Client Stories

A trusted friend who was experiencing some financial issues referred me to Roger.  We met with him in hopes of setting up our finances so that we would not end up having the same problems as our friend. Also, Steve was nearing retirement and we needed advise on putting together a plan to sustain his nest egg.

Steve had managed to save a nest egg, but didn’t know what to do to with it to allow him to enjoy his retirement.  Roger set us up with a system that pays him a monthly salary, sustains the investment and allows growth.

Of course you are always skeptical and apprehensive about giving a stranger access to your hard earned savings, but Roger immediately put us at ease with his knowledge, patience and insights.  During his first meeting with us Roger immediately discovered a clause in one of our investments that would have resulted in a huge loss to the estate.  We were able to move those funds into a safer investment.  Without Roger’s insight this error would have not been discovered until it was too late.  (Our banker of all things had set themselves up as the owner and beneficiary of Steve’s IRA.  We were shocked to say the least and consequently had to no reservations moving our money into what we believe to be much better hands.)

We find Roger to be very personable, approachable and accessible.  He is always available to answer our questions, offer advice and ease our worries.

I’ve never met anyone who has not immediately found Roger to be a person of high moral standards and a man of honor.  All of the products introduced to us by Roger have allowed Steve to enjoy his retirement
without the day-to-day worry of paying the bills.  The money is taking care of itself.  I have recommended Roger to family members, which I believe to be the highest of compliments and a testimony to our trust and respect for him as an advisor and friend.

Steve & Diane Torrent – Louisburg, NC

“We had not been retired for very long and were looking for options for moving some 401K money.  I found some ad somewhere and asked to sign up to go; it happened to be Roger’s Senior Estate and Retirement Planning Workshop.

We found Roger to be very honest and trustworthy.  He mentioned that he had his money in one of the products he was telling us about at the seminar.  No financial people ever use their own products, so that was very convincing.

At the first meeting, he didn’t push us.  We wanted to talk among ourselves and think about it.  We talked to the financial consultant at BB&T and she said there was no way she could match or come up with anything that could give us the bonuses and guarantees Roger was offering. Still, we had hesitations.

We had been told that after you retire you should not put your money in annuities, but those people just didn’t know about what Roger’s products have to offer.  At our second meeting, Roger was very patient and answered all of our questions, as well as other concerns. What was the best way to go?  Stocks?  Long term CDs?  Investments in energy?   It was a time when everything was falling apart.  We decided to go with the Fixed Indexed Annuity.  Roger KNEW what he was talking about, and it proved to be very true.  We got 4% in 2008 when no one else was getting anything.

Roger calls periodically and meets with us annually.  We don’t have wills, and he calls and encourages us.  I appreciate that.  I need him to keep encouraging me until I do it because I won’t do it on my own.”

Andy & Peggy Szmagalski – Henrico, NC

“I hate to admit it, but I might as well tell you that I came to the seminar for the free meal but got more than I expected.  I found the presentation to be concise and to the point as well as informative and entertaining.  We got a sense of Roger’s faith and knew we’d be dealing with a Christian.  What stood out about the presentation was how we could perpetuate the wealth, kind of become our own bankers, for the benefit of our family.

Before the first meeting, I wondered, is this legitimate? Is it really as good a program as it appears to be?  Roger laid it all out and made it clear.  There was NO pressure.

I liked that the FIA Roger offered provided perpetuating income.  We needed assistance with long term health care and how to best help our kids and grandkids with college expenses.  We wanted to know if we had our money in the right places.  We finally found the right products.

If a friend or relative needed similar help, I would tell them that they would be able to trust Roger and that that he says is definitely trustworthy.”

Rachel Landers – Gaston, NC

“I was looking for an alternative to stocks.  The dinner seminar really whet my appetite, with the possibility of not losing any more money, especially in 401Ks.  Roger was very believable in his approach.  He was a no pressure guy, showing all the options, very thoroughly.  He offered a different approach, different ways to accomplish our goals.  He was very credible.

