Red Alert
I rarely sent out Red Alert newsletters, but this one is a must.
While The Wealth Preservation Institute is the only non-biased educator on asset protection in the country, as many of you know, there are many advisors out there pitching asset protection programs I do not think work and are tantamount to scams.
One of the biggest marketers of asset protection plans is Bill Reed, JD. Recently, Federal agents came to Mr. Reeds office, put pad locks on the doors and seized all his files. I took the following comments off of an asset protection chat room from an advisor who paid $9,800 to be “trained” by Mr. Reed.
“I was personally present on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 19th when the locksmith was changing the front door lock and a representative from Robb Evans (Receiver) was seizing the office and its contents. I had flown in to receive my refresher training on the 20th and decided to stop by the day before to confirm the class. Kim was rather speechless. Bill and Rick were not there.”
There are many amazing things about the Bill Reed story. Mr. Reed is a disbarred attorney who managed to sell what I would consider an asset protection plan that doesn’t work to 1,930 advisors. Mr. Reed’s model seemed to be a bit of a multi-level marketing plan and that appears to be why his files were seized.
From what I know, Mr. Reed charged advisors $9,800 to be “trained” on his asset protection model. Then the advisors would go out and sell asset protection to clients. When they sold X amount of cases, they would get their $9,800 back and then could start making a profit on future clients.
The funny thing, and the reason for the FTC to get involved, is that 1809 of the 1930 consultants did NOT sell enough asset protection plans to get back their $9,800 investment. This is a classic marketing case where the marketer makes all the money (Bill Reed) and those who purchased his services in hopes of making it rich as an asset protection expert made virtually no money and paid a large $9,800 to be trained.
If it sounds too good….
What’s the moral of this story? There are several.
1) if it sounds to good to be true, it is. There is NO easy way to get rich (whether it is with asset protection planning, insurance, finance, law or accounting). If there were a get rich scheme that worked everyone would be doing it.
Bill Reed plays upon the greed and ignorance of the agents buying into his sales system. Advisors listen to Bill’s sales approach about how much money they can make and therefore the fact that his plan to nearly everyone in the asset protection industry is garbage and doesn’t work gets overlooked because of the greed of the advisors buying into the system. Whether it’s asset protection or anything else, if it sounds too good to be true, it is, and you need to view it with a critical eye not a greedy one.
2) Do your research, do your research, do your research. If you are going to pay $9,800 to work with an advisor or their team, do some research. If the advisors buying into the Bill Reed sale’s approach would have done their research, they would have found out he is a disbarred attorney. Why would anyone want to work with someone who’s been disbarred? GREED. The funny thing is that those who did know about his disbarment defended him. Why? GREED. It was in an advisor’s best interest to defend him because the advisor thought by work! ing with Mr. Reed they could make their first million.
3) Protect your client at all cost. Thank your lucky stars if you are not one of the 1,930 advisors who will forever be associated with Mr. Reed. What’s the best way to flush your reputation down the toilet? Tell your high income/net worth clients you work with a nationally known asset protection guru, make sure your credibility is tied to his credibility and then have the Federal Trade Commission come put a pad lock on his doors and seize of his client files.&n! bsp;
What is that going to do for your reputation? How many current clients would you loose over being invovled with this? How many future clients will you not be able to cultivate because you are now associated in a national asset protection disaster? Don’t let GREED get the better of you. Protect your clients first and you can’t go wrong.
If you want to read the actual complaint by the FTC, please click here.
If you want to read the comments by the receiver and a copy of the agreement Mr. Reed had advisors sign where he charged them $9,800, please click here.
Finally
The bottom line with asset protection is that it’s not difficult to learn. The problem is that most people either don’t learn it or learn it from a “vendor” like Bill Reed. When choosing and advisor, it is best to use a CWPP or CAPP advisor who has also been certified by the Asset Protection Society.
Roccy DeFrancesco, JD, CWPP™, CAPP™
Founder, The Wealth Preservation Institute
Co-Founder, The Asset Protection Society
378 River Run Dr.
St. Joseph, MI 49085
269-216-9978
269-983-6917 (fax)
www.assetprotectionsociety.org
Are you a CWPP™ or CAPP™? To learn more about the CWPP™ and CAPP™ certification courses and how to take your consulting to the “next level” go to www.thewpi.org.
Author of The Doctor’s Wealth Preservation Guide which can be purchased for $49.95 from The WPI at info@thewpi.org.
Circular 230 disclaimer: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.