Parady will most definately try to sell you an annuity.

Reading his ads would have thought better of him but guess not.

I would say do not use a bank as once they get your money, that's the last you will hear from them. I use Edward Jones but from the responses - we all have our favorite ones. My EJ guy gets paid a commission every month on "managing" my money and it is clear on my activity reports what that is. We talk about every month and he offers suggestions on buying/selling stock and movement of money. My reason for saying this is that I get support and am involved in the decision making process but don't have to a financial expert and can just be retired. Find someone that involves you in the decision making process and is in contact with you after the initial sale. I've been with my guy for ten years. I would reinforce the comments about don't do an annuity - commission heavy.

We including me are confused. There is huge difference between a financial advisor and a person at a bank selling investments, an independent firm, or Fidelity. Fidelity is a brokerage, they sell investments. They do not. will not, for example supply tax advice.
If, you know the right questions to ask they will give you the right answers. If, you sell this it will be taxed as ordinary income. If, you hold it to xxxxx it is a long term gain so tax due may be half as much. I've never bought from someone in a bank. In the past,
thing have gotten quite confused. You used to have a checking account with a commercial bank and you would go to them for business banking needs. Today, what was a savings bank. Issuing mortgages from money on deposit in CDs etc is long gone.
Also, long gone is not just bank loyalty but customer loyalty as well.

Who to go to? If, you need and or want financial advice, you will want to establish a long term relationship with a full service broker. The cost will of course be higher. No one can or does work for free. Lower cost, there are the low cost brokerages. Fidelity, T Rowe Price, Vanguard are the big ones. If, I left anyone out I did not do so delibertly I know there are others.

Dividends — Getting a Piece of the Action — Maybe
 

The Villages Investment Education Club will be discussing dividend investing on Thursday, April 22, at 3:00 — via Zoom.

If you google Villages Investment Education Club, it will take you to their website where you will find contact info and upcoming topics.

(I used to attend the in-person meetings sometimes if I was interested in the topic being presented. I have not yet tried it on Zoom. I appreciate that upcoming topics are announced so Villagers can pick and choose what they hope to learn more about. Over the years since the club started, they have presented a vast array of investment topics.)