Working with financial planner/advisor?

[Jeff Scott]

Give this guy a call and just talk with him to see how it goes. I've known Tom about 20 years now, He is a certified financial planner, not simply a "plain-jane" financial advisor, so to speak, a significant difference.

He can do a virtual meeting, if you'd like.

https://www.ameripriseadvisors.com/thomas.w.dattilo

[The Bard Rocks]

We use one. He charges a flat fee instead of percentage. About 1/3 of our savings is at ML, who charges a fee whenever there is a sale or purchase. There are not many of these at either and I haven't seen one pulling ahead of the other. The idea is to find someone to trust when handling money in ways not fully understood by you. No matter how much I learn, it will not rival someone with their training and breadth of experience. You could look at it as a sort of insurance - where you pay money to lower risks.

On the other hand, I have made far more money, doing what I know, at my business. But I won't be doing that forever and will no doubt retire before I am 80 (not a joke - I like what I do). It's then we will need to count on the money these investments should bring in.

[imwjl]

Be careful in an era when firms like Schwab and others do not keep you stuck with someone always taking a cut. Pay for specific expertise when you need it.

Looking at close to 30 years my wife, other family members and I have had pros and DIY, I see my self-managed IRA kicked the "certified" professionals' butts.

This topic came up with a bunch of work associates in recent days and we've all seen the age of ETFs and robots beat most people who still dress fancy and are really more like car and insurance salespeople than professionals like accounts or engineers etc....

Starting now I'd absolutely (and do) pay for professional help with taxes and understanding regulations but in the age of robots, low cost or no cost trades and ETFs the IRA I've managed by myself has beat the portfolios we have managed by professionals.

The biggest failing with professional advisors is most seem to be really poor about selling prowess, and they read other people's news not always really knowing a segment or business.

Some years ago an accountant who retired was good about financial advice beyond accounting, and when I got a new accountant last year I interviewed for that again. If you have some interest in your money management - some interest to make some of your own decisions and actions - that sort of pro is best.

Even if you have a professional you better be doing some homework or watching. You don't want to repeat all the idiot money managers and institutions who screwed so many people around 2008. Idiot talking heads who still thought insurance and financial institutions were safe, and who were golfing when they should have been selling faster.

To me most important would be flat fee or making sure someone's not taking a cut for nothing.

[rllink]

I don't necessarily agree with the flat fee. I want my finance managers to have a little skin in the game. Flat fee means they get paid regardless. When they are on a percentage they don't make money if I don't make money. There is an incentive there.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by rllink

I don't necessarily agree with the flat fee. I want my finance managers to have a little skin in the game. Flat fee means they get paid regardless. When they are on a percentage they don't make money if I don't make money. There is an incentive there.

I think you are mistaken on that.
Unless you have some “special deal” that nobody else has, the Fund Managers of your investments get their fees no matter what, win or lose. They charge you fees regardless of your account balance and they do it quarterly. Better take a closer look, it should be on your statement.
The fees vary and can fluctuate depending on the types of funds. Some are higher than others.
The only way around that is to “do it yourself.”

Paying a flat fee to an advisor/planner is a different animal altogether. An advisor or planner doesn’t manage your funds. They can make recommendations and even help you purchase them, that’s it as far as their part goes.
Most folks use an “advisor” when they are in the process of planning their retirement for tax purposes, allocations and other things related to the structure thereof. It’s generally done at most annually. It isn’t ongoing unless you have a contract and I don’t know who would do that...not me.

[buddyhu]

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.

This seems like an accurate assessment.

I managed our money for decades, and did well. And IF you have really solid discipline, you can assemble a simple portfolio and do well...maybe out perform many advisors. But it is very easy to panic (I did in 2008, which is why I hired an advisor), and add too much complexity to your holdings (many feel 3 mutual funds is the ideal portfolio; if this easy to be seduced into holding a dozen or more). An advisor is the best protection from such mistakes.

I also chose an advisor because if I die first, my wife would have no idea what to do or where to turn. Now, she has a trusted and competent person to turn to.

