Alan Blecker, a former CPA and CFP, explains how the financial advisory industry prioritizes advisor fees over client education, leaving even sophisticated people like a 61-year-old former CFO without basic budgeting skills. He argues that financial professionals rarely teach their own families money management, and that most Americans lack fundamental wealth literacy.
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One of my first realizations was people didn't understand money, and I didn't either.
Today's guest is Alan Blecker. He's a former CPA, CLU, CHFC, and someone who spent decades around Wall Street long enough to see where money's quietly leaking out of people's lives and how to stop it.
I didn't even realize how I was being used or abused. They know nothing about everything, and they're just victims. I graduated college in 1974, started working for the 9th largest CPA firm and worked in 3 of their 4 departments. I did 6 months of auditing, a year and a half of tax, and a year of small business. Went to a small firm in 1977, did that for 2 years, then started my own CPA firm in 1979. No sooner did I graduate, start getting clients through the through marketing, through joining the Rotary, hanging out at certainly restaurants that had people going there. But people didn't understand money. But I also realized I didn't either. So one of my first realizations was people didn't understand money and I didn't either. I immediately said, okay, well, what are we gonna do here? And I got into being a CFP, a Certified Financial Planner, in 1984. I thought that this was the best thing since sliced gold. It was good for me because it would help me to educate myself and then educate people. Well, many years later, I found out that was nothing more than an organization set up to accumulate money to be put under management for fees. Hmm. An organization that I thought was educational and was put there to help people wasn't there to put for education and wasn't there to put help people, middle-class Americans. It was put there to help the advisors and their employers, Wall Street. What a realization. I happened to meet up through one of my Rotary meetings with a man. He was in the mutual fund sales business, but he also got into doing private placements. And he contacts me one time and he says, Alan, but he says, I could use your services. Well, what do you do? Well, I sell private placements, mutual funds, etc., limited partnerships. This is, this is in like 1980, '81, he was referring clients to me, his clients, so I can do a mathematical tax calculation of how many losses his client can absorb in a year. He said— Interesting approach, right? I thought it was genius on his part. I didn't even realize how I was being used or abused, but But then if you're asking things that haven't changed, well, the desire to not educate, abuse average working middle class people, keep them working, that has not changed. And education or the lack of it has not changed. You and I, the three of us, we can go anywhere around, set up a forum, get a room, and, and just ask less people off the street, have them come in, set up some— they know nothing about everything, and they're just victims. So being victims also hasn't changed.
Look, we all think that we should be paying only your fair share in taxes. Just so happens I think your fair share is lower than probably what you're paying now. Well, we talk a little bit about that in our book, Keep Taxes Away from Your Wealth. You can get a copy and access to the bonuses by going to keeptaxesaway.com. That's keeptaxesaway.com. Head on over there and pick up a copy today.
It's interesting. I had a conversation this week with a wonderful lady who's going to look at implementing the process of becoming your own banker. And 61 years young, had an accounting background, was, you know, CFP and everything, and was a CFO for multiple companies, helped companies go public. She says, I'm unbelievable with other people's money. I don't know, I've never paid attention and looked at how to manage my own. So here, having a sobering thing shifted her life, you know, actually got rid of her designation, about to launch a new business in a coaching model around some female empowerment stuff. Very cool, wonderful conversation. But just taking accountability for her role of the past and the awareness and knowledge that comes with that presence of mind of time to be able to say, I'm ready to begin this process now and to being a constant student. In a way, I was really inspired by it. And I just thought, it's so interesting what you're sharing, Alan, your experience, your life experience. Here's a gal, amazing work at having her knowledge base in accounting to apply it to the business structure and managing people and, and growing an organization as a CFO, but not actually doing any of that CFO-related work for herself and her own family.
Yeah, much like the shoemaker. You know, shoemakers' children have no shoes. You know, attorneys, you know, people make money in a vocation.
The insurance agent who doesn't own any of his own insurance.
Exactly. No, it's true. It's true. People can barely survive. If you and I, if we were to pick these average people, 20, 25 people and get data forms on them, they have debt, they have credit card debt, they don't have a budget. You know, they don't know what their assets are, what they own, what they owe. They have no idea where they're going. You know, Dan Sullivan would say, well, where are you? Well, I'm here at about $100,000. Where are you going to be in 3 years? $300,000. Where are you going to be in 5 years? $500,000. And you know, Dan would say, why so long? People have no idea where they're going. They have no idea where they are. Fundamental stuff. You're absolutely correct. They, they don't know what— where they are. They don't know where they're going. And if you don't know where you are, you don't know where you're going, how are you going to get there?
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