Sign Michigan Banking Moving Checklist Later

Industry sign banking michigan moving checklist now

it's good to see all of you here I have one question can you hear me at the rear and at the flanks okay good thank you all for coming today again my name is Mark Robinson this is what we're going to talk about you being a smarter consumer when you're shopping for financial services now when we go into the marketplace shopping for stuff academics economists and other wonks refer to us as consumers and we also go by other names home buyer car buyer shopper all depends on what consumer hat we have on now as consumers we're also movers and shakers because based on our demand or our lack of demand for particular products and services we can drive the price up or down and we're always shaking up in the marketplace also with our fickleness as well as with our insatiable appetite for newer and better and different stuff to consume now most of us outside of dancing and perhaps solving mathematical equations we think we're pretty good consumers and we've got a good nose for sniffing out quality from lower quality fair pricing from well maybe getting taken now what do smart consumers strive for finding value and finding quality as well as getting a good deal now it's pretty easy to spot value or good deal when you're at the supermarket or at a department store that's easy but it's a lot more difficult in certain other markets particularly financial services it's a market that we enter that makes us uncomfortable overwhelmed and often leaves us uncertain in our ability to recognize value or are we getting a good deal so for most of us stepping out into the financial services marketplace is like stepping out into a different world and the locals there well they talk funny too they use terms like a GI and AMT APR DTI LTV y TM EPS and they call us names to like borrowers depositors annuitants investors tax payers so it's very difficult for us to navigate into that realm it's very uncertain and it's a realm where perhaps we need to be our smartest as a consumer now the question and the challenge here is is how do I be a smart consumer what I don't really understand the product or the service I don't understand the jargon that's being used to explain it to me and I really don't understand the pricing so what is a smart consumer to do you need to start living dangerously ladies and gentlemen you need to start asking questions and often it's the stupid question that is the question that later you wish you asked now you have no problem doing that but you're getting a roof put on the house or you're hiring someone to do the lawn service or put in a patio out back you've got your list of questions for some reason we enter the realm of financial services in a presume subordinate bewildered position and it ought not be that way so for you ask questions get key phrases to write down there isn't ladies and gentlemen one retail bank product one retail loan one retail investment product or investment strategy that cannot be explained to you in a few key phrases now quality financial services providers know that if part of their responsibility to you is to make sure that they are explaining it to you in a way that you understand and can comprehend to your level of satisfaction so make sure that you understand what is being explained to you because if you don't it creates that uneasiness that we've all experienced of not knowing and knowing we don't know and not having that control that you need to be as a consumer as you are supreme in most other realms of shopping you need to be informed aware and in control now things do get a little more complicated in the financial services industry spotting a good value is a lot more different than when we're at a supermarket or a department store and it's more complicated than a box of your favorite cereal but still the responsibility is on you to ask questions because financial services providers are not witch doctors are high priests with special knowledge that you can only obey and follow they want you to ask questions and the better ones count on you asking questions because that's how they distinguish themselves as being a quality financial provider now one of the goals of this program reinventing Michigan retirement is not just to throw more information at you you can be awash in information and still remain ignorant you can have a lot of education and still not know how to apply it when it's most important when someone is trying to convince you to take on a particular investment strategy by a particular product you need to be informed and aware and it starts with you just asking questions in the toolkit that you've all received there are nine checklists in there now why do we like the checklist approach because you take action and there's a sense of empowerment and control by you using a checklist now let's use an example of this you have toolkits we also have workshops that are available for you today so you see how we bring this down here you have the toolkit that you can always refer to it's at your fingertips we have work chips workshops that are being presented today on multiple topics that are a whole range of a very interesting programs and for those of you that have signed up for one-on-one presentations those are available to you also with some of the best people in the industry presenting those to you today now let's talk about quality financial services providers now they're out there and they distinguish themselves by providing you with the utmost of professionalism the utmost of services and quality products also and they want you to ask questions and if you're not getting that do another thing that consumers do you vote with your feet and go to someone else because in your community there are many financial services providers that are willing to engage you and would esteem it a privilege to handle your money and have a relationship that is built upon openness accountability and fair play now we can call that all sorts of legal things but what do you call it just treat me right okay and that's what you should be expecting as a consumer now when we get to we've lost a let's look at this with the with the consumers dealing with a financial advisor because when you're in financial service and you have a brokerage account ultimately that broker is going to recommend investments for you now these four points here have you in complete control and it's very simple what's the purpose of the investment is it appropriate for me now these are all things that a good advisor in the dialogue with you will explain to you but just by answering these questions and getting the answers to these you are in complete control and it always comes down to what do I own why do I own it and what is it costing me that was a consumer that puts a big bow on it for you so the checklists that are within the toolkit all function pretty much this way those action items that you need to be more informed aware and in control and as I had mentioned earlier one of the themes of this whole program here is to give you general information more focused information with the workshops that are being taken place and for those of you that are on one-on-one counseling make sure you have your questions prepared because you have some of the best people in the industry addressing that for you now there are many advisers and bankers and CPAs that recognize the value of their relationship to you and it goes almost like this you have guardian Ward trustee beneficiary advisor client and they understand almost the social imperative of making sure that when you interface with these people that they are working in your best interest how do you help ask questions thank you all so much