Scorpion and the Frog

The Scorpion and the Frog

And so the story goes…..A frog and a scorpion are sitting on the side of the river.

The scorpion says to the frog, “Would you let me get on your back and give me a ride to the other side of the river?”

The frog looks at the scorpion and says, “I can’t do that. You’ll sting me half way across. I’ll die from the sting, and you’ll drown.”

The scorpion says, “That makes no sense. Why would I sting you when that would mean I’d also be killing myself?”

The frog agreed that it made no sense, and so he allowed the scorpion to hop on his back; and they started across the river.

Half way across, guess what happened? That’s right; the scorpion stung the frog.

As the frog was dying and about ready to go under for the last time, he looked up at the scorpion and said, “Why did you sting me? Now we are both going to die.”

The scorpion looked at the frog and said, “I did it because I’m a scorpion and that’s what I do” (meaning scorpions sting no matter what).

DO YOU KNOW ANY SCORPIONS?

Let me name a few and see if you agree with me.

–New or used car salesperson. Have you ever heard a car salesperson tell you that you would be better off fixing your car instead of buying a new or used car?

–Stockbroker/Financial Planner. If you go to a stockbroker and ask them what the best way is to grow your wealth, what do you think their answer is going to be? Invest in real estate? No, they are scorpions; they will typically recommend that you invest your money in stocks, mutual funds, and/or bond.

–Life insurance salesperson. Have you ever talked to a life insurance agent before? If you have, you know that their answer to every one of your problems can be solved by buying a life insurance policy from him/her.

In the context of this Stop IRA Rescue web-site, any insurance agent pushing this concept is, in fact, a scorpion (an advisor who care only about his/her big fat commissions and not about the client).

–Annuity salesperson. If you seek out financial/estate planning advice from someone who sells annuities, what are they going to recommend? Stocks and mutual funds? No. Annuities.

I’m being bit facetious with all of my previous examples, and I’m doing so to help illustrate my point and to help readers think more critically when getting advice from an advisor who is not client focused and/or not well rounded with their knowledge.