Free financial Seminars?

[youbet]

Some of the same guys who put on the "info-dinners" also give one hour "seminars" (they're more like info-mercials) at our library. You miss the free dinner by going to the library instead of the restaurant but you are allowed total anonymity. You never have add your name to a sign up list to attend as you do at the restaurants. You are free to contact the presenter afterwards if you wish, but the presenter has zero info on you so no worry about follow-up phone calls or email. I attended one session on estate planning given by a local elder-attorney which was pretty good. He spoke for an hour, passed out some good info and stayed long beyond the scheduled time answering questions for folks. He had a stack of business cards on the table by the door, otherwise no selling. But, no free dinner.

 

[Hyperborea]

I've never attended one of these, but I admit to being curious. In my area, there is no standard minimum investable assets to qualify. I've seen $500k, $1M, and $2M.

Does the meal quality improve with the rise in assets required?

 

[youbet]

I've never attended one of these, but I admit to being curious. In my area, there is no standard minimum investable assets to qualify. I've seen $500k, $1M, and $2M.

In our area, the only qualifier your need is a mailbox to receive the advertisement. I don't know how they assemble the mailing lists so maybe they have some clue you don't live in a box under a bridge when they send the invite to you. My 93 yr old MIL, who lives in a NH and is now on Medicaid, gets these mailers so they can't be too selective. MIL's only invest-able asset is the nickle DW found in the bottom of an old purse while cleaning out MIL's closet.

 

[Car-Guy]

For several years before I retired, I went to a number of these (maybe 1 out of 5 free offers) but I only went when they were held at top notch restaurants. Sorry, no Golden Corrals, Luby's etc for me. I never had any intentions of giving them my money to manage but I went to hear what they had to say. (You never know what you might learn) After attending 4 or 5 of these, I realized they were all saying pretty much the same thing. And while the lunches or dinners were usually pretty good, it wasn't worth hearing the same things over and over after a while. I'd usually go with one or more people that I knew. I often found their comments/observations of the presentations of more interest and value. YMMV.