We go a couple of times a year. The most recent was only about three weeks ago. Our rep at our brokerage invited us and about a dozen other folks to dinner at the local Ruth's Chris Steak House. There was a speaker from the brokerage who spoke briefly on estate planning and it was indeed a very interesting (and brief) presentation.
Even more interesting was my conversation with a gent sitting next to me whose financial background was primarily starting his own company (engineering based) in which he is now a stock holder. He seemed genuinely interested in my background where a factory worker and his elementary school teacher wife became financially independent despite never having an inheritance, winning the lottery or having any other big win. Very interesting!
The closest thing to a sales pitch that evening was our brokerage rep stopping by very briefly to shake my hand and just say "thanks for being our customer, we appreciate your business." And I'm strictly a DIY investor holding my investments at a discount brokerage using absolutely zero services that aren't free.
We never, ever, not once, not ever, NEVER, attend dinners with a sales pitch involved. Ugh! Life is too short. But these occasional Schwab gatherings are fun because we meet other retired couples who have done well and, if you hit it off with them in conversation at your table, might share their story in general terms.
