THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 12, 1996 TAG: 9611120215
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LINDA MCNATT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 80 lines
Bret R. Simon, working from an attic room above his kitchen in one of this city's newer subdivisions, is teaching the teachers of Hampton Roads.
The Naval Academy graduate and 11-year Navy veteran who got into investments as a hobby while he was still aboard ship is educating teachers and school employees about their retirement options.
He has news, too, for others who work for nonprofit organizations, such as churches and hospitals. Now, under the federal government's guidelines applying to the 403B plan - a tax-exempt retirement savings and investment option equal to a 401K - they can plan for retirement using higher profit investments such as mutual funds.
``Many teachers I've met have never heard of it,'' said Simon, 31. ``It's something to supplement the Virginia Retirement System. Mostly, insurance companies have handled it for years. Now, the government has allowed brokers to come in.''
Originally, teachers and other employees of nonprofit organizations could invest for the future in tax-sheltered annuities, but the only option for some time was life insurance companies, Simon said. Now, they can take advantage of mutual funds.
``They can get a lot more profit with a lot less expense,'' he said.
Simon, an independent broker who works under the name of Kohn Retirement Solutions, is from a small town in Ohio. He joined the Navy in 1984 and soon was one of only about 40 enlisted men each year selected to attend the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. He was commander of four of the academy's training ships in his senior year and graduated in 1990 with a degree in economics.
From Annapolis, he entered the ``nuclear Navy'' and eventually landed on the John C. Stennis while it was being built at Newport News Shipbuilding. In his spare time, Simon studied the stock market.
``I had a lot of success doing it,'' he said. ``Things I invested in did well.''
As he studied and talked with others, Simon said he began to learn more and more about retirement options for teachers and others employed by nonprofit organizations.
Several months before he got out of the Navy, Simon - butting heads with the big guys like MetLife - was working in local school systems informing employees of their options under 403B. Today, even though he is an independent broker, he works with every public school system in Hampton Roads except the city of Hampton, and also with Tidewater Community College and Paul D. Camp Community College. He is one of seven brokers, for example, working with the Suffolk school system.
School systems, especially, need help when it comes to supplemental retirement plans, Simon said, since it is not unusual for his clients to send funds in several different directions.
``If I have a client who wants to send money to American Funds and to Putnam and to Northern Life, it can be a record-keeping nightmare,'' Simon said. ``As their financial adviser, school employees tell me what they want to do and I take care of the paperwork for them.''
Simon is the middle man between long- and short-term investments and the companies his clients select to invest in. He works with more than 80 mutual fund companies and 30 insurance companies.
He begins by asking questions: Why do you want to save money? College for kids? A house in five years? Retirement in 30 years?
``You can't cookie-cutter investments,'' he said. ``It's very personal. My job is to tailor investments to the individual.''
After less than two years in business, Simon already is looking toward expanding into the western part of the state. Eventually, he said, he would like to open his own brokerage firm.
But for now, he jokingly calls his 3-year-old son, Eric, his vice president and 19-month-old Matthew his director of marketing, and he enjoys having the boys around in his home office. Simon's wife, Laurie, lends a hand in the office.
``It makes me feel good that he's in this kind of business,'' said Laurie Simon, who is expecting their third child. ``I'm more confidant about our future.''
And for individual investors looking to make a little money on the market, Simon doesn't mind handing out a little free advice.
``The three best sectors right now: technology, health care and financial services. All up and coming.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Bret R. Simon by CNB