The first meeting was low-key, no pressure, and again very thorough.  Roger was very patient, explaining the basics and new terminology I was unfamiliar with.  He took the time to really go through it with us.  He explained that he would be fine with whatever our final answer was, but he still took the time to explain all the options.  He just seemed to be somebody we could work with, not a fly by night, but someone who would take a long term approach with us.

I was impressed that Roger was willing to come to our house and take so much time with us.  He is very believable, and if he doesn’t know something, he will say so, and get us an answer.  If he could, he would get the answer right then, or if not, then he would research it and get back to us right away.  I would highly recommend him to family and friends.”

Jim Landers – Gaston, NC

“We did not attend one of Roger’s seminars, but someone who had attended one mentioned him to my husband.  My husband was looking at the time to move his money.  As it turns out, he didn’t do anything, but I did.  I kept wavering back and forth about whether or not to move my money.  Everything was tanking, so I went with Aviva, and it wound up being a very good choice.  If I had left it where it was, I would have lost.  But as it is, I gained about 4%, and I had the 6% bonus, so it has been good.  I would definitely have lost, but I am not losing any money while everyone else is.  I am very happy with what I did and that I didn’t procrastinate.”

Lois Gutier – Henrico, NC

“Roger sent out one of those postcards and so we went to his Estate and Retirement Planning Workshop.  We had taken a loss in a previous IRA, and it was a matter of timing.  We had been unsure what we should do.  We were very impressed with Roger’s presentation and his manner.  It made sense, especially the graphic presentations.  At the seminar, we made an appointment and about a week later he came to our home.  Roger was very cordial and enlightening.  His presentation at the seminar had been very comprehensive, so we knew pretty much what we wanted to do.  We had attended other seminars and didn’t get nearly the amount of information.  The visuals were outstanding.  Roger was so much more professional, and packed in so much information in a short amount of time.

We met with him once, knew pretty much what we wanted to do, and he gave us some other options.   Roger was someone who we felt we could trust.  We didn’t go with everything he suggested, and we were very pleased with his willingness to follow-up on certain things, even when we didn’t go with every option.

Again, I want to commend Roger for his professionalism and presentation.  The visuals are outstanding, and Roger really knows what he is talking about.”

Rod & Nancy Stem – Chocowinity, NC

“We had been to several seminars. It was another seminar and we had been trying to find out what to do with our money.  I was impressed with Roger’s confession of Christ and knew he was a Christian.  We are Christians too, and want to do with our money what God wants us to do, and so we thought he would know the right way to advise us.

There were lots of details at the seminar and so we thought that if we had him come to our home, he could explain it better to us.  He seemed very genuine and we trusted him.  He did explain things to us and was diligent in trying to help us understand.  I do believe that the program he checked for us is the better of all the others we had seen at other seminars.  The way Roger explained it to us was better than what we had heard from others.  He was the only one we asked to come for an appointment.

Anyone who needs this kind of help, I would say that Roger is the man.  His demeanor and attitude and everything just tell you that this is a man you can trust to do what’s best for you.”

Mr. and Mrs. Hayes – Morehead City, NC

“Roger sent us an invitation to attend a retirement planning seminar, at a local restaurant.  We decided to attend. I said we didn’t have anything to loose, if we are not interested we will still get a free meal.  I was laid off from my job after being the top salesman for many years where I sold $6.5 millions dollars worth of equipment the year before I lost my job.  I lost my stock but did get to receive my profit sharing account.

The stock market started down hill and every statement I received my balance was decreasing.

Then my wife, Peggy, was told in March of 2006 that her hours would be cut from 40 to 24 per week after 25 years of employment.  So we went to the seminar hoping to get some help.  It was very informative, so we decided to set up an appointment.  We needed to know the safest way to invest our retirement accounts and yet be assured that we would not loose any of our savings or potential income.

We were skeptical at first because we were not schooled in investment products and didn’t know whom to trust.  Most of the people at the seminar were our age or older (above 60) and they had lost a lot of their savings due to the fall in the stock market.  Roger did a very informative presentation and seemed trustworthy so we made an appointment.

When Roger came for the appointment I got held up and was to late to go over his presentation.  He was very patient and calm.  Roger is very personable and we talked about our family, likes and dislikes.  We

found out that he and his wife had written songs and recorded a CD, he gave us one of them.  We have a singing group also and enjoyed talking about how we had been blessed by the Lord in our lives.

