that we’re going to talk about in this segment, it does tie into your book, because you talk a lot about inflation, you talk a lot about the bond market, we’re gonna dig into all of that. And let’s start with Jeremy Siegel. He is professor of finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. He’s got a forecast for inflation volatility, and he voices his concerns for how the Fed recovery efforts are executed. In the aftermath. It’s kind of interesting.

Jeremy Siegel 03:03

The tightening and how high they’re gonna have to go, I think is almost excessive. Now, I think the Fed has to be careful, you know, I monitored the money supply. And you know, that told me that we were gonna have all this inflation that we had with the money supply has been brought to almost a dead stop this year. And that is unprecedented. And I said, Oh, you know, three weeks ago, the Fed has just got to be careful not to slam on the brakes, and just crash this economy. They’ve got to watch the guests they have to raise, they have to ratify what’s going on? What they have to realize that most of the inflation now is behind us, even though it’s going to be going through the official statistics over the next six to 12 months.

Steve 03:36

So probably I mean, that’s interesting. I mean, he’s a guy from Wharton School of Business. He’s no slouch, obviously. He says maybe inflation has peaked. What are your thoughts?

Brian Quaranta 03:45

Well, I would agree, I mean, look, you know, I mean, we’ve had gas prices come down, you know, they’ve come down faster, you know, then even pre pandemic prices. So, we’re seeing that get better, we’re seeing lumber prices go down. Obviously, housing prices are going down to the fact that interest rates have gone up, and it’s a little bit more costly to get a home. You’re also seeing retailers, you know, wanting to move inventory. You know, you’re seeing deals where you’re getting 40 to 50% off on certain merchandise items. So that tells you that they’re trying to find ways to move inventory, which means that, you know, what we wanted to have happen, or I should say the Feds wanted to have happened was slowed things down. And it certainly did, as you see these prices adjust and gas and lumber in retail. So, regarding the unprecedented event of the money supply being stunted is that something to be concerned with? You know, I would say, you know, I agree with Mr. Siegel. I always have that, you know, they’ve got to be very careful. They don’t step on the brakes too quickly here because you don’t want to crash it. We want a soft landing. And so, you know, they’re projected to meet again this month to possibly look at raising rates again, but we’ve got to make sure that we just don’t do too much too fast. I think right now, if you look at the economy, I think you’re seeing the impacts of these rising inflation slowing things down. And that’s a good sign. That’s what we wanted to have happen. But if they get too aggressive, just like Mr. Siegel said, we don’t we don’t want to put this thing into a crash. And, you know, if we do, according to Bank of America, one of their top analysts there, who’s mostly on the bearish side, you know, he’s saying that the S&P if the Feds don’t get it right, the S&P could go down another 30%. I mean, that’s incredible to think that somebody might lose another 30% of their portfolio.

Steve 05:32

Holy cow, I guess. So, I mean, we’re already down 20% on the year,

Brian Quaranta 05:36

Right. I mean, you’re talking about a 50% loss. I mean, that that’s, that’s 2000, 2007, 2008 levels, that’s devastating, that would cause somebody to have absolutely have to delay retirement or come out of retirement. And, you know, so those are things that we don’t want to see, you know, you’ve got a lot of fear mongers out there that, you know, that have these ideas that these things might happen, but it certainly hinges on what the Feds decide to do. So, people need to work with their advisors and watch this thing closely. You know, I know here at secure money advisors, we’re in a very defensive position right now. So, if this continues to happen, we’re isolating ourselves from being impacted from it. But you know, there’s a lot of people out there, they’re still rolling the dice with a lot of their money that need to be very careful. Because, again, they’re rolling the dice with 30-40 years’ worth of work, you know, a lot of these people just don’t have the time to recover if the markets do go down that aggressively.

Steve 06:28

So how are you working with people in that regard? I mean, that’s, that, to me is a is a real concern for folks is, how do I weather this? And obviously, you’ve been in this business long enough, you’ve seen some ups and downs, and you just talked about, you know, the, a couple of the other times that things have sort of gone a little haywire, but how do we do it? What do we do? Brian?

