Fisher Investments

[kaseydog]

I received a call from Fisher Investments stating they are doing business in The Villages. Has anyone used them? If so, what was your experience? Good? Bad?

[wisbad1]

I received a call from Fisher Investments stating they are doing business in The Villages. Has anyone used them? If so, what was your experience? Good? Bad?

Talked to a guy, didn’t impress me. Took no action. Might be good for you, just not me.

[manaboutown]

I cannot count the number of times I have received expensive glossy brochure mailings from them over the years. They show up on my FB page almost daily. They show up as ads on almost all the investment news internet sites I frequent. Feels like a high pressure outfit due to all its aggressive advertising but I have no first hand experience with Fisher Investments. Ken Fisher is a multibillionaire. Kenneth Fisher - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Fisher)

[rjm1cc]

I would be very careful to fully understand the fees. Be sure to get an estimate of the dollar amount for a year in addition to the Percentage. If you need an advisor be sure to interview a few and do not rush into a decision.

[Robbb]

I cannot count the number of times I have received expensive glossy brochure mailings from them over the years. They show up on my FB page almost daily. They show up as ads on almost all the investment news internet sites I frequent. Feels like a high pressure outfit due to all its aggressive advertising but I have no first hand experience with Fisher Investments. Ken Fisher is a multibillionaire. Kenneth Fisher - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Fisher)

Spoke with them at length several years ago. IMHO just another 1% fee adviser. Didn't really see any value in them, as I am an index investor. Stayed at Vanguard and pay virtually 0 in fees (.04%) overall. They do spend a ton on advertisement though.

[Plinker]

Very pushy to the point of being annoying. The phone calls will NOT stop. Fees are very high and returns mediocre. Far better off in a low cost index ETF.

Equity and Blended Accounts
Amount of Assets Annual Management Fee
First $1 million 1.25%
Next $4 million 1.125%
Additional amounts over $5 million 1.00%

Your Assets Annual Fee Amount
$1MM $12,500
$5MM $57,500
$10MM $107,500

In addition to these fees, clients may also pay brokerage commissions, other custodian fees.

[retiredguy123]

As I understand it, Fisher Investments charges between 1 percent and 1.5 percent of the assets that they manage for you. They act as your fiduciary and they do not receive product commissions or kickbacks to sell you financial products. So, they are a "fee only" investment advisor. If you really need someone to invest your money for you, that is the best type to hire. But, Vanguard or Fidelity will perform the same fiduciary investment service for a lot lower percentage. But, none of these percentage based services are for me. I have never paid anyone to invest my money.

[Babubhat]

You don’t need them. Most advisors use a robo approach to allocate funds. A few Vanguard funds can accomplish the same. Shareholder owned. Fees matter

Project ten years of fees they will charge. You will be horrified

[Rainger99]

Fees are very high and returns mediocre. Far better off in a low cost index ETF.

Equity and Blended Accounts
Amount of Assets Annual Management Fee
First $1 million 1.25%
Next $4 million 1.125%
Additional amounts over $5 million 1.00%

Your Assets Annual Fee Amount
$1MM $12,500
$5MM $57,500
$10MM $107,500

In addition to these fees, clients may also pay brokerage commissions, other custodian fees.

As I understand it, they don’t take a percentage of the increase in your portfolio. Rather, they base their fees on the total value of your portfolio.

So if you have $1,000,000 at the start of the year and the market goes up 1%, you would have $1,010,000 at the end of the year but they would take 1.25% of $1,010,000 or $12,625. You would have $997,375 at the end of the year. If they are that good, they should be willing to base their commission on the increase in value.

[retiredguy123]

As I understand it, they don’t take a percentage of the increase in your portfolio. Rather, they base their fees on the total value of your portfolio.

So if you have $1,000,000 at the start of the year and the market goes up 1%, you would have $1,010,000 at the end of the year but they would take 1.25% of $1,010,000 or $12,625. You would have $997,375 at the end of the year. If they are that good, they should be willing to base their commission on the increase in value.
I don't know of any investment advisor who would do that. Do you?

[shaw8700@outlook.com]

I cannot count the number of times I have received expensive glossy brochure mailings from them over the years. They show up on my FB page almost daily. They show up as ads on almost all the investment news internet sites I frequent. Feels like a high pressure outfit due to all its aggressive advertising but I have no first hand experience with Fisher Investments. Ken Fisher is a multibillionaire. Kenneth Fisher - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Fisher)
But did he make all those billions legitimately? The name Bernie Madoff comes to mind.

