Matthew Bower
Senior vice president/market executive, PNC Wealth Management, Sarasota

Best money advice he's ever given: I have a client who is still with us today. When her husband passed, she was left with nothing but a $500,000 life insurance policy. An unscrupulous adviser was trying to sell her high-commission products. My advice to her was put a well-thought-out, diversified plan together, stay engaged and have open dialogue with your adviser. To this day, after eight years and taking $25,000 a year in distributions, she is worth in excess of $700,000.

Advice to clients now: Stay engaged. Ask those hard questions and take responsibility for your long-term financial affairs.

How he'd invest $50,000: I would eliminate any non-value debt such as credit card debt or student loans. I would then establish a Roth IRA or a general IRA. Some people would want to put aside some money for their kids' education. I think the kids could borrow for college. I think it's imperative to provide for a retirement that could last up to 20 years. Sometimes, financial planners are so cold with their advice. I think it is OK to carve out $5,000 to fly out to see the grandkids or go to your class reunion.

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Alan Galinsky
Founder/senior wealth adviser, Arch Financial Group, Boca Raton

Best money advice ever received: Don't spend more than you make.

Best money advice he's ever given: Always put together a plan before you start investing or start out in business. A plan keeps you on track.

Advice to clients now: The world today is so dynamic. You need to be constantly looking where you need to adapt to change.

How he'd invest $50,000: Long term, I would put 40% in equity and 60% in fixed income. Equities would be mostly large-cap multinationals. The world is expanding and growing. Strong global brand names will do extremely well. Everything that caters to the domestic market will struggle. On the fixed-income side, I would stay with investment-grade corporations. I would not go long term but rather stay intermediate. I like municipals, but it's time to step aside and go back as the price goes down.