Roger had to come back for another appointment and did a very knowledgeable presentation.  We were able to roll our accounts over with a guarantee not to loose any of our savings and also receive a 5% bonus the first year.  We have never lost any of our investments, of course we have to decide how to

allocate our investments each year, but Roger is always willing and able to advise us, if we have any questions.

We feel that we can trust Roger to have our best interest at heart when he gives us advice.  I’m so happy we met Roger Ely he is a good financial advisor and also a friend.  I highly recommend him to anyone looking to guarantee their financial future.”

Robert Evans – Vanceboro, NC

“We were trying to figure out basically what to do with our retirement savings, so we went to Roger’s seminar.  My hours were cut and we needed to do something, make an investment or something. We also had to do something with my husband’s 401k.  The informative way Roger presented things at the seminar convinced us.  He made an appointment and came to the house.  Roger talked with us at length, I worked with insurance for 25 yrs, and some people are pushy and overbearing, but Roger was not.  No, he was just a down to earth guy, wasn’t pushy, and explained everything.  He’s a super guy.  Some things you understand and some things you don’t, and he really explained everything to us. We were able to understand what he was saying.  Some insurance people are just out for the sale, but Roger isn’t like that.  I mean, he needs to make a living, too, but he isn’t pushy.  He was very patient in the way he presented it all to us.

We don’t have any problem with our product he sold us.  I know I can call him if I need to and the company too.  He came and talked with us and explained the policy to us and as far as I know, it is doing well.  Every company sells different products and different plans, different types of IRAs and investments, but in my opinion, his are better than anything else. Whenever we have had to reach him, there has been no problem.

I know how the market is.  This is the way I look at it:  2 percent is better than no percent. I gambled and lost at least $100,000, before I moved the money.  We haven’t lost anything, since moving it to Roger’s plan.

I would recommend him to anybody.  I think he is fair, but he will tell you the truth about what his products can or can’t do.  The way he explained it to us has happened like he said, it is FACT.”

Robert & Peggy Evans – Vanceboro, NC

“I met Roger via a response to a mailer I received late last year.  I asked for an appointment to explore my options regarding my current IRA in the stock market and I wanted to reinvest in a safer vehicle with higher yielding potential than CD’s and other bank instruments.

My stock market timing has been extremely prudent since I cashed out of equity investments into money market vehicles a few months prior to the most recent crash in late 2008 (within the same group on Vanguard Funds) and reinvested 60% of those funds into equities again in early 2009 when I felt that the market was starting to regain it’s upward strength.  With all the recent global market problems, I had begun to get worried about equities again.

I was both anxious and skeptical about the stock markets, both nationally and globally.  When I met Roger about 6-8 weeks ago I was once again skeptical, since I was weighing Roger was saying about the Aviva Tax sheltered annuity compared to the 1% returns I had been experiencing with Vanguard money market fund; I didn’t have to think long.

I didn’t know Roger prior to our first meeting in January and was concerned about investing serious money earmarked for my retirement with someone I didn’t know.  But what Roger said impressed me and the track record of Aviva was impressive as well.

Roger was both knowledgeable and had a complete grasp of the issues I found critical in making my investment decision. Roger gave me the proper investment vehicle that at my time in life (70+ years of age) made the most sense for me.  I invested a sum of money that would take care of all my needs and provide sums to those heirs whom I care about after I pass on.

I would have no trouble recommending Roger to my closest friends if they solicited my opinion or I felt they required assistance in retirement planning.  He answered all my questions regarding safety and returns on investment that made my decision to utilize his expertise and that of Aviva the best solution for me.  The products that Roger showed me in a number of meetings gave me the comfort that what I allocated to Roger to invest will cover all the needed cash to provide financial security, coupled with the two other retirement vehicles that I already possess plus the medical plans I also have, for the remainder of my life and sums to take care of my loved ones as well.

Roger addressed the concerns I had about financial security for retirement and made me feel comfortable about that aspect of my life.”

Joel Febel – Henrico, NC