[Boomer]

Ken Fisher himself might be a billionaire but he sure does not seem to use good sense when it comes to running his mouth.

A CNBC article from 2019 titled, “Here’s the Ken Fisher audio that inflamed executives at a financial conference, ” can be read to see the stupid things he said, as a SPEAKER! Don’t miss his bizarre comment comparing himself to a Christmas tree. Weird. Weird. Weird.

Alas, after reading that article, I am now doomed to automatically think about his truly creepy words every time his face shows up in a stack of mail. (cringe, shudder)

Back to the question at hand — I think there are better choices than Fisher.

There is a lot of info on the internet about Fisher. An article on clark.com will tell you more than you probably ever wanted to know. Just google clark.com and Fisher Investments Review and you will find a very detailed article. It even has a table of contents.

Boomer

[petsetc]

My addition to all this good advice, take time to read Paul Merriman’s 3 FREE ebooks.
1. First-Time Investor
2. 101 Investment Decisions
3. Get Smart or Get Screwed (read this first!)

Found at paulmerriman.com

Also on his site are recommended portfolios for using Vanguard, Fidelity, T.Rowe Price or Schwab for DYI'ers. Much good info, ignore the puffery and sales pitches for his foundation.

I have used a blend of his Vanguard recommendations since 2005 and think that we have fared pretty well.

JMHO

[Blackbird45]

Putting fees aside my question in today's market what percentage is a good return?
I received yesterday an email from Citi Bank pushing Platinum Savings account at 5.05% and this is FDIC insured. Now banks usually match each other and it would be a job, but you figure 4 banks at $250K FDIC insured max would cover a million. That would be protection without any fees.

[Rainger99]

I don't know of any investment advisor who would do that. Do you?

I don’t know of one but I expect that they don’t do it because they aren’t that good.

The average yearly return of the S&P 500 is 10.749% over the last 50 years. This assumes dividends are reinvested.

I think the minimum Fisher investment is $500,000. If your advisor can just match the market, that would be $50,000 a year in profit. If an advisor took just 3% of the added value, he would make $1,500 a year. If they are really that good, I would expect that a financial advisor could beat the market most years.

[hardwick2112@yahoo.com]

A few years ago we had our investments with Fisher. After a couple of frustrating years with lower than average returns I questionned why they had us invested European stocks. I am not saying there is anything wrong with that, only that it is not as easy to understand as US stocks. I continued to question my advisor and he got frustrated and actually gave me Ken Fisher's personal email address. I asked him a couple of simple questions: 1) without showing me dollar amounts / numbers, can you assure me that you are investing in the same stocks as your group is promoting and 2) can I exit individual stocks? His answer surprised me. He basically told me if I did not like what what his company was promoting to take a hike.

In essence, if your brokerage is not heaving invested in the same stocks as you with a few exceptions based upon risk tolerance, get the heck away from them.

[cjky2k]

My addition to all this good advice, take time to read Paul Merriman’s 3 FREE ebooks.
1. First-Time Investor
2. 101 Investment Decisions
3. Get Smart or Get Screwed (read this first!)

Found at paulmerriman.com

Also on his site are recommended portfolios for using Vanguard, Fidelity, T.Rowe Price or Schwab for DYI'ers. Much good info, ignore the puffery and sales pitches for his foundation.

I have used a blend of his Vanguard recommendations since 2005 and think that we have fared pretty well.

JMHO

I would like to add to this. As I read the above and agree! Many many years ago I started a subscription to Fidelity Monitor and Insight as I knew I would be terrified about investing the money I was putting in the brand new IRAs. The newsletter tracks only fidelity funds (fine with me) and has “model portfolios” that at most hold 6 funds at a time. They rate all Fidelity funds each month and have commentary as well. I have definitely done better following their general advice than I would have on my own. I don’t strictly follow their model portfolios any longer. But I just did a thorough check up and review and made some minor tweaks. I have a CPA who is also an active and astute investor and he also periodically reminds me that “as long as you can do the math and make decisions regarding risk and returns, keep doing what you are doing. The mental exercise is good for you. And you get to keep the 1%”. Fidelity has great tools online to help you set goals and keep things in the balance you want. As does Vanguard and others. As someone else posted: do the math on 1.25% of your portfolio taken per year, compounded for 10-20 years and you might be happier with a handful of funds tuned to your risk tolerance. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance is another good resource.

