Financial Advisers?

[34f3f3f]

I echo going with a fee only FA. A little knowledge can go a long way, but if you want to be your own FA, it can also cost you dearly. I once told my FA that I try to resist becoming “informed” in investment matters to avoid becoming “opinionated”, and therefore forging views that may conflict with his. Since I am paying him to advise me and not the other way round, that makes sense to me. I got the feeling from his reply that his life would suffer less angst, if other clients were similarly disposed. I do however look at the bottom line, and form an opinion as to his performance, and that seems to keep priorities on an even keel. The trouble with brokers and commissions is that charges can be opaque and can bite into your portfolio’s performances.

[Anonymous]

Have been a regular reader for some time, but this is my first post since it’s a topic I know something about (unlike housing in San Diego – which I’m interested in because I plan to move there soon).

Fee-only advisor is a no-brainer. Don’t do anything else.

But beyond this, the main point to keep in mind is that it is *markets* and not advisers that drive returns over the long run, and that a good adviser is not someone who can give you the next hot tip or who claims to systematically beat the market (be very wary of those who market themselves this way), but who can help you set up a plan with your goals, time horizon, liquidity needs, and risk tolerance in mind, and then guide you through the *emotional roller-coaster* of investing over a period of time.

If you know enough about markets to understand that ups and downs are normal and have a disciplined savings strategy that lets you put aside a regular sum to invest in a well-diversified portfolio through up and down markets, you could pretty much do your own portfolio through Vanguard.

A really great source of articles on this is:

http://www.fundadvice.com/articles/investing-basics/paul-merriman-10-popular-articles-at-fundadvice.com.html

Time spent on most of these articles is well spent (my favorites are 1 and 6).

http://www.evansonasset.com/ also has good articles (and an especially insightful one on what reasonable fees for advisers should look like)

http://www.ifa.com/library/articles.asp also has good articles (but they hawk themselves a bit too much, which can get annoying).

If you think you need the comfort/peace of mind to have someone to talk to, and to help discipline you, then that’s a good reason to have an adviser (but look for these traits rather than believe that they’ll beat the market!).

Also, if you’re paying for an adviser anyway, it may be good to find one with access to DFA funds (though you’ll get more out of it if you can find a good adviser who charges a *flat* fee or a sharply reducing % fee, and not a constant amount like 1% percent of assets – see the Evanson article to see why this makes sense and to get ideas on how you might negotiate this).

Not from SD, so no specific names to recommend.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Have been a regular reader for some time, but this is my first post since it’s a topic I know something about (unlike housing in San Diego – which I’m interested in because I plan to move there soon).

Fee-only advisor is a no-brainer. Don’t do anything else.

But beyond this, the main point to keep in mind is that it is *markets* and not advisers that drive returns over the long run, and that a good adviser is not someone who can give you the next hot tip or who claims to systematically beat the market (be very wary of those who market themselves this way), but who can help you set up a plan with your goals, time horizon, liquidity needs, and risk tolerance in mind, and then guide you through the *emotional roller-coaster* of investing over a period of time.

If you know enough about markets to understand that ups and downs are normal and have a disciplined savings strategy that lets you put aside a regular sum to invest in a well-diversified portfolio through up and down markets, you could pretty much do your own portfolio through Vanguard.

A really great source of articles on this is:

http://www.fundadvice.com/articles/investing-basics/paul-merriman-10-popular-articles-at-fundadvice.com.html

Time spent on most of these articles is well spent (my favorites are 1 and 6).

http://www.evansonasset.com/ also has good articles (and an especially insightful one on what reasonable fees for advisers should look like)

http://www.ifa.com/library/articles.asp also has good articles (but they hawk themselves a bit too much, which can get annoying).

If you think you need the comfort/peace of mind to have someone to talk to, and to help discipline you, then that’s a good reason to have an adviser (but look for these traits rather than believe that they’ll beat the market!).

Also, if you’re paying for an adviser anyway, it may be good to find one with access to DFA funds (though you’ll get more out of it if you can find a good adviser who charges a *flat* fee or a sharply reducing % fee, and not a constant amount like 1% percent of assets – see the Evanson article to see why this makes sense and to get ideas on how you might negotiate this).

Not from SD, so no specific names to recommend.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Have been a regular reader for some time, but this is my first post since it’s a topic I know something about (unlike housing in San Diego – which I’m interested in because I plan to move there soon).

Fee-only advisor is a no-brainer. Don’t do anything else.

But beyond this, the main point to keep in mind is that it is *markets* and not advisers that drive returns over the long run, and that a good adviser is not someone who can give you the next hot tip or who claims to systematically beat the market (be very wary of those who market themselves this way), but who can help you set up a plan with your goals, time horizon, liquidity needs, and risk tolerance in mind, and then guide you through the *emotional roller-coaster* of investing over a period of time.

If you know enough about markets to understand that ups and downs are normal and have a disciplined savings strategy that lets you put aside a regular sum to invest in a well-diversified portfolio through up and down markets, you could pretty much do your own portfolio through Vanguard.

A really great source of articles on this is:

http://www.fundadvice.com/articles/investing-basics/paul-merriman-10-popular-articles-at-fundadvice.com.html

Time spent on most of these articles is well spent (my favorites are 1 and 6).

http://www.evansonasset.com/ also has good articles (and an especially insightful one on what reasonable fees for advisers should look like)

http://www.ifa.com/library/articles.asp also has good articles (but they hawk themselves a bit too much, which can get annoying).