Brian Quaranta 06:47

Yeah, active management is the way that we do it, you know, especially as you get close to retirement, you know, active management is not as important when you have time on your side. But when you’re getting into the financial redzone, which could be, you know, 10, five years out from retirement, that’s really where you want to active approach, you know, so for example, our managers have gone to very defensive positions, and gold and short-term bonds, cash. And these are things that are keeping our clients from being impacted by any further downturn. A lot of people, whether it be their 401 K, or maybe just the way that their advisory firms are advising them, they’re in static portfolios or passive portfolios. And, you know, the answer to their concerns, probably from their 401k company or their current advisors is, you know, don’t worry about it, hang in there, you’re in it for the long haul. You know, Steve, this is why, every week on the show, we offer the opportunity to schedule a right track retirement discovery session. And you know, if you are like most people, where you’re not really sure when to take your Social Security, or you’re like most people today, where you’re not going to be getting a pension, you know, or you’re going to be relying on your 401 K or an IRA for retirement income, you know, maybe you’ve lost money in the market, and you’re not really sure whether to stay or go, what do I mean by that? You know, should I keep what I currently have, or should I reallocate, especially in non-IRA assets, if you reallocate, you could get big tax advantage. There’s something called tax loss harvesting, you know, but a lot of people want to know if they’re on the right track. And so, the things I just discussed is what our right track retirement report will uncover the best time to collect social security, how to generate the most income, from your retirement savings, whether you should stick with what you have or reallocate, you know, strategies to help you gain back what you’ve lost maybe most recently in the market. So, our right track retirement report will show you all of this and more. All you got to do for the next 10 callers is call in and schedule your right track discovery session today.

Steve 08:44

800-656-8616. It’s a comprehensive financial review, when there’s no cost, there’s no obligation. And when you walk out the door, you’re going to have a roadmap in your hand that can help get you to where you need to be when it comes to retirement. 800-656-8616 800-656-8616.

Brian Quaranta 09:03

Preparing for retirement can seem like an unending task in some ways. That’s true, Retirement Income Plan has evolved over time to adjust to things like runaway inflation. When we come back, we’re gonna highlight several things you need to know to make your retirement puzzle fit together when we come right back with on the money with secure money.

Announcer 09:25

Hurricanes, tornadoes, and fire. These are serious situations we plan in advance for the volatility of the market can be just as devastating. When a market correction does occur. There are strategies you can employ to bounce back. Call Brian Quaranta and his team at secure money advisors at 800-656-8616 or text keyword BrianQ two 800-656-8616. We’ve made it easy folks. All you have to do is call or text the keyword BrianQ to 800 656 80 616

Steve 10:06

Welcome back, everybody, this is on the money with secure money. And Brian Quaranta. I’m consumer advocate Steve. Brian is the President CEO of Secure Money Advisors. And I would suggest you visit their website secure money advisors.com It’s a great way to get things go and kind of get to know who secure money advisors are. And it’s Brian, and it’s a whole team of folks behind him that really have done a great job. I love the right track retirement report, Brian, I think that’s really important and just being on the right track that that feels good to say that.

Brian Quaranta 10:36

Yeah, that report is really invaluable. I mean, you know, there’s a lot of key areas that it’s going to evaluate for, right, the best time to collect social security. You know, if you’re going to, you know, if you’re like a lot of people that are not going to be getting a pension, we retire, and you need to figure out how to generate income from your 401 K or your IRA, it’ll show you the best ways to maximize the income to get the most from those accounts without jeopardizing yourself from running out of money, it will help you determine what is the best way to save on taxes or eliminate taxation retirement, the report is invaluable, with lots of information that really are key data points that you need to make very informed decisions. And we’re very proud to give you this report is something that will be very eye opening to you that my team and I will go over with you when you come in for your discovery session. And by the way, it’s no cost and no obligation. So you know, there’s no pressure, we literally just collect the data, we build out the report for you, we go over the report with you. And that gives you the information you need to have better conversations with your current advisors. Or maybe if you’re a do-it-yourself advisor better decisions that you can make on your own. But more importantly, you know whether or not you’re even doing the right things. And if you’re not, you know, when would be the best time to find that out, you know, if you’re not doing the right things, probably now would be a good time to figure out if there were adjustments that needed to be made. But you know, there’s nothing that makes us more proud here at Secure Money Advisors than if you’re doing the right things to shake your hands and keep telling you to do what you’re doing.

