[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

They all need to make money......fee based or buy/sell.
The fiduciary paper DOES NOT guarantee best interest.
Depending on your balance & your knowledge & your willingness to learn.......FA probably has no value.
All the information you need on investing & modeling is available without a FA.

But if you must......Understand Fees.

I agree that using a fiduciary doesn't guarantee good advice. But the financial industry is fighting tooth and nail against laws that require their advisors to be fiduciaries.

[STLRAY]

Avoid annuities and anyone pushing them. They are not looking out for you. Also do a “broker check” on them. Google it.

[Stu from NYC]

Unfortunately most people will not devote the time and effort to understand how to take care of their money and rely upon others sometimes with devastating effect.

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I would definitely not use a bank as a financial advisor. If you really need someone to advise you on investments, I would would hire a "fee only" financial planner, who is a fiducuary, and states it in writing. Fidelity Investments and Vanguard Investments are two excellent companies to deal with. And, whatever you do, DO NOT let someone talk you into transferring your money into an annuity. If you contact a commission based advisor, that is the first thing they will recommend to you, because it will make them a huge commission.

we use Fidelity, & are VERY pleased

[manaboutown]

Originally Posted by Boomer

I would not use a bank.

The reason?

I don’t know if this is how it is in TV, but I know that there are banks in the city I’m from where tellers are instructed to pay special attention to customers who maintain large balances in their checking accounts. (They are told to be especially aware of older customers who can sometimes tend to keep larger balances.)

Then — as part of their “customer service” — the teller is supposed to suggest an introduction to the bank’s investment advisor. (I am pretty sure there are incentives for tellers who make these connections.)

How do I know this?

I know two people who have been tellers, one is a friend who retired from a tech career with a big company but wanted to work part time. She got a job at a branch of the biggest bank in the city.

She said the tellers were constantly pressured to sell, sell, sell — might be just a credit card, but even better, getting money into the hands of the bank’s investment department.

She would not do it. But she did not need the job so she was immune to pressure. She was also very good at being a teller so the boss left her alone.

The other story made my skin crawl. This one was from a woman who had worked as a teller in a downtown bank. She had been there for a long time, and knew many of her customers who had been coming to her window for years. I remember she said her customers were among the richest and the poorest in the city. She loved her job because she liked interacting with people and the day went by fast.

Then the bank was sold and Cruella DeVil was the new manager. The pressure was on to grab those big accounts for the bank.

One older lady had an especially large balance and the teller was told to reel it in.

The teller had known the woman as a customer for a long time. She said to the boss, “I can’t do that. I am afraid she is slipping into dementia.”

To which the boss replied, “So much the better.”

The teller quit.

The banks I am talking about are not in TV. But the stories I am telling you are the reason why I would never put investments in the hands of a bank. Whatever they are selling has to be super high commission to cause that kind of pressure on tellers.

I bank only with community banks, but I do not invest with them either. I have an aversion to big banks because of the stories I just told you. (I guess online banking has cut down on the in-person opportunities for “customer service.”)

Fidelity or Vanguard can help, as can others like them. You can arrange to talk with someone and see if you click. If you are rolling money from a 401(k) or a 403(b) into an IRA, they can help you do that so you don’t cause a tax consequence. They should also help you evaluate your risk tolerance. With companies like this, you also have the option to manage your own accounts.

(Oh my, you asked for the time, and I built you a clock. I must feel like typing tonight.)

Anyway, take your time and find your comfort zone.

Boomer

Beware of bank trust departments as well. I have heard of good solid stocks being sold and the proceeds "invested" in the bank's CDs.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

I am going to say that a Fidelity CFP is not a fiduciary but has a commission of assets under management. Now this is from long time fidelity managers who have left fidelity and i have worked with at my current employer(more than one). One of them was a colleague in my finance department and told me of inside stories within fidelity as well as his financial advisor from Fidelity and his response to certain questions. I have also seen some of Fidelity's AI recommendations, and I don't necessarily agree with 100% stocks for a new retiree.

Therefore, I would 100% recommend an independent fee only advisor, who actually will give you an excel model and provide different ETFs or mutual funds with expected capital gains returns and income returns. I want to take the CFP exam prior to relocating so that I can legally provide recommendations along with a model for you to manage your expected incomes, taxes, etc. as income and taxes etc can be a huge mystery for certain personality types.

finance sportsguy

[MickeyStevens]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

The same thing can be said by putting your money in a checking account, or in your mattress............but at least with these options, no fees.

And eventually the money in your mattress will run out. We'll have an unlimited stream until both my wife and I are dead. We have no children or siblings so it won't really matter what happens after.

[MickeyStevens]

Originally Posted by PugMom

we use Fidelity, & are VERY pleased

Although we don't use Fidelity we use another national company and have for 25 years. We were able to retire earlier than we would have had we not had them manage our money.

[manaboutown]

Whatever you do, please do not get conned into a reverse mortgage by our local high pressure salesman!

[La lamy]

I got screwed so bad the first time I let an advisor deal with my investments. Lost a third of my savings. I decided to educate myself and do my own investing. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to letting people use your money for their own greed or carelessness.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by MickeyStevens

And eventually the money in your mattress will run out. We'll have an unlimited stream until both my wife and I are dead. We have no children or siblings so it won't really matter what happens after.

At an extremely low ROI rate.............same as mattress or savings accounts.


Unlimited?????....................request your monthly payment to double, see how unlimited your stream is.

[l2ridehd]

There are several things in all these replies that may or may not be good advise. I will list what I would advise and I have been doing my own and helping others for a long time.

NO to annuities. They tie up your money, significantly increase your risk and reward the person selling it to you with your money.
Estate planning is good advise and I use Amy Pittman. She is very good.
NO to banks. Commissions are high, products are expensive and returns are usually lower then available.

I would contact Vanguard, Fidelity, and Schwab and ask them for a basic investment plan. Make them explain all costs and fees. Using any of those 3 will give you a low cost investment plan. Personally I use Vanguard and my total investment fee’s run about 1/10th of a % a year. Most advisors will charge you 1.5% or more each year plus trading costs. Index funds are your friend. Cost is low, risk is low and returns will typically beat the market. But talk to all 3 and make a decision who you are most comfortable with. Make them explain costs, risks, and expected returns. All 3 have very low cost low risk index funds that can be used to build a very diversified plan.

PM me if you have any questions and I will help you any way I can. I have managed my own for over 35 years and have been very happy with my returns.

[airdale2]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I would definitely not use a bank as a financial advisor. If you really need someone to advise you on investments, I would would hire a "fee only" financial planner, who is a fiducuary, and states it in writing. Fidelity Investments and Vanguard Investments are two excellent companies to deal with. And, whatever you do, DO NOT let someone talk you into transferring your money into an annuity. If you contact a commission based advisor, that is the first thing they will recommend to you, because it will make them a huge commission.

AND their free chicken dinners !

[SacDQ]

Check out Creative Planning they are also a fiduciary investment company with a great business model. We also used them to set up our Revocable Trust.

[richs631]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

They all need to make money......fee based or buy/sell.
The fiduciary paper DOES NOT guarantee best interest.
Depending on your balance & your knowledge & your willingness to learn.......FA probably has no value.
All the information you need on investing & modeling is available without a FA.

But if you must......Understand Fees.

You hit the nail on it’s head. Your knowledge and willingness to learn