If you think you need the comfort/peace of mind to have someone to talk to, and to help discipline you, then that’s a good reason to have an adviser (but look for these traits rather than believe that they’ll beat the market!).

Also, if you’re paying for an adviser anyway, it may be good to find one with access to DFA funds (though you’ll get more out of it if you can find a good adviser who charges a *flat* fee or a sharply reducing % fee, and not a constant amount like 1% percent of assets – see the Evanson article to see why this makes sense and to get ideas on how you might negotiate this).

Not from SD, so no specific names to recommend.

Good luck!

[(former)FormerSanDiegan]

Nobody cares about your future more than you do.

SO, if you are so inclined I recommend investing time into learning as much as you can about finance. Assuming you are reasonably intelligent, after a few years you will be able to spot bullshit and sales tactics and be able to separate what’s right for you from what what is not right for you from a mile away. You may also consider taking courses to educate yourself.

With some experience and either self-teaching or formal education you will be better positioned in the future to make decisions regarding financial advice from professionals.

Consider those who hire mechanics to fix their cars (I do) : You might not be able to fix it yourself, but if you at least have some understanding of how the vehicle works you won’t inadvertently pay $2000 for replacement of the flux capacitor when it goes out.

[(former)FormerSanDiegan]

Nobody cares about your future more than you do.

SO, if you are so inclined I recommend investing time into learning as much as you can about finance. Assuming you are reasonably intelligent, after a few years you will be able to spot bullshit and sales tactics and be able to separate what’s right for you from what what is not right for you from a mile away. You may also consider taking courses to educate yourself.

With some experience and either self-teaching or formal education you will be better positioned in the future to make decisions regarding financial advice from professionals.

Consider those who hire mechanics to fix their cars (I do) : You might not be able to fix it yourself, but if you at least have some understanding of how the vehicle works you won’t inadvertently pay $2000 for replacement of the flux capacitor when it goes out.

[(former)FormerSanDiegan]

Nobody cares about your future more than you do.

SO, if you are so inclined I recommend investing time into learning as much as you can about finance. Assuming you are reasonably intelligent, after a few years you will be able to spot bullshit and sales tactics and be able to separate what’s right for you from what what is not right for you from a mile away. You may also consider taking courses to educate yourself.

With some experience and either self-teaching or formal education you will be better positioned in the future to make decisions regarding financial advice from professionals.

Consider those who hire mechanics to fix their cars (I do) : You might not be able to fix it yourself, but if you at least have some understanding of how the vehicle works you won’t inadvertently pay $2000 for replacement of the flux capacitor when it goes out.

[treylane]

Thanks for the info, everybody! Aside from the occcccassional splurge, there aren’t any serious financial discipline problems, and I’m actually interested in learning as much as I can about all this… so I’m leaning towards setting up a vanguard account (or something along those lines) and going from there.

I made an appointment last week with a financial planner that a friend recommended… I think I’ll keep the meeting tomorrow, just to see if it looks like his experience would be a more sensible tool than my exuberance. Will let you know how it goes.

[treylane]

Thanks for the info, everybody! Aside from the occcccassional splurge, there aren’t any serious financial discipline problems, and I’m actually interested in learning as much as I can about all this… so I’m leaning towards setting up a vanguard account (or something along those lines) and going from there.

I made an appointment last week with a financial planner that a friend recommended… I think I’ll keep the meeting tomorrow, just to see if it looks like his experience would be a more sensible tool than my exuberance. Will let you know how it goes.

[treylane]

Thanks for the info, everybody! Aside from the occcccassional splurge, there aren’t any serious financial discipline problems, and I’m actually interested in learning as much as I can about all this… so I’m leaning towards setting up a vanguard account (or something along those lines) and going from there.

I made an appointment last week with a financial planner that a friend recommended… I think I’ll keep the meeting tomorrow, just to see if it looks like his experience would be a more sensible tool than my exuberance. Will let you know how it goes.

[mixxalot]

I have been reading and listening to various financial planners on the radio such as Ray Lucia, Mo Ansari and the like who seem pretty solid. The main strategy these days is called “asset allocation” with various mixes from short term liquid assets such as money market funds and CDs to mid range and long term investments such as annuities and stocks/bonds.

[mixxalot]

I have been reading and listening to various financial planners on the radio such as Ray Lucia, Mo Ansari and the like who seem pretty solid. The main strategy these days is called “asset allocation” with various mixes from short term liquid assets such as money market funds and CDs to mid range and long term investments such as annuities and stocks/bonds.

[mixxalot]

I have been reading and listening to various financial planners on the radio such as Ray Lucia, Mo Ansari and the like who seem pretty solid. The main strategy these days is called “asset allocation” with various mixes from short term liquid assets such as money market funds and CDs to mid range and long term investments such as annuities and stocks/bonds.

[treylane]

Alright, I visited Mr. Financial Planner – nice guy, seems pretty competent as far as the main part of his market goes: helping middle aged people make up for lost time with retirement funds.

But that’s not what I’m looking for, so I’m off to the bookstore! 🙂

[bubble_contagion]

Regardless of what you end up doing, read the book on the link below so you are familiar with all the financial terms and inner workings.

[Author]

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