Put your money where the growth is
Her advice to fellow members of the Cedar Crest community is far from yraditional. While many financial advisors tell seniors to keep their money in conservative securities like bonds, Bezem encourages people who attend her group to be more aggressive, by putting their money in stocks and similar investments. She knows firsthand that the biggest financial issue facing seniors today is that “[they’re] living longer. They think they’ve got enough money to carry them, but they don’t really know,” she says.
To that end, she’s advised people to buy “put” options on a particular stock. “A put is the option that you think a stock is going to go down in value,” she says. “The put entitles you to sell that particular stock without owning it. When you exercise the put, you’re selling the put to some other person, and making money.”
Investments like five-year preferred stocks are also high on her list of recommendations because they provide “good cash flow.” She doesn’t eschew the more conservative investments like bonds and laddered CDs, but she advises residents to buy into a combination of investments with an eye toward growth.
The biggest piece of advice she gives to residents, however, is to hold onto their money and not be persuaded to transfer their estate over to their children or grandchildren.
It’s risky, she says, because “the kids and grandkids sometimes ‘pretend’ it’s their own and use it as they would like. They don’t have their parents’ saving ways, and they feel that their parents scrimped and saved for their benefit, rather than their parents’ benefit.”
Staying current
Leo Raven, who regularly attends the Money Matters seminars, likes the conversations that are generated in the forum. “Some people are making decisions. She answers questions that are being put on the table,” he says. “She’s lively and up-to-date.”
He especially likes having spirited conversations with Bezem about the changing financial world, including the prices of crude oil and real estate. “The way the banks and government react to these things is completely new— that’s never happened before. It opens up new avenues to today’s financial world,” he says.
The biggest thing that surprises him about Arlene Bezem, though, isn’t her approach to finance—it’s that underneath those hats, “she has a lot of hair,” he says. “I had no idea. Light brown and reddish-grey.”
Toasting the future
With her distinctive look and financial know-how, Bezem makes appearances on Mountain View, a panel show produced by Cedar Crest’s on-campus TV station. She also happily advises people on an individual basis. From leading seminars to speaking on-screen, her basic philosophy doesn’t change.
She says, “At dinner, my toast to new people is, ‘Number one, may you never outlive your money. Number two, don’t give your money to your kids . . . and may you live long and prosper—I’ll help you in any way to do that.’”