Steve 12:06

Sure, again, I like that, folks, if you’d like to get a head start 800-656-8616. So, in the first segment, we were talking a bit about, you know, the inflation and what it’s doing, let’s kind of talk about bonds for a minute, I know the bond market is down high yield spreads gone up. We hear from Darryl Kronk, he’s the CIO of Wells Fargo investment Institute. And he says there are some surefire indicators when it comes to measuring the true destruction that this sort of economic storm is capable of. And what he believes is on the horizon.

Darryl Kronk 12:38

The bond market is telling you more things than the stock market is right now. So we have a lot of work to do yet on inflation. And I think the bond market is starting to tell you that, you know, relative to earnings season, look, I mean, you’re probably gonna get 11-12% revenue growth, but only about five to 6% earnings growth, which tells you already, this will be the first quarter of margin deterioration, because of those last just in the income statement there. And I think we need to really watch for consensus, because I think post the q2 conference calls with CEOs and CFOs, those sellside numbers are gonna get ratcheted down pretty materially.

Steve 13:05

Well, and again, yeah, we’re this is this is earnings reporting season, and it gets in full swing here. What do you think? Right?

Brian Quaranta 13:11

Yeah, I mean, look, you know, you know, the big question is, is the inverse relationship between stocks and bond market, one that is consistent unit of measure, when you take the historical context into effect? I mean, you also have to consider like, what impact do bonds play in the retirement planning world? You know, there, there’s been such a widespread panic as a result of the stock and bond market activity, leaving many in the sense bracing for impact. You know, and really, the big question is, how can folks really mitigate the changing dynamics in the financial world? You know, this is why we use active management because the markets are very dynamic right? Now. A lot of people use passive strategies, which is okay, if you have a long-time horizon, that may be an okay thing to do. But when you’re close to retirement, the idea behind active management is to move when the market moves, so that you’re not in a position to where you can put yourself in harm’s way. The last thing you want to do is have to delay retirement or come out of retirement because you got it wrong. It’s better to be safe than sorry. But at the end of the day, the bond market is one to watch right now. And these are the conversations that people need to be having with their advisors and be looking at for their portfolios.

Steve 14:22

Absolutely. And so that really kind of shifts into what, what they’re speaking about what we could say it’s the elephant in the room, but I think people are yelling and pretty loud, and that’s the recession word recession. And John Kilduff of CNBC contributor and always capital’s founding partner, he breaks down what he says is behind the recession concerns and what factors should be considered. It’s the global recession fear that has really creeped into the calculus for this market. Things are combining here because there’s worries that the Fed may end up doing too much, partly in my view that because of all the fiscal spending, we’ve lost this year, we’re down a trillion dollars. that’s going to be a big hit to the economy, a lot of money’s not going into consumer pockets, and they’re feeling it. And that’s why I think the calculus has changed here over the past several weeks. So, what do you think there? I mean, what is the bottom line?

Brian Quaranta 15:11

Yeah, well, look, I mean, this is, you know, the concern that a lot of economists has had. And this is something called stagflation, where we have high inflation and low growth. I mean, you know, we talked about it in the session before, I mean, these are the things that absolutely need to be considered when building out your portfolio, because these are things that have a direct impact on those that are approaching retirement and going into retirement. So, you have to have ways to solve for these. This is why we choose to work with an active management strategy. But we also believe in protecting money too, you know, there’s ways to shift risk out of your portfolio and hedge against risk by getting some guarantees that help offset any rising interest rate environment, or even low growth environment. And these are things that ultimately will make a big impact. I always say, you know, most people insure just about everything in their life, Steve, they insure their home, they insure their cars, they insure their health, but the one thing they never do is take the time to really ensure that they’re going to be okay, when it comes to retirement. And people just continue to gamble and roll the dice with money they really can’t afford to roll the dice and gamble with. And a lot of people are taking advice from people that think it’s okay to risk money. And I have nothing against risk. But there’s a calculated measure that you have to take when approaching your retirement planning strategy. And this is why our right track retirement report does such a good job in helping you identify the areas of weakness that might exist in your in your current plan. You know, a lot of people that we talk to will always want to know, you know, when is the best time to collect social security. You know, a lot of people will tell me that, you know, they’re not going to be getting a pension from their employer, and they, they, they need to build when themselves, you know, a lot of people are going to be relying on their 401 K, or their IRA for retirement income. You know, and a lot of people today have lost a lot of money in the stock market and aren’t sure whether to stay put or make changes. The Right Track retirement report will give you the insight to be able to make an informed decision on when would be the best time to collect social security, how to generate income from your retirement accounts, whether or not reallocating during current economic conditions would be beneficial to you. If you call today for the next 10 callers, you can schedule your right track discovery session and speak with one of our fiduciary advisors to get you on the right track and start the process of getting your right track retirement report put together so that you have the information you need to make better decisions