[rllink]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

I think you are mistaken on that.
Unless you have some “special deal” that nobody else has, the Fund Managers of your investments get their fees no matter what, win or lose. They charge you fees regardless of your account balance and they do it quarterly. Better take a closer look, it should be on your statement.
The fees vary and can fluctuate depending on the types of funds. Some are higher than others.
The only way around that is to “do it yourself.”

Paying a flat fee to an advisor/planner is a different animal altogether. An advisor or planner doesn’t manage your funds. They can make recommendations and even help you purchase them, that’s it as far as their part goes.
Most folks use an “advisor” when they are in the process of planning their retirement for tax purposes, allocations and other things related to the structure thereof. It’s generally done at most annually. It isn’t ongoing unless you have a contract and I don’t know who would do that...not me.

Thanks for your opinion, but what I'm doing has kept me well funded for fourteen years. I weighed the options and chose my path. I dont think that I'm making a mistake.

[Mr. Jelly]

I don't know about the rest of you but I somehow amassed a decent amount of money over the years without a financial planner.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

I don't know about the rest of you but I somehow amassed a decent amount of money over the years without a financial planner.

You’re clearly in a different class from many of the rest of us, and I congratulate you on your financial acumen.

But - you seem to have a hard time understanding that some of us feel more comfortable in turning to experts to help us with things outside our realm of experience and comfort.

Live long and prosper.

[Kerbie]

One of the things I learned as an advisor years ago is that people are different and the same plan will not work for everybody. Taking different paths to get to the goal is fine. The key is to get there.

[J Patrick]

..I think that a financial advisor is...as someone pointed out....not unlike your doctor...and just like your medical health it’s up to you to stay informed and be proactive when managing your financial assets....we have had an advisor for over a decade now...there have been times when he has been invaluable to us but we have made a lot of decisions and moves on our own as well....staying engaged is good...

...as a banker once told me many years ago when I was acquiring my first home loan...people don’t plan to fail...but they often fail to plan....those words have stuck with me all these years....

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by rllink

Thanks for your opinion, but what I'm doing has kept me well funded for fourteen years. I weighed the options and chose my path. I dont think that I'm making a mistake.

You misunderstood me.
I didn’t say you made a mistake in your choice. I said you made a mistake in your definition of what a “managed portfolio” is where you pay ongoing fees to “fund managers” vs. an advisor who only charges you once for his analysis and recommendations as it pertains to retirement planning.

They are two different things, apples and oranges.That was my only point.
If you use a financial service such as Edward Jones they get an ongoing commission from you, so you are paying them constantly.
They don’t do it for free.
They set you up in either a fee-based managed funds portfolio or you manage the funds yourself with no fees. Either way you are always paying somebody even if your portfolio loses money. Edward Jones gets theirs and so do the fund managers if you go that route.
Hopefully, that clarifies things.
BTW, we used “fund managed portfolios” for years until recently.
We aren’t paying anyone to do that anymore. That’s our choice.

[jazzereh]

I'm not here to primarily suggest getting a planner is a good thing, mostly I'm pleased to see the positive experiences that many have had. Far too often the responses are very negative with lots of stories about bad planners [yes they are out there].

I do believe that getting a good financial advisor is a good thing but matching your goals and personality with the planner is part of the equation. There are lots of good, competent people providing advice so the interview is important but you need to have a good idea what you need for the future going into that.

Everyone will have different requirements for their financial future and the planner needs to understand those requirements and objectives in order to provide individual guidance. Find someone with the appropriate qualifications and personality and you're off to a good start.

This comes from someone who has been retired for many years but spent most of my working life in financial services. For many years I was a CFP and taught CFP courses along with a number of other qualifications from being in the brokerage business.

Again, glad to hear the positive experiences above.

[Mr. Jelly]

Originally Posted by eatswodo

But - you seem to have a hard time understanding that some of us feel more comfortable in turning to experts to help us with things outside our realm of experience and comfort.

Live long and prosper.

I do?

I felt it was the other way around.

[blue]

It's been very good. It's also my Sister-in-law, so there is a lot more trust.

In inheriting some stuff from my mom who died this last year, there were a few times when inheriting her money market funds that the obvious move would have brought on some taxes. She saved us from that. I'm not a Rockefeller, or anything. We're not talking huge amounts. But every bit matters these days.