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Flirting with Risk

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Flirting With Risk

When Mary Owens’ husband, Ralph, passed away about three months ago he left behind a small fortune, which he had accumulated by living a very thrifty life and by investing in common stocks. Ralph had worked s an engineer for a surgical instruments manufacturer for over 30 years and had taken full advantage of the company’s voluntary retirement savings plan. However, instead of buying a diversified set of investment he had invested his money into a few high growth companies. Over time his investment portfolio had growth to about $900,000 being primarily comprised of the stocks of 3 companies. He was very fortunate that his selections turned out to be good ones and after numerous stock-splits the prices of the three companies had appreciated significantly over time.

Mary, on the other hand, was a very conservative and cautious person. She had devoted her lie to being a stay-home mom and had raised their two kinds into fine adults, each of whom had a fairly successful career. Jim, 28, had followed in Ralph’s footsteps. In addition to being gainfully employed as engineer, he was pursuing an MBA at a prestigious business school. Annette, 26, was completing her residency at a major metropolitan hospital. Although Mary and Ralph had enjoyed a wonderful married life, it was Ralph who managed almost all the financial affairs of their family. Mary, like many spouses of their generation, preferred to focus on other family matters.

It was only after Ralph’s passing on that Mary realized how unprepared she was for the complex decisions that have to be made when managing one’s wealth. Upon the advice of her close friend, Agnes, Mary decided to call the broker’s office and requested that her account be turned over to Bill May, the firm’s senior financial advisor. Agnes, a widow herself, had been very happy with Bill’s advice and professionalism. He had

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