Steve 17:32

800-656-8616 10 callers right now, we’ll get that comprehensive financial review. And when you walk out the door, you’re going to have a roadmap that will help get you to where you need to be when it comes to retirement 800-656-8616 800-656-8616

Brian Quaranta 17:48

We often talk about what not to do and getting to retirement this time, we’ve got five things you absolutely should be doing. You don’t want to miss this. It’s next when we come right back with on the money with secure money.

Announcer 18:04

He’s letting the clock run out on his social security to age 70 for maximum benefits. And here comes the Roth conversion. He’s got some outstanding coaching with that lifetime income plan. He’s created his own pension as well. And it looks like he’s going to go ALL! THE! WAY!

Play your best retirement game call BrianQ 800-656-8616. Or text BrianQ to 800-656-8616 Call or text BrianQ to 800-656-8616.

Steve 18:40

And we are back on the money with secure money and Brian Quaranta. I’m consumer advocate Steve and of course, we have reached the final segment of this show. This has been one of the fastest shows ever they always go quick, Brian but what we covered some ground as always. And that’s really you know, I mentioned the website. And that’s where you can kind of get some insight to what you do because it’s more than just a, you know, promotional piece. You guys put information out there you put educational materials out there at your website, securemoneyadvisors.com.

Brian Quaranta 19:10

Yeah, that’s right. Take a visit, folks, because there is a lot of information there. And we also archive our radio shows and our TV shows there. So, you know, if you want to listen to topics on taxes or Social Security, you can probably find a show or two. That dives into that a little bit.

Steve 19:25

Sure. So, let’s talk about your TV show for a second does that I mean, I know what airs on different channels different times that right?

Brian Quaranta 19:32

Yeah, as a matter of fact, if you go to the website, it’ll give you a schedule of what times we’re on. But we’re on Fox, we’re on KTK. And I believe we’re on the CW 22 to the point. So yeah, a lot of different stations. Check it out, you know, on the money with secure money. It’s just a television show version of it. And oh, but do you get to see me? Yeah. And you know, the nice thing is I have other advisors that To, you know, are part of our team here that are also joining me on the show. So, the major one, yep. Neil, and then, you know, we’ve got Michael and Maggie who also, you know, will attend. And it’s great because people get to really kind of see how we think as a team. You know, I think that’s one, one real compliment that we always get is, you know, I can’t tell you how many folks I talked to that say, you know, well, you know, we were with this individual at the, at the firm that we were at, and then he left and then they gave us to this individual. And, you know, this individual wants to make changes, because he didn’t really care for the way the other guy had it. And this is happening within the same company, right? You know, secure money advisors, you’re gonna find a group of people that it wouldn’t matter whether you sat down with me, Neil, Maggie, Michael, you know, we believe in the same philosophies, we believe in those fundamentals. And what’s great about that, is that you’re not just getting one advisor, you’re getting a team of people that are dedicated to helping you achieve your goals and get you through retirement, you know, you know, look, look at what’s happening in the marketplace right now. You know, a lot of volatility, high, high inflation, Ray costs are living through the roof. Our phones are quiet. Why? Because one, my clients get communications from me every single week, we got to a current state of the markets dress coming up, which we do every quarter for our clients. So, we’re engaged. But they also understand that the planning model that we’ve put together for them really helps protect during times like this. And these are the times as a retirement planner. This is what we live for. This is really where we get to really see our work come to life. Because you know, in a in an up market, Steve, every everybody looks like buddy wins. Exactly. Yeah. Now, that doesn’t mean that our portfolios haven’t been a little bit volatile. But we are approaching things differently, because we have a way of creating a buffer account, so that we don’t have to worry about the little bit of volatility we’re seeing right now in our stock market accounts. And that buffer crowd creates so much peace of mind. And it gives the client so much certainty about making it through times like this. And now the client isn’t tasked with the worry, or anxiety of should I get out of the market. You know, when should I sell, we don’t play that game here. Because we’re protecting enough money to protect the first 10 to 20 years of the retirement lifestyle, that we can absorb volatility. And again, when you have inflation rate, that’s eight and a half percent, or probably even higher, volatility does become part of the solution. And everybody understands that until the markets get volatile. Once the markets get volatile, it’s hard for people to deal with that. But it’s typically those that are still taking risk with 100% of their life savings. And in my opinion, that’s the worst thing you could be doing going into retirement or even before retirement. And that’s the biggest mistake that people make

