Category: Manny Kagan

We’re pleased to announce our MeetUP Event for JUNE:

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Face retirement and the future head on. 

People brave enough to look into the crystal ball of the future are much more likely to take control of their retirement planning. It’s a vivid reminder that everything you do today impacts your future tomorrow. Meet professionals that can help you, so you’re not left wondering what’s next.

JUNEMEETUP

LET US HELP YOU!

Meet up with Manny and his friends for a night of sharing common interests and ideas. You will have the opportunity to meet people with common real estate interests who own or want to buy commercial or apartment buildings, share, or address any ideas and concerns. 

This month’s Meet up event will take place on:

June 12th at 6:30pm at 233 Arroyo Drive, South San Francisco, CA 94080 

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OUR FEATURED GUEST SPEAKER:

Stephen L. Dobrow, ERPA, APA, CPC 

President, Primark Benefits

A San Francisco native, Stephen entered the Retirement field in 1976, gained executive experience in Silicon Valley, and returned to Primark Benefits in 1990 to lead its management team. His expertise is in converting tax dollars into employee benefits, which are otherwise unaffordable.

Stephen holds a degree in Management from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. He also holds a degree in accounting. He formerly served as a chapter officer for the National Institute of Pension Administrators in which he has achieved the designation of Accredited Pension Administrator. Stephen holds the designations of Qualified 401(k) Administrator, Qualified Pension Administrator, and Certified Pension Consultant, as issued by the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries. He is past President of ASPPA.

PETER C. KARP, REGISTERED FINANCIAL ADVISOR
President, Karp Capital Management 

Peter Karp is the founder of Karp Capital Management Corp, a registered investment advisory firm. The company is headquartered in San Francisco and provides a full range of financial services focusing on asset management strategies, plan participant education/ advisement and business consulting. He is a member of the Financial Planning association, Western Pension & Benefits Association and is a founding partner of NAPA.(National Association of Plan Advisors). Karp ranked 25th on the list of top Bay Area Independent wealth advisor with over 7,000 nominations received every year. Learn more and sign up for the Karp Capital Focus quarterly newsletter with asset management insights at karpcapital.com.

Interested? Let’s meet up!

Please spread the word and remember to RSVP to [email protected]

Looking forward to seeing you on May 8th!

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MEET UP DETAILS:

Date: Thursday: June 12th, 2014
Address: 233 Arroyo Drive,
                      South San Francisco, CA 94080
                     (Please Meet in the Betty Weber Room)
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm

RSVP on Meetup.com OR email [email protected]

U.S. Military history began in 1775 when the Continental Congress created the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander. During the U.S. Civil War from 1861 until 1865, about 750,000 soldiers on both sides were killed. Since its inception, the U.S. has been involved in about 40 military conflicts including the War on Terrorism, which started in 2001, and has no end in sight. As a result, the death toll has reached 1,321,612 (according to Wikipedia). The idea to put flowers on the graves of the fallen soldiers came from women (as many other honorable ideas) before the end of the Civil War and in 1868, General John A. Logan officially proclaimed May 30^th as Decoration Day—a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service.

It is believed that the day was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. Actually, the holiday called Memorial Day was claimed to have started two years earlier, and there are approximately 25 places—primarily in the South—which claimed the origin of Memorial Day. It was only in 1971 that Congress declared Memorial Day to be a national Holidays, which is when it was placed on the last Monday of May. This year, it is celebrated on May 26^th.

I wrote this short history just to illustrate how often people, whom we have never met, whose names we do not remember or never knew, helped to create the conditions for the life most of us are benefiting from.

The old revered Rabbi was dying. All of his disciples gathered around his bed standing in line in the order of importance. Suddenly, the guy at the end of the line requested to ask the teacher about the meaning of life, before his last breath. This request was passed from one disciple to the other until the question reached the Rabbi. He opened his eyes and with great effort and said, “Life is like a river”. The Rabbi’s reply was passed back, until it reached the guy who asked the question. “But what does it mean that life is like a river?” He questioned again. When this question reached the Rabbi, with his last effort he responded, “Well, then it is not like a river.”

I was privileged to live with three mothers. My mother, who gave me birth and with whom I lived until I got married at the age of 20. We called her Mama Liza. My wife’s mother (I do not like the term mother-in-law) with whom I lived together after Elfa and I married, who immigrated with us to Israel and to San Francisco, until she passed years later. We called her Mama Masha. Lastly, my wife Elfa— the mother of our two daughters, Alona and Tamar.

Mama Liza became a schoolteacher when I started the first grade. She taught first graders as well, but not at my school. She commuted for an hour by bus to her work. At the end of the day, she brought the children’s homework home in her big briefcase, and different items that she confiscated from her students. I in turn would “confiscate” from her: pocket knives, whistles, and flashlights to barter with my friends. Later on when my brother Aron was born, she went back to school (while working) and became a biology teacher. I would go with her to the public library and copy articles and DNA graphs from the books for her studies. Then our sister Rosa was born. Mom survived World War II working on a farm that grew watermelons. (She couldn’t look at them afterwards.) Life was never easy, but I had a happy childhood.  It didn’t matter what happened, my Mom would say “Budet harasho”—everything will be good. I learned from her to be a perpetual optimist. For many years when someone asks me how I am doing, my response is “always good”.

Believe it or not, you are actually a nice person—and so am I. I found out about this while on a plane to Phoenix, Arizona for an InfusionSoft ICON conference. A woman sitting on the plane diagonally in front of me was reading The Wall Street Journal. I noticed the headline of article—“We Actually Get Nicer With Age”. Wow! What a revelation!

When we reached our hotel, The Wall Street Journal lay in front of our room’s door  (miracles do happen). According to the article, “from the age of 20 to 65, people report an increase in positive traits, such as conscientiousness, and decreases in negative traits such as neuroticism”. Of course, “nicer” is a relative term. It is like beauty “in the eyes (heart) of the beholder”.

But, what happens after the age of 65 (I am 67)? I have met some grouchy older people, but I think that in their core, people are nice. The question is “Do we want to change?” Most of us are comfortable with our status quo, even when others might not like it. When my wife, Elfa, points out my shortcomings to me, I often do not like her criticism, but in my heart I know that she is right. (You know the platinum rule: “The wife is always right”, right?) But can I change? My common response to her is if I do what you suggest, I am going to become Elfa—not Manny. In the business, it is sometimes easier to just change externally by finding new ways to market without changing who we are (since I am already a nice person).

MeetUP Event Next Thursday (5/8)! Our Guest speaker is Mary Jung, Director of Government & Community Relations at San Francisco Association of REALTORS. Click through the flyer for more details!

MeetUP: Ellis Act