Financial advisers target aging population

By Karen Dybis
Detroit News

The graying of America has spawned a new phenomenon: Financial advisers who specialize in helping seniors.

Donald Haas is a registered financial gerontologist at the Center for Financial Gerontology in Southfield, Mich. The ranks of RFGs and other senior-finance specialists are expanding as the population ages. Max Ortiz • Gannett News Service

Advisers bearing newly minted credentials certifying their expertise in the financial, legal and medical issues of retirement and old age are popping up every day as companies look at ways to market products and services to seniors.

Floyd Beaudette, 74, sought out one of those CSAs last year for help with his investments. The Clinton Township, Mich., retiree used a traditional broker for nearly 20 years, but grew weary of market gyrations and big losses, like a $17,000 drop in his Individual Retirement Account in six weeks.

"I can't afford to keep losing money like I was with the other guy," Beaudette said. "You might not make as much, but you don't lose as much, either."

Donald Haas became a Registered Financial Gerontologist at age 72. Half of his clients at Haas Financial Services Inc. in Southfield, Mich., are 65 or older, and their money needs are much different than people who just joined the work force, he said.

"Every one of my retired clients says they want their money to live forever," Haas said. "Our purpose is to help them keep their options open."

With so many new titles popping up, experts say seniors should do their homework to understand what those jumbled letters after a planner's name truly mean. They predict marketing to seniors is likely to step up in the years to come, giving this population greater choice as well as greater opportunity to be scammed.

"(Senior certifications) are becoming very popular among financial advisers," said Nan Mead, spokeswoman for the National Endowment for Financial Education, a nonprofit consumer education group in Greenwood Village, Colo.

While each title has its own unique requirements, "We believe anybody who is providing financial advice who takes the time and effort to receive these credentials is in a better position to deal with seniors than those who don't," Mead said.

Senior advisers say their practices are unique because not only do they have the same training as others in their field, but they also have additional expertise in the emotional and financial needs of an aging population.

For example, Southfield certified elder law attorney James Schuster works only with people with degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

So while any attorney might be able to work up an estate plan, Schuster also helps clients with issues like guardianship, nursing home care and Medicare benefits.

"It is where I wanted to go with the practice of law," said Schuster, one of seven certified elder law attorneys in Michigan. "I help people arrange their affairs so their independence and control is assured."

Seniors and their boomer children also tend to have sizable portfolios, and they look to money managers for help.

"It's a fertile market because of the assets available," said Linda Fisher, director of AARP's National Member Research Department. "Fifty-plus consumers control a disproportionately large share of the nation's wealth, and they are a prime target for financial services of every stripe."