Steve 22:50

sure of folks, if you’d like to avoid that mistake, or at least maybe get some guidance. 800-656-8616. Let’s jump into a couple of these questions here. Well, we’ve got some time Ben is wondering, he says, I’m inheriting a small Ira this year, can I wait until year 10, after the death of my father to take the full distribution? Or do I have to follow a required minimum distribution schedule and take out some every year for 10 years? That’s a pretty common question these days.

Brian Quaranta 23:18

Yeah, the way the IRS rules read is that, you know, you can just wait the 10th year and pull it all out. You know, but then there’s been a lot of mix up lately. There’s like, well, some people say you need to have a schedule. Some people say you need to pull it out in the 10th year, the way we’re understanding it, and you can go the IRS is website on this is that depending on your age, and who you inherit the money from, you do have the ability to leave the money in there and just pull it out in the 10th year.

Steve 23:45

All right, then 800-656-8616 If you’d like to learn a little bit more, let’s go to Jimmy now. And Jimmy says I’m 62 trying to manage what I have in my stocks. And I’ve been looking into annuities. Now this product sounds great because of fixed funds, but I don’t know much about them. What are the pros and cons of annuities versus stocks? Well, you got a couple hours.

Brian Quaranta 24:06

Right. You know, you should get order my book on annuities. But yeah, really, you know, that the, the thing you got to know here is this, you know, there’s no perfect investment out there. And when it comes to annuities, it’s like saying sports car or you know, SUV. Well, there’s a lot of different makes and models. So what type of annuity are we talking about here? Variable Annuity indexed annuity, fixed annuity? I like to have them for retirees I like fixed, and I like index because they do something very important. They guarantee and protect the principal. The variable annuity I don’t like it’s typically high in fees, you still have volatility in the market.

Steve 24:41

800-656-8616. And on that note, Brian, we are up against the clock already.

Brian Quaranta 24:47

That’s right, folks, take advantage of our right track retirement review. No matter what questions you have, we’ll be able to help you. Come on in sit down with us. It’s not very often you get the opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with a fiduciary financial advisor who can help guide aid you and possibly help you improve your situation. So, for the next 10 callers who call in right now we are going to give you a complimentary right track retirement review. Take advantage of this, folks. It’s not very often that you get the opportunity to sit down with somebody come in, you get to ask any questions you want. We’re there to truly help. We’re going to roll up our sleeves, we’ll have a conversation. I’ll show you some. We’ll answer your questions. But I’ll show you some different approaches that you might be able to take, hey, if you if that would fix your problems, and maybe help you be in a better situation. It’s worth 45 minutes of your time. So, what do you have to lose? Call us today? That’s a right track retirement review, no cost, no obligation. Give us a call on schedule today.

Steve 25:38

Make that call while you’re thinking of it, folks. 800-656-8616 10 callers will get that comprehensive financial review and you’ll see where you are today of course, but more importantly, it does become that roadmap. It’s a guide, maybe a GPS point to point directions to get to retirement 800-656-8616 800-656-8616 Well, Brian, as always, it’s a pleasure. The show goes by so quickly, but the information is so important for folks to hear.

Brian Quaranta 26:05

Always a great show Steve and folks we will see you again next week with on the money with secure money.

Announcer 26:17

Investment Advisory services are offered through foundation investment advisors, LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor Brian Quaranta and his guests provide general information not individually targeted, personalized advice and are not liable for the use of drip information. Discuss exposure to ideas and financial vehicles should not be considered investment advice or recommendations, buy or sell any of these financial vehicles. This information should also not be considered tax or legal advice. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested. Any comments regarding safe and secure investments and guaranteed income stream for only two fixed insurance products did not refer in any way to securities or investment advisory products. Fixed insurance and annuity product guarantees are subject to the claims paying ability of the issuing company.

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