My wife and I have put our trust in Jean Dorrell, Jean runs senior financial. We’ve been with her for several years and credit her with our early retirement. She can be reached at 352-307-8652. Good luck!

I would only trust a fee-only fiduciary financial planner. Find one from this site :

The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors | NAPFA

Have them look at your entire financial picture. They will ask about your goals and risk tolerance. I would not have them handle my money for a fee (it is an option). Rather they tell us how to handle and invest our money in the most responsible way. We were paying for hourly advice twice a year and switched to a yearly plan where they are always available to answer questions as they arise.

They do not give free dinners and they are not tied to any specific investment type or institution. I have found diversification is very important. They can cover specifics about mortgages, insurance needs (umbrella, life, etc). Social Security planning using sophisticated tools to decide at which age to take it.

Good luck!

Advisor
 

I use Kevin Ganus at Wells Fargo. Lots of experience, very professional recommendations, does not work with annuities, is a vice president as his organization. Does not do the "big, fancy" events to draw clients that some organizations here put on. But he seems much more knowledgeable about good financial practice that any of the 10 or so other financial advisors I've met with or worked with in my life. I've been with him for 3 years now.

The 1% fee they charge will dramatically lowere your return over time.
 

Look at Vanguard. Do it your self with a balanced fund or pay then.3% for management.

Agreed, and fiduciary definition
 

Agreed. And, in case the OP and other don't know what a fiduciary is and why their fiduciary agreement is important:

"What Is a Fiduciary? A fiduciary is a person or organization that acts on behalf of another person or persons, putting their clients' interests ahead of their own, with a duty to preserve good faith and trust. Being a fiduciary thus requires being bound both legally and ethically to act in the other's best interests."

If you really want the best find a Barons top 100 advisor. Depends if you are a whale or a minnow

2021 Top 100 Financial Advisors Ranked by Barron's

They can think they are acting in someone’s best behalf and still be a lousy investor. Not all money managers are created equal.

Better yet visit a few. They will punch your answers into a computer program and give you a fancy report with lots of gobbledygook that sounds impressive. It’s robo investing unless you are a big account

Play the Schwab customer. Ask them if they refund their fees if they don’t beat the s&p 500. The acid test. Watch their facial expression.

I too always did my own, and a few years ago just got tired of having to monitor it all the time. My mom had used Andrea Patrick at Raymond James in Brownwood, so I talked with her, and felt good about her and her strategy. In 2020 I switched everything, and yes, there are fees. But with her, my account made way more than I could have, and I happily paid the fees for the incredible growth. It’s a tiny percentage, so she makes money when I do. Now, I’m not sure 2022 will be as strong as 2021, but I’m comfortable that she is doing a better job than I could do at this point. Highly recommend her.

That’s what you pay for. Hand holding or you don’t want to deal with it. But the devil is no one knows how they perform in a down market. It’s been too easy to make money. Older people don’t have time to bail them out in a bad market. Nasdaq has just dropped 400 points from its high today. Market is very leveraged,

You pay your money and you take your chances.

Ultimately there is only one question. Can you sleep at night with your current portfolio?

Exactly, we have used a money manager from up north for 20 years now and have enjoyed incredible growth as well. He constantly adjusts our investments dependent on our life stage and risk tolerance. We could not have done this ourselves.

Don’t forget the tax consequences

I am fine with managing my investment portfolio except for a comprehensive understanding of tax laws. I would like to hire a consultant for tax advice only. Any suggestions?

We have continued with our investment manager from up north when we moved to Florida. We have been with him for 15 years and are very happy with our results. If you’re interested let me know.

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Don't
 

Whatever you do don't go with Fidelity. They aren't a fiduciary although they will probably tell you they are.

Not exactly. It's complicated. Under Federal law, investment companies, like Fidelity, must have a fiduciary relationship with their clients when advising them about retirement accounts, but not necessarily with non-retirement accounts. So, if you have an account with Fidelity, or any other company, you should ask the representative if they are acting as a fiduciary or not. And, insist that they put their answer in writing. If they are a fiduciary, they should provide you with a letter clearly stating that they are advising you as fiduciary.

We use David Blackston. Very knowledgeable, great staff and doesn't try to fit you into a particular product. Has an office in The Villages.

Kelley Pyles.CFP. She is a fiduciary they only make money if you do. @ Royal Fund Management. 352-750-1637

You are a perfect candidate for Shawn Walton of Synergy Wealth Management. Shawn is in his 50’s and has commensurate experience in the wealth management field. He can be reached at 386-603-4300. Belinda is his Administrative Assistant and will connect you with Shawn.

I always ask the investment advisor if he knows had to make wise investments why he needs my money to work with.

hopefully the advisor understood the question. :icon_wink:

A monkey can get you the sp 500 return. How does your advisor add value. For most they are like buying rustproofing from a car dealer

Although I am sure he is totally unaware of it, since the mid 1980s when I bought a few shares of BRK at a little over $3,000/share Warren Buffett has been my investment advisor on what has grown to become a large chunk of my (taxable) portfolio.

Defer taxes until you die. Coombs doing most of the heavy lifting now

You are not built for someone else managing your money
 

To me, SEVERAL is grater than three. I quit after three, and have been happily managing our money since. I have documented investment and withdrawal strategy, spending plans . Go over it with my wife monthly, with quarterly net worth updates. I am in process of developing a plan to simplify the investment plan should I pre-decease her, or go into cognitive decline. We both have MBA Finance. We gave each person, at least in our minds, every chance to succeed. I probably average 1.5 hours a day on this, but am an investor, not a trader.