Fee Based Financial Planner
 

We use a fee base financial planner for our investments. Have gone this route for years and have had success with it. This Planner looked at our 401's before we retired. Then, asks about goals, etc. Looks at our risk tolerance, plans at retirement, our complete financial status, and what we wanted to do during retirement and how much we would like or need to have per month. Then he gave us choices of what Companies to use, Vanguard, TIAA-CREF, as examples, and the different funds to help us to be able to realize our goals and to make sure we do not run out of money to accomplish them. He does not get any money from these funds so there is no incentive to the Planner to push you into a particular fund. His money comes from an hourly charge when we meet up with him, which we do once a year, about 1 hour or so to review and tune up our portfolio, if needed. Also to make sure we are in the percentile we are comfortable in, either 60% stock funds-40% safe funds, or 70-30 for the more conservative investor. Also, he determined the correct RMD needed to satisfy the IRS and made the calls to the Funds to set that up along with deductions for Federal or State taxes. Also makes changes to our withdrawal as our needs change.
Nice to know if needed for advice, he is just a phone call away, which happened when we bought our first home,(very quickly) in TV. We were fortunate to have found the right person for us.

Check here, Fee-Only Financial Advisors Home - NAPFA - The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors

This week Barron's published its Top Advisor Directory (as it does periodically). Many are located in FL, CA and NY no doubt because that is where the money is. Some may be fee based; I do not know. The directory lists the size of the typical portfolio each advisor manages as well as the net worth of his/her typical client.

Sounds like a good guy. What is his hourly fee. Seems like it would be tough to make a living but then it is the same way most professional get paid - hourly for services rendered.
Do you compare your results to bench markets to evaluate how well the investments go?

I did a bit of a search for a fee only advisor and ended up using David Nestrick with Firstrust and have been very satisfied with his advice. I have a consultation with him every year since the original meeting. He will come to your home.

I should have added that our Planner is based in NYS. He is also a lawyer and teaches part time at a 4 year college. Hourly charge is, at last tune-up was $190 for an hour. We are in Index Funds now and no longer into individual stocks. Since these Funds mirror the market, we are pleased with our portfolio.

I have a small fee only account with Morgan Stanley, Broker I had before moving don here, not a salesman. I have also subscribed to online stock picks when to sell and when to sell. Most of my sucess is on my own, though.

I would stear clear of the ones offering free dinner, etc, in Daiy Sun. Many promise Muni bonds with very high interest rates, but read the fine print, 40 year bonds, don't get locked in for so long, and from unknown city or country, if it sounds too good to be true, it's bad.

Don't Edward Jones, Morgan Stanley, and others like them have high expense ratios in their managed funds? (1-2%). One investor might feel that their managerial fees are low but aren't you paying dearly inside their funds?

Anyone who tells you they can produce higher returns for less risk are not telling you the true risks (except for one situation where adding a very small percentage of equities to your otherwise all fixed income assets can theoretically improve returns while reducing portfolio risk). Good luck.

I'd recommend you google Paul Merriman (paulmerriman-dot-com) and download and read his 3 free e books. He also makes some recommendations on his site. He is a retired investment adviser and is trying to sell you NOTHING.

Very reasonable.

Why don't people do a little research and pick their own investments. Like was said, in a comment. if they knew some much they wouldn't be telling you.

I am convinced that you can do better than any financial advisor with a little homework. Determine your asset allocation and utilize the appropriate low expense index fund. Financial advisors always pitch products they can make money on.