In the world of institutional sales (REOs are the best example), having great relationships with the listing agents, asset managers and other people key to the transactional side of things, will allow you to get a nice advantage over the competition.

I answered that I wanted to protect my assets.

The way they got the bargains was by going to the asset managers.

Now it's arguable that you can mimick this in your 401(k) by reallocating your funds to different asset classes in the 401(k) as times change.

BAC issued a lot of debt (roughly $240B increase in 2009 over two years... that's $240,000,000,000) and these increases were attributable (per BAC SEC filings) to support growth in overall assets and enhance BAC's liquidity as well as finance the Merill Lynch acquisition.

What is the asset manager saying?

My business partner and I are hungry young investors seeking advice, on any topics ranging from taxes breaks, insurance, business credit, financing, asset protection, etc.

I would hazard a guess that low income folks are more likely to get in over their head or not know how to handle their assets.

An experienced investor will look at your asset performance, identify gaps, and complete his/her own analysis.

Sometimes by the time they enter into MLS the REO broker has an offer the asset manager will already take.