By LouAnn Schulfer, AWMA, AIF, Accredited Wealth Management AdvisorSM, Accredited Investment Fiduciary

I have been writing financial and retirement related articles that have been published for about five years. The topics for my articles come from my experiences in meeting with my clients. I love that magic moment when a lightbulb goes on or when I hear “I have some questions for you”, I can’t help but be inspired knowing there must be others who’d benefit from the same information. The greatest validation is when people reach out to me because of a specific topic, or tell me they’ve cut out the article to save. Investing money is complex. Rules, there are many. Retirement is a big deal. I need to know my articles are reaching the right people. I need the best news source available.

I am excited to announce that going forward, my exclusive local source is the Stevens Point City Times. I choose to partner with the City Times for significant reasons. Most important, Independence: like Schulfer & Associates, LLC Financial Professionals, the City Times is an independent news source. We are not controlled by corporate directives or quotas. We have no proprietary products to sell or underlying business relationships to promote, therefore we are objective. Content reported is based on research and local experiences that are entirely relevant to the people in our area.

Marketing approach: we do not use shock tactics or scare strategies. We do not manipulate data or bring together uncorrelated information to mislead people into believing something that is unrealistic, particularly to influence decision making. While statistics may not lie, how they are presented can be entirely misleading. For example, we could point out that the majority of people involved in auto accidents were wearing denim jeans at the time. While that may be true, wearing jeans does not cause auto accidents and therefore even if you were to change your behavior and spend your money on an entirely new denim free wardrobe, it would not reduce your chances of being involved in an auto accident.

Community focus. My husband and I have very deep roots in Central Wisconsin. Generations of our families have been born and raised here. We volunteer for organizations in our community. What happens locally matters. Partnering with a news source whose central focus is our very own community is concentric with our own values.

Commitment to technology while retaining fundamentals. I like that the City Times has a great website. I check it often and know I can rely on timely updates throughout the week; technology is the best way to get your message out in an expedient manner. Equally, I am thoroughly impressed that the City Times has found a way for every address in our community to receive a paper copy of the news. There is nothing like holding a real newspaper with a cup of coffee to relax and read what’s relevant. Long ago, we made a commitment to keeping current on new technologies and applying them to our business. The efficiencies created are tremendous. No doubt, we are a technology driven world and in our business new technology keeps us top of our game. But, we’ve retained our fundamentals. A friendly person that you can rely on will answer our phone when you call. Investments are not chosen by a robo-advisor and retirement plans are devised by a human advisor using technology, not technology replacing a human advisor. Not everything should be replaced by technology, even if it can.

When you’ve found a match, it just feels right! I look forward to a lasting great partnership with the City Times.

(Author’s note: Due to industry regulations, I am prohibited from responding to any online comments. I welcome you to contact me via e-mail: [email protected]).

LouAnn Schulfer is co-owner of Schulfer & Associates, LLC Financial Professionals and can be reached at (715) 343-9600 or [email protected]. www.SchulferAndAssociates.com

Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC. Accredited Wealth Management Advisor SM and AWMA® are trademarks or registered service marks of the College for Financial Planning in the United States and/or other countries. The Accredited Investment Fiduciary® designation is earned through the Center for Fiduciary Studies.