Kathleen Godfrey, president of Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. of Latham, this morning will ring the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange.

Godfrey, and others who will join her at the podium, are representing Women in Insurance and Financial Services, the national group of which Godfrey is past president. The organization is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

“The WIFS is a big part of my professional life,” said Godfrey, who founded her firm in 1995 and now has about $50 million under management. “This organization is responsible, in large part, for my success and tenacity.”

She noted that only about 13 percent of financial advisers are women, so “it can be lonely. There aren’t many role models. It was great to meet these women who could give me advice, who took an interest in my success.”

Godfrey was named president of WIFS in October 2009.

Visit this article on the The Business Review

 On Tuesday, September 27th our recent Pearls of Wisdom informational meeting took place.  We had a great turn out, thanks to our guests.  Our guest speaker put on a thorough and thought provoking presentation about Social Security and understanding the benefits.   The following are a few topics that were touched on:

• How Social Security Determines You Benefit
• When are benefits paid
• Medicare
• How you apply for Social Security Benefits

Thank you for all our guests that attended this Pearls of Wisdom meeting!  Keep checking back for our next event.  We hope to see you soon!

Sponsered by Godfrey Financial Associates, Inc.

Please stay tuned for the next upcoming event….

• Identity Theft
• Tax Planning
• Estate Planning

This is not your typical financial seminar!  You’ll leave with information not a pitch to buy financial products you don’t want and don’t understand.  In other words, there are no strings attached.

Pearls of Wisdom is sponsored by Godfrey Financial Associates, an independent Registered Investment Advisory firm.  We are dedicated to providing quality programs and services for women of the Capital District.

Please check out our community and events page to get the date and time to our next program.

• we are beholden only to our clients
• we operate under strict fiduciary standards
• our advice is delivered in a manner that is personal, objective, competent, ethical and confidential

Stock markets resumed their steep drop Wednesday, losing 450 points and sending the Dow Jones industrial average down 7 percent since Monday. Another $700 billion in investments vanished, according to The Associated Press.

How do investors on Main Street protect themselves? The Times Union gathered a panel of experts to talk about what consumers should be doing with their savings, investment and retirement accounts in the wake of this week’s turmoil on Wall Street. Our panel included Hugh Johnson, chairman and CEO of Albany-based Johnson Illington Advisors LLC, assisted by Abigail Doolittle, the firm’s director of business development; Lynn Wright Barnes, owner of Wright & Barnes Investments in Schenectady; Bill Losey, a certified financial planner who heads his own advisory firm in Wilton; and Kathleen Godfrey, president of Godfrey Financial Associates in Latham. Their responses have been edited and condensed.

Q. How do I figure out where my money is invested, particularly if it’s in mutual funds?

Johnson advises visiting the Web site of each fund’s family, such as Vanguard or Fidelity, find the tab for your funds and then look at the most recent quarterly prospectus for the listing of securities actually held.

Barnes says there may be a lag of three months for the reports. Losey said an index fund will have few, if any, changes through the year.

Q. How concerned should I be about my retirement accounts, my 401(k) or my 403(b), if they’re managed by Merrill Lynch, Lehman or AIG?

The FDIC (the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.) backs up $250,000 cash/cash equivalents in retirement accounts, says Johnson.

Investments with nearly all big investment houses and brokers are protected by the SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corp.), which covers stocks, bonds and other assets with the exception of futures or commodity contracts held at a brokerage, and covers up to $500,000 per account including a $100,000 limit on cash.

Money market funds are considered funds and not cash, Johnson adds. In addition, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has stringent rules about segregating the broker’s money from the customer’s investments so even if a broker-dealer/bank/firm goes into default, it is likely that an individual investor’s assets will remain intact.

Q. How about my IRA at my local bank?

“Retirement accounts are insured up to $250,000,” said Losey. He also suggests visiting EDIE – the FDIC’s online tool to check coverage – if you have multiple accounts and more than $100,000. (http://www.fdic.gov/edie/)

Barnes suggests checking with the individual bank to see how it aggregates the various accounts you have there.

Q. How do I gauge my exposure risk?

“If your fund’s primary objective is to invest in the financial markets, then your investments are – right now – going to be suffering quite badly,” says Godfrey. “If you’re invested in a fund that’s more diversified – not a ‘sector-specific’ fund – then your risk may be mitigated somewhat.”

Said Losey: “Market volatility is normal and expected. There is a direct correlation between risk and return … People need to find a middle ground that will allow them to sleep at night.”

Q. Under what conditions should I consider moving my investments? When should I leave them alone?

“Selling investments during a economic crisis is generally a very bad financial strategy,” said Godfrey. “It’s important to speak with your financial adviser if you are feeling anxious over your investments, rather than to make a rash decision that you might regret when things begin to turn around.”

“If your firm is not in good standing with SIPC,” said Johnson, “you will want to consider moving your assets.

Another possible warning sign to move your investments is if you receive late or inaccurate statements without some sort of explanation,” he added. “Always keep your statements in the case that you ever need to make a claim about what is in your account. If your firm is in good standing with SIPC and you have a good relationship with your broker/adviser, it probably makes sense to stay put.”

Q. What are the risks that the crisis could spread to other financial services companies?

“It’s likely and will probably get worse before it gets better,” said Losey. But he says an improved financial system ultimately will result.

Johnson said the reality of the risk spreading “comes down to institution by institution and how much exposure each has to bad real estate bets … along with complex derivative products which make bets on the health of other financial institutions. The latter are mainly unregulated, had been very lucrative, and were used also for hedging purposes.”

Q. What questions should I be asking my financial adviser?

“How diversified are my investments?” suggests Godfrey.

“Does my portfolio have exposure to Lehman or AIG? How will this exposure hurt my performance? Is my money market safe?” suggests Losey.

Q. Are there some types of investments that you would recommend? What would you avoid?

“It really depends on an individual’s ability to stomach volatility in the markets,” said Johnson. “If an individual can handle market swings, it may make sense to invest in a basic large-cap index fund or to buy high-quality blue chip stocks. If an individual is more conservative by nature, Treasuries make a lot of sense since they have the full backing of the U.S. government.”