Good Neighbor Podcast: Port Saint Lucie

E329: The Path to Protecting Your Retirement Savings with Neil Magenheim

• Benjamin John & Security First Financial LLC • Episode 329

Share episode

Neil Magenheim of Security First Financial shares how his company specializes in protecting and growing clients' savings through modern annuity products with zero fees and guaranteed principal protection. From following his childhood dream of working in finance despite a Crohn's disease diagnosis to helping teachers optimize their pensions, Neil explains how today's annuities differ dramatically from their high-fee predecessors.

• Specializes in protecting and growing retirement savings with modern annuity products offering zero fees
• Products guarantee principal protection with a 0% floor while still allowing market gains
• Primary target market is individuals 45 and older approaching retirement who can't risk market downturns
• Built business through word-of-mouth from satisfied clients rather than advertising
• Contracted with nine different state pension systems to help educators with retirement planning
• Persevered through Crohn's disease and four surgeries to eventually follow his finance dreams 25 years later
• Most "annuities are bad" advertisements are actually bait-and-switch tactics from companies selling annuities

Learn more at securityfirstfinancial.org or contact Neil directly at 732-210-6916.


Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Benjamin John.

Speaker 2:

Welcome back to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Hey, are you in need of a reliable person to help you grow and protect your savings? Something very unique. Well, there may be someone who specializes in that closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing Neil Magenheim over at Security First Financial LLC. Good morning, neil. How are you doing?

Speaker 3:

Morning Ben Good. How are you? How was the weekend?

Speaker 2:

Oh, weekend was great, today's great, morning's great, so I can't complain. Thanks for asking. Well, thanks for jumping on with us. I'm excited to kind of learn more about Security First Financial and, of course, kind of give you the opportunity to explain what the company is all about. So let's start with that. Can you tell us a little bit about Security First Financial?

Speaker 3:

It's a brokerage where, as you had so eloquently put it, we protect and grow our clients' savings. That's probably 90 to 95% of my business. I do a little bit of life insurance also but mainly it's protecting and growing our clients' savings.

Speaker 2:

Okay, which sounds like it's very important. I don't need to explain that to people. So that's a service that's needed. I would say yeah.

Speaker 3:

Especially when you look at what's going on in the markets in March. Protecting what you've earned and what you've saved is so important.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. How did you get into the business, Neil?

Speaker 3:

Probably a little different story than most people. My dad worked on Wall Street and probably from the time I was five or six, I started asking him a million questions like a lot of five and six-year-olds, but I don't think typical questions are about finance. He knew how interested I was in it. Fast forward, seven years later, as the questions became more specific, my dad took me to work one day, which was no small fee because I was never allowed to miss school and it was a school day obviously because the markets were open. They took me to work.

Speaker 3:

And by the time I left that day I knew finance was where I wanted to be. Two months after that day I was unfortunate enough to come down with Crohn's disease, which is intestinal disorder. The number one trigger for me has always been I think for a lot of people with Crohn's is stress, and my dad knew that it's stressful enough handling your own finances, never mind somebody else's, so he kind of steered me away from that business, knowing that he himself was on blood pressure medication by the time he was in his late 30s. So I worked for a large company for 25 years and got an offer I couldn't refuse in 2002, left that company and I had learned how to have between doctors and myself, really had the Crohn's in control and I kind of said to myself better late than never, went back to school, got my certification in financial planning and here I am today. So that was the journey. I waited 25 years to get, to do what I knew I loved and still doing it today.

Speaker 2:

That's very cool. That's a powerful story and I like that. Thank you. Well, now you've been in the industry for some time. What are some myths or misconceptions you've come across industry?

Speaker 3:

for some time. What are some myths or misconceptions you've come across, so that the main product that I offer that protects savings and grows it are annuities and people hear that word. There's so much negative publicity out there about annuities and probably even seven, eight years ago they weren't very good products. There were very few products out there that allowed you to protect. So, in other words, if you were invested in a particular direction in the stock market and it went down, the value of your account went down. There were also exorbitant fees with those products. But that has all changed and that's what I the misconception.