[Ltwise3500]

I still remain with my advisor in Ohio. I don’t trust anyone with money in TV.

[FredJacobs]

Fisher Investments is a very well run and respected company. All the big names are - Raymond James, Fidelity, Vanguard, TDAmeritrade, Edward Jones, etc. However, you are not dealing with the company - your account is managed by a single individual. That's the person you have to have confidence in. As for fees and sales charges, most are regulated but it does pay to compare.

[Windguy]

I never do business with someone who initiates contact.

[Bness]

Make sure any investment company lives by fiduciary responsibility. They shouldn't be charging you for trades they make. I personally have need using Edelman Financial Engines. Talk to a representative and look at how they make money. If it's a fee based on trades, run. If they lower the fees as your portfolio increases it might be good for you. Make sure anything you does transferable to your heirs. And most importantly, my advise is what you paid for it.

[Black Beauty]

They sent someone to see us....no buy!

[dpscmsgt]

Fisher does not do cold calling so be careful. Here is their central number: 800-550-1071 or go to their website Fisher Investments | Wealth Management (https://www.fisherinvestments.com/) and use the contact method there.

I have been a Fisher investor for many years. They are a fiduciary and do not sell anything. They get an annual fee of 1.5% from each account (i.e. IRA, Roth, brokerage, etc.) you have with them broken up into quarters.

I am incredibly happy with them, but you need to make your own investigation before going with them or any other company. I was with Vanguard which did not perform as well as Fisher has for me.

I checked out many of the other investment companies (i.e. Fidelity, Schwab, etc.) before deciding to go with Fisher.

You need need an total of all your different accounts of $500,000 to invest with them.

[Rainger99]

I was with Vanguard which did not perform as well as Fisher has for me.

Ballpark, how much better does Fisher do than Vanguard?

[huge-pigeons]

1.5% of $1M is $15k in fees! 1% of $5m is $50k! This is for 1 year. So they will take $500,000 for 10 years!
Who has the yachts? It’s not the investor.
Here is my dealings with them. They claim their commissions are based upon how well you do. So if I start dealing with fisher with $5m, why should they charge me a fee for this initial $5m? They didn’t make this money for me, I made it. Why don’t they charge a fee on the money they make for you instead of the money I bring them? You make me $50k, charge me 1-1.5% on that $50k.
Let’s talk about what happens if they lose you money which is very possible. Do they forego their fee charge if they lose you 25%? NO!
These call me all the time. My questions to them are:
Can you guarantee me that you will do better at making me money that what I make doing it myself?
Can you guarantee me that you will make me money to at least cover the fee cost charged to me each year?
Of course they answer no to these questions.
I will never ever have somebody manage my money. Most if not all managers cannot match the growth of your money that a simple index fund can provide you. Managed funds will always state their best year or 2 but when you look at say over 10 years or longer, index funds will always be better. And the costs of index funds are drastically lower than managed funds, with or without a financial advisor fee on top of that.
Right now, you can make 5% in a money market with very low fees and very low low risk. Or if you want to make more money, you could have got into funds like Vgt or xlk earlier this year and made close to 20% with very low fees.

[RPDaly]

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[plheide]

I received a call from Fisher Investments stating they are doing business in The Villages. Has anyone used them? If so, what was your experience? Good? Bad?

First, you should be calling them to solicit help with your investments. Scams call you. Go to their offical website and request information. That will set up your contacts with Fischer Investments. They do NOT aggressively pursue you. That is hint #1 that something is off with your caller. Secondly, they do work with you to structure your investments to your personal preferences. They get results so their customers are happy. Fidelity, sells commissioned products so understand the difference. Their incentive is based on the product they sell you. Fischer does not sell commissioned products.

