Joe Petry • Latham, NY
CPR Investments, Inc.
My practice serves clients of all sizes, but over the last few years I have found a niche segment that is definitely underserved.
My firm is located in the Albany, New York, area, which is the state’s capitol. There are many local, state, and federal government employees living and working here. They all have some form of pension, retirement, or deferred compensation plan, and my firm is always looking to find a role in advising employees on their plans and investments.
This is a highly regulated area, and it can be a maze of investment options for these employees to navigate. If we are just talking about the New York State Deferred Compensation Plan, which is technically a 457 plan, I have seen estimates that there are over 3,000 potential investment choices for employees.
One of the options available is the Personal Choice Retirement Account (PCRA) window. To put it simply, this allows the employee to opt in to the PCRA and then utilize a money-management firm. My best guess is that fewer than 1% of state employees even know that this exists. They primarily are familiar with large target-date funds and unaware that they could be having professional money management applied to their retirement accounts.
The response has been excellent and generates a great deal of positive word-of-mouth referrals. Employees of the boomer generation especially like the idea of having their money managed with some degree of risk management applied and not having to worry as much about the next market crash or bear market.
I take this same concept to 401(k) or 403(b) plans—any defined contribution plan where the employee has the choice option. I particularly like the fact that in most cases there is a very low account minimum, and the employee can still see the benefits of professional active money management. Ultimately, this can lead to larger accounts under management and perhaps also building a relationship that goes beyond the retirement plan itself.
Disclosure: Joseph W. Petry Sr. is an investment advisor representative. Investment advisory services offered through CPR Investments Inc. 5746 24 Mile Rd, Shelby Twp., MI 48316 (800) 213-1164. Joseph W. Petry Sr. is a registered representative of and securities offered through Ausdal Financial Partners, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. 5187 Utica Ridge Rd, Davenport, IA 52807 (563) 326-2064. CPR Investments Inc. and Ausdal Financial Partners are separately owned and operated and do not offer legal or tax advice.
Photography by Mitch Wojnarowicz