Speaker 3:

Now there are products out there, many products, that 100% protect. Whatever. Whether it's somebody that has a 401k that is retiring and they roll it over into something like that, it's 100% protected. So if they're invested in the market and the particular direction that investment goes down, a floor kicks in. That floor is 0%. They can't lose money. There are limited gains. That's the give back for having full protection, but you can still grow your savings. So they're just products out there. I don't think people realize because there's so much negative publicity about annuities and again, seven, eight years ago, there should have been these products today. And also there are no fees. Unlike the products seven, eight, 10, 20 years ago even had exorbitant fees, there are no fees in my product.

Speaker 2:

Nice, okay, very nice. Well, yeah, it sounds like you've like. After you've been through this for some so many years, you're definitely going to start seeing some of those myths you're talking about. So who are your target customers right now and how are you tracking them?

Speaker 3:

and older, as you approach retirement, your timing on a market. If a market should crash as we all know there are cycles where it happens you don't have as much time to make up for that. So if you're worth half a million dollars and the market goes down 30%, you're now worth $350,000. Now you're close to not working, so it's tough to make it up. So anyone 40, 45 and older is the target market for that product.

Speaker 2:

Okay and um I'm sorry, I'm sorry, what's?

Speaker 3:

that question, um was how I target them. Um, I don't do any advertising. Um, the number one way is word of mouth with my existing clients. Um, and it's especially important because when you tell somebody you can invest in the market and I'm guaranteeing you that you're not going to lose money, but if your investment goes up you're going to make money, the reaction is, wow, that sounds too good to be true, and I was always taught if it sounds too good to be true, it's not true. That's the benefit of having an existing client referring new clients to me. So I don't do any advertising.

Speaker 3:

Most of my business comes from existing clientele. I also am affiliated with a teacher retirement group. I'm actually contracted in nine different state pension systems. The reason I originally got into that was my wife is a retired elementary school music teacher, so I was intimately knowledgeable with her pension system and it's amazing what people don't know about their pensions and about finances. So I was helping a lot of her coworkers and friends out, and that's another part of my business where I will help the teachers or school or anyone that works for a school system, a state worker, with their pensions. So I get some business that way also.

Speaker 2:

Oh cool. Well, very good, I'm going to switch gears on you here real quick. Can you describe a hardship or a life challenge you've been through that's made you stronger?

Speaker 3:

Well, I think I already mentioned that and that's, you know, the disease I've dealt with. Now my math should be pretty good, considering what I do for 57 years. It, just, it, just. You want to give up. You know I have I've had four surgeries and I've had times where six months later, after a surgery it was Crohn's was back in full force. You know you want to give up, but I just won't do it. I never will. And, and that's that's the number one thing I, you know three kids. I've taught them that, no matter what, don't ever give up on your dreams. And uh, but Crohn's is what I've overcome. And uh, get me where I am today.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and that's a great story too, and I'm happy that, um, you have overcame it, cause it sounds like it's uh, it's some tough adversity to go through.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, not easy, and anyone out there that has it knows what I'm talking about.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, neil, tell our listeners one thing they should remember about Security First Financial and how they can learn more about the company.

Speaker 3:

All right. So one of the things I had previously mentioned again, the number one product I deal with are annuities are bad for you. Nine out of 10 of those ads are what are called bait and switch ads. If you actually clicked on it and opened it, those people are trying to sell you annuities. They're baiting you in to find out what's wrong with annuities when actually they're selling annuities. So if you see a lot of those ads, what you need to know is that they're actually offering annuities. Their headline is negative, but their story is not negative, and that's again, that's 95% of my business. So that's what I'd like people to know about it Nice.

Speaker 2:

How can they learn more about the company too?

Speaker 3:

You can either go to my website, which is easy to remember, it's securityfirstfinancialorg. You can contact me directly. My direct line is 732-210-6916. There's a lot about the products that we offer on the website and there's also a contact button where you can contact me that way.

Speaker 2:

Okay, perfect. Well, there you go, neil. I really appreciate you making time and sharing a little bit about you and your company and how to get a hold of you if they need to utilize your services. We wish you and your business the best, moving forward, okay.

Speaker 3:

Thank you, Ben. I appreciate you having me on.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPPortStLucycom. That's GNPPortStLucycom, or call 772-303-1036.