[Rainger99]

1.5% of $1M is $15k in fees! 1% of $5m is $50k! This is for 1 year. So they will take $500,000 for 10 years!
Who has the yachts? It’s not the investor.
Here is my dealings with them. They claim their commissions are based upon how well you do. So if I start dealing with fisher with $5m, why should they charge me a fee for this initial $5m? They didn’t make this money for me, I made it. Why don’t they charge a fee on the money they make for you instead of the money I bring them? You make me $50k, charge me 1-1.5% on that $50k.
Let’s talk about what happens if they lose you money which is very possible. Do they forego their fee charge if they lose you 25%? NO!
These call me all the time. My questions to them are:
Can you guarantee me that you will do better at making me money that what I make doing it myself?
Can you guarantee me that you will make me money to at least cover the fee cost charged to me each year?
Of course they answer no to these questions.
I will never ever have somebody manage my money. Most if not all managers cannot match the growth of your money that a simple index fund can provide you. Managed funds will always state their best year or 2 but when you look at say over 10 years or longer, index funds will always be better. And the costs of index funds are drastically lower than managed funds, with or without a financial advisor fee on top of that.
Right now, you can make 5% in a money market with very low fees and very low low risk. Or if you want to make more money, you could have got into funds like Vgt or xlk earlier this year and made close to 20% with very low fees.

Brilliant post!!

[manaboutown]

"Financial Advisors Rarely Beat the Market

Large-cap fund managers – people who could be considered the most elite of the elite when it comes to financial advisors – are outpaced by the S&P 500 a staggering 92.2% of the time.Oct 15, 2018"

From: Why You Don't Need A Financial Advisor | Seeking Alpha (https://seekingalpha.com/article/4211724-why-you-dont-need-financial-advisor#:~:text=Financial%20Advisors%20Rarely%20Be at%20the,staggering%2092.2%25%20of%20the%20time).

In the various financial books I have read the authors report anywhere from 85% to 97% of financial advisors do not beat the market.

That speaks volumes for sticking to low cost index funds.

[glsatterlee]

As another person said on this post, Fischer does not make cold calls. I have been with them for 12 years. We are up 26% YTD. Put that into your calculations.

[huge-pigeons]

As another person said on this post, Fischer does not make cold calls. I have been with them for 12 years. We are up 26% YTD. Put that into your calculations.

Ok, technically you are correct. But I know for a fact, after you ask for your brochure just to read a different perspective, Fisher will keep calling you multiple times a year trying to get your business even when you say no.

If you want facts, look how Fisher did back in 2007/2008, they were down huge, then add their fees on top of that.

FISHER FLOUNDERS (https://nypost.com/2008/11/28/fisher-flounders/)

Just 1 more thing: Fisher advisors are supposed to be investor experts, so when you say you made 26% this year, which is ok, but let’s compare that to my Meta, Apple, and Tesla holdings this year. 26% is peanuts. Ok, ok, let’s compare my go to funds like Vgt or xlk to your 26% gains: Vgt is up 36% over 1 year and 20% over the last 10 years; xlk is up 38% for last 1 year, 20% over the last 10 years, both at .10% expense. My Swppx index fund is up 20% with a .02% expense fee, which I have held for over a decade. Same for either xlk or Vgt. I got out of apple 18 months ago and then bought back in when it came down to the $120’s late last year, it’s over $190 today. Tesla, meta, nvidia, and a few others have been gold mines this year.

For the people that hire an investor advisor/broker, did your advisor/broker recommend, at the beginning of this year, to buy meta, apple, nvidia, Tesla with every dollar you have, NO! You being in charge of your investments, you have the power to buy what you think will grow, short term or long term.

[rochellepfaff]

They called you out of the blue? Had you ever done business with them before? If not, and your phone # is on the national "do not call" registry, they broke the law by calling you. I would never do business with someone who called me that way. Too pushy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And possibly even a scam.

[Babubhat]

The more one advertises the less reason you should use them. Great advisors don’t need to. Those full page ads in the local paper make me nauseous.

Advisors should only be paid if they exceed a risk adjusted benchmark. Never found one never will

[rjm1cc]

tried to delete

[rjm1cc]

I don’t know of one but I expect that they don’t do it because they aren’t that good.

The average yearly return of the S&P 500 is 10.749% over the last 50 years. This assumes dividends are reinvested.

I think the minimum Fisher investment is $500,000. If your advisor can just match the market, that would be $50,000 a year in profit. If an advisor took just 3% of the added value, he would make $1,500 a year. If they are really that good, I would expect that a financial advisor could beat the market most years.
1500 should be 15000. I had to use a calculator.

[Rainger99]

1500 should be 15000. I had to use a calculator.

3% of $100,000 is $3,000 so 3% of $50,000 is $1,500. That calculator is broken.

[damille]

I received a call from Fisher Investments stating they are doing business in The Villages. Has anyone used them? If so, what was your experience? Good? Bad?

