Quote:
Originally Posted by Kerbie
I worked in that area for 5 years, so I still thoroughly enjoy it. I have several former contacts from that time, but one very good friend I still talk with regularly about finances. I think a financial advisor is like a lot of other professionals... they can be fantastic and they can nearly kill you. I was lucky to have worked with one advisor I wanted to continue dealing with when I left the profession.
I think good advisors working with good firms can be worth their weight in gold. Planners can help you make sound decisions, especially around retirement. They have a broad knowledge of investments. They follow markets closely which most folks don't do. Many of them have planning tools to let you know how well set you are for the future. Some of those tools are pretty simplistic... you can do it yourself if you know how. Others are very powerful programs that allow you to run all kinds of scenarios and update them regularly.
Having a good financial advisor is as important as having a good doctor, lawyer or accountant. Like the others, they can be a challenge to find. When you find a good one, hang on.
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What Kerbie said
We've been working with the same advisor for over 13 years now. He helped us very early on the process, when our ducks weren't even talking to each other, let alone in a row. He was with Edward Jones at the time, but was soon snapped up by a small local private wealth management firm. He (and his colleagues) guided our overall strategy, through hiccups and windfalls, and has been invaluable in the lead up to, and entry into, retirement.
I'm sure I could have done it myself, but I doubt I could have done so well, and it would have been a chore, not a pleasure. I think I have better things to spend my time on - like those two Emeralds over there