On May 2, Bob Fragasso, Debbie Graver, Andrei Voicu and Dan Dingus began teaching a six-week course for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program at Carnegie Mellon University titled “Can I Afford to Retire in this Rapidly Changing Global Environment?”
The Osher Institute describes itself as a gathering of people eager to extend education in their senior years. Any adult in the Pittsburgh area can sign up.
The topics we discuss in this class are exactly the types of important discussions we have with our clients on a daily basis. Like the students we instruct, our investors have legitimate concerns about whether they have enough money to retire comfortably.
That’s why it’s personal, not just business, when it comes to diligently managing and caring for the retirement future of our clients. It’s no understatement to say that their physical, mental and emotional well being is at stake with these decisions. We take that responsibility seriously and take on the duties of acting as their fiduciary with vigor.
Our investment in education, so to speak, doesn’t end with clients or soon-to-be retirees either.
In an interview for the Post-Gazette last fall, Bob Fragasso spoke at length with reporter Tim Grant about how schools aren’t doing enough to teach children about what I’d call basic financial literacy.
Fragasso Financial Advisors sponsors an elective course at Urban Pathways Charter School downtown, educating high school students about personal finance. If 60-year-old, otherwise well-educated adults have a need for this type of instruction, it’s obvious we need to be reaching out to teenagers by the time they are 16 or younger.
Most high school students across the country can receive their diplomas without taking a single course on basic financial principles. As Tim so astutely pointed out, less than 3 percent of Pittsburgh area high school students have access to a class on financial education, in spite of the fact that nearly all of us are increasingly being called upon by our employers to fund our own retirement.
While it’s never too late to learn about proper personal financial management, I’ve long felt Americans are hamstrung almost from the beginning of their educational experiences when it comes to learning about money management. It’s essential we do more to help people at all stages of their lives learn how to more properly evaluate their finances.
If you want to learn more about what it takes to affordably retire and how Fragasso Financial Advisors can help, we’re happy to provide that education. We embrace that opportunity for our clients and the entire Pittsburgh community.
Ray Amelio is chief marketing officer at Fragasso Financial Advisors, a Pittsburgh-based investment and financial planning firm. Due to industry regulations, comments are not permitted on this blog. If you would like to contact the author, please email us at blog@fragassoadvisors.com. Bob can also be reached for comment at 412-227-3200.