I spoke with Fisher Investments as my previous advisor had retired. Their closest office is in Tampa which would be a problem if I predecease my wife. So we didn't go any further with the interview.

[Acordionist]

I received a call from Fisher Investments stating they are doing business in The Villages. Has anyone used them? If so, what was your experience? Good? Bad?

No but I have had a superb experience with Edward Jones and they are also in The Villages

[2th1doc]

Fisher is absolutely superb in marketing to the masses. Not so much in performance.

[Pairadocs]

I cannot count the number of times I have received expensive glossy brochure mailings from them over the years. They show up on my FB page almost daily. They show up as ads on almost all the investment news internet sites I frequent. Feels like a high pressure outfit due to all its aggressive advertising but I have no first hand experience with Fisher Investments. Ken Fisher is a multibillionaire. Kenneth Fisher - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Fisher)

Similar feelings. Looked into the Fisher firm at the time contemplating retirement. Impression was that money for the very glossy brochures you mentioned, and then talking to them, like ALL the rest of the so called "wealth seminars", they never were able to convince me they cared more about ME making money on my investments than I was ! Just stuck to my own stock and investments picks at my low cost/no cost financial institution where I had my 401K. Think I've done better than any of the "I'm not a sales person, I'm a seminar leader" people we've met. But yes, Ken Fisher certainly does know how to make money for his retirement ! LOL !

[rsmurano]

I have helped a couple of friends/family members move away from Edward Jones (and other brokers/advisors too so it’s not related just to Edward Jones) because they weren’t making money on their investments at a time when you could be blindfolded and threw darts on a board to pick equities to invest into. They were in equities that were not making them any money for quite some time. When each of them went in to tell them they were leaving, the advisor (different advisors in different cities) told them they were just about to call them to go over their portfolios.

IMO, learn to be a boglehead. Most people can learn this methodology pretty easy and invest in 3 low cost index funds that you can buy for the long haul.

Bogleheads 3 Fund Portfolio Review and Vanguard ETFs (2023) (https://www.optimizedportfolio.com/bogleheads-3-fund-portfolio/)

You can apply this to any index fund company, it’s not specifically for just vanguard funds.

[Blueblaze]

If there was anyone on the planet who knew how to play the market, they would be more than happy to manage your money for free in exchange for a cut of the profit. Ever hear of anyone making that offer?

Insurance companies seem to make that claim. And you'd think that any 100-year-old insurance company would have learned enough about investing by now to actually sell an insurance policy that would guarantee a percentage of stock market gains, while protecting you from losses. After all, unlike you, they have the longevity to weather a bear market.

But the lesson that a 100 years of investing teaches is that the best way to make money in the stock market is to scam your investors. Think about it -- even though the insurance company gets to KEEP THE MONEY when an annuity holder dies, they still never really offer a gain that matches even the inflation rate (much less the stock market), after all of their astronomical fees are applied. You'd do better in a savings account.

That's the one thing Fisher gets right. He hates annuities. But that's only because he wants your money, so he can skim 1.5% from your BALANCE (not just the gains!) with no risk to him whatsoever.

There is no passive investment you can make that beats an old-fashioned savings account, in the long run. The only investments I've ever made that beat the market were businesses and properties that I owned and actively managed.

[daniel200]

I am a fan of the Vanguard/Fidelity because of the low fees. And then only owning a single S&P500 fund (VTI) and individual bonds. Easy, simple and performs as well as the stock/bond market.

But I understand that there are many people out there who feel unable or are unwilling to do manage their own money. They want someone to do it for them. Fischer is not cheap … but they are much more likely to manage your money correctly than the other money managers. Fischer holds itself to the fiduciary standard … and that is rare.

[manaboutown]

I am old enough to remember when trading costs were fixed...and they were high! I recall moving what little I had in the market to Olde Discount after May Day in 1975 at my astute boss's urging. I never again used Merrill Lynch or any other high cost brokerage company.

Although I do not know how compensation packages work in the financial industry stock brokers, or financial advisors as they like to call themselves, seem to get paid in part by the size of their customers' accounts. I am primarily a real estate investor but when I hit 80 sold off a couple properties. For years I had a small account at Schwab where I was (thankfully) ignored until I made a sizable deposit in 2022. Then I got noticed big time, greeted, called, invited to lunch, asked what they could do for me, all that concierge service stuff. To stop this, or at least put it on hold, I finally agreed to talk to a rep. During our conversation it came out that I had financial assets spread among several brokerage houses. He immediately urged, almost demanded, that I transfer all my accounts to Schwab. I refused and told him I remember Lehman Brothers and others and believed in spreading my financial assets among several of his competitors. By the way, at that time Schwab held long term Treasuries and interest rates were going up so it had to be squeezed and sweating it out. On top of that its clients were pulling money out of their Schwab bank accounts and putting it into T Bills, money market funds and CDs.

Over the years I have held both individual stocks and mutual funds. I actually was licensed and sold mutual funds in 1965 and 1966 so I knew back then about the various high fees. This was 10 years before Vanguard started on May Day 1975.

I even traded commodities for a time but gave it up after needing to call in from a pay phone under a bull moose head on the wall in a hunting lodge in Maine during deer season. I more than broke even - lucky me - but I could not handle the stress and I was young!

At present I am still mostly in real estate but have invested about half of my after tax RE sales proceeds in short term T Bills. The rest I put into individual stocks - I can't kick the habit - and ETFs. If I felt I needed a financial advisor I would go to an hourly rate fee only outfit having some depth of talent or team and not a highly and expensively advertised outfit like Fisher, Edward Jones or Raymond James which would happily rake off 1% or more of my financial assets in their accounts every year. (If my assets made 10% in a year they would get 10% of my return. If my assets earned 5% they could get 20% of my return. If my assets earned 1% in a year they would take 100% or more of my earnings. No thank you!) I would also choose someone I got along with and trusted. I would look for someone who had satisfied clients in my age group and financial situation, quantitatively and qualitatively. An individual advising owners of $100M portfolios would have no interest in me as my account would be peanuts to them. I would seek to find someone with experience and expertise at my financial level.

[Rainger99]

But I understand that there are many people out there who feel unable or are unwilling to do manage their own money. They want someone to do it for them. Fischer is not cheap … but they are much more likely to manage your money correctly than the other money managers. Fischer holds itself to the fiduciary standard … and that is rare.

But when you put your money into a Fidelity or Vanguard, it is being managed by professionals. They just don't charge the fees that Fisher does.

[Caymus]

I am old enough to remember when trading costs were fixed...and they were high!

Yes, they were high. I just found a trading confirmation where I paid $49.95 (including telebroker discount) on a $2,000 trade I made in 1991.

[daniel200]

But when you put your money into a Fidelity or Vanguard, it is being managed by professionals. They just don't charge the fees that Fisher does.

I have never found value in Fidelity’s “professionals”. I have met with them several times and they cold call me a couple of times per year. They also push some risky adventures that have high fees. These guys are not fiduciary. So I don’t use their advice and just manage everything at Fidelity myself.

That’s why I say, if you do not have the interest or ability to manage it yourself, the best option is a money manager that follows the fiduciary guidelines.

[Babubhat]

As another person said on this post, Fischer does not make cold calls. I have been with them for 12 years. We are up 26% YTD. Put that into your calculations.

It needs to be risk and tax adjusted. That figure is meaningless

[Plinker]

If you don’t understand the math posted by manaboutime then you need to read it over and over again until you do. Or, ask someone to explain it. It is based on a 1% AUM fee. If you are charged 1.5% in AUM fees than the numbers are even more staggering.

“If my assets made 10% in a year they would get 10% of my return. If my assets earned 5% they could get 20% of my return. If my assets earned 1% in a year they would take 100% or more of my earnings. “

A common suggestion by advisors is to take 4% of your portfolio each year and adjust it for inflation. This “rule” was suggested by William Bengen, a financial advisor, in 1974 and was designed to allow a 30-year withdrawal period, covering your retirement years. Whether that is appropriate or not is a topic for another post. However, with a $1 million dollar portfolio, this equates to a $40,000 withdrawal the first year. Charging a 1% AUM fee would result in the advisor pocketing $10,000.

This means the advisor is taking a mind boggling 25% of the money you are allowed to withdraw and likely took you decades of hard work to accumulate. Actually, it’s even worse because now you have withdrawn 5% (your 4% + the 1% AUM fee). People underestimate the effect fees have on their portfolio. “Gee, it’s only 1-1.5%”. Imagine paying only 0.14%. It’s easily done when you invest with Vanguard and Fidelity (and others).

[retiredguy123]

In my opinion, you have two options:

1. Open an account with Vanguard and invest 40 percent in the S&P 500 Index stock fund, 20 percent in the short term bond index fund, 20 per cent in the total bond market index fund, and 20 percent in the money market cash reserves fund.

2. Pay Fisher Investments 1 to 1.5 percent of your total investment portfolio each year to select the investment products for you.

I would advise you to choose option 1, and I have been doing that for over 40 years. I have never paid an investment advisor a penny.

[Babubhat]

I would not pay Warren Buffet 1.5%. He says use index funds. But so many think they can do better. The odds are against you in the long run just like playing in the Casino

[dpscmsgt]

I lost money with Vanguard. Since switching to Fisher my investments have done better than the S&P 500 but not as good as the Nasdaq 100 index. I am ok with that because it fits my risk tolerance.

I have three accounts with them IRA, Roth and Brokerage. I am required to take RMD from the IRA and I am still making money from that account.

During the Bear market of 2022 mu accounts did go down but not as much as the S&P and Nasdaq. At the end of the bear market, I was still making a lot of money above my original investments in each account.

They set up your investments based upon your financial facts and other factors (i.e. your risk tolerance, age, etc.)

[BlueStarAirlines]

As another person said on this post, Fischer does not make cold calls. I have been with them for 12 years. We are up 26% YTD. Put that into your calculations.

If you invested in Vanguard's 500 Index Fund Admiral shares and forgot about it you'd be up 20.62 as of yesterday.

My 401k is up 39% as of yesterday. Both of those without advisor fees.

If its working for you then you should feel good, but if I were in your shoes I'd feel ripped off. By the way, you are not up 26%. That may be your return before paying your advisor costs.

[Robbb]

I don’t know of one but I expect that they don’t do it because they aren’t that good.

The average yearly return of the S&P 500 is 10.749% over the last 50 years. This assumes dividends are reinvested.

I think the minimum Fisher investment is $500,000. If your advisor can just match the market, that would be $50,000 a year in profit. If an advisor took just 3% of the added value, he would make $1,500 a year. If they are really that good, I would expect that a financial advisor could beat the market most years.

How is a "good advisor" going to beat the market most years? Without insider information how are they going to beat the market? What kind of insight will guide them into making decisions that others don't make? The reality of the situation is NO advisor has ever beaten the market over a long time period.

[Robbb]

If you don’t understand the math posted by manaboutime then you need to read it over and over again until you do. Or, ask someone to explain it. It is based on a 1% AUM fee. If you are charged 1.5% in AUM fees than the numbers are even more staggering.

“If my assets made 10% in a year they would get 10% of my return. If my assets earned 5% they could get 20% of my return. If my assets earned 1% in a year they would take 100% or more of my earnings. “

A common suggestion by advisors is to take 4% of your portfolio each year and adjust it for inflation. This “rule” was suggested by William Bengen, a financial advisor, in 1974 and was designed to allow a 30-year withdrawal period, covering your retirement years. Whether that is appropriate or not is a topic for another post. However, with a $1 million dollar portfolio, this equates to a $40,000 withdrawal the first year. Charging a 1% AUM fee would result in the advisor pocketing $10,000.

This means the advisor is taking a mind boggling 25% of the money you are allowed to withdraw and likely took you decades of hard work to accumulate. Actually, it’s even worse because now you have withdrawn 5% (your 4% + the 1% AUM fee). People underestimate the effect fees have on their portfolio. “Gee, it’s only 1-1.5%”. Imagine paying only 0.14%. It’s easily done when you invest with Vanguard and Fidelity (and others).

Do what this guy says.

[manaboutown]

AI will bring 'carnage' to wealth management, strategist says (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ai-will-bring-carnage-to-wealth-management-strategist-says-113911137.html)

[mrf0151]

I cannot count the number of times I have received expensive glossy brochure mailings from them over the years. They show up on my FB page almost daily. They show up as ads on almost all the investment news internet sites I frequent. Feels like a high pressure outfit due to all its aggressive advertising but I have no first hand experience with Fisher Investments. Ken Fisher is a multibillionaire. Kenneth Fisher - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Fisher)
Good observation. Fisher spends mega millions on advertising. Who do we think pays for all that advertising? Could it possibly be coming out of the investor's pockets? Reminds me of Parady here in the TV area. You think you're doing well? Think again.