[Mansfield54]

Has anyone had experience as a client of the fee-only advisor services offered by PersonalCpital.com? Thoughts? Their online free tools are very good.

[Dan2020]

No experience with them other than using their site.
Might want to check their fee structure before investing...
Financial Advisory Fees by Investment Firm | Personal Capital

[Robbb]

I looked into them a few years ago, and while their online stuff is good, I was not impressed with their fee only advise. The "fee only" turned out to be something close to 1% AUM. That's no better than any advisor.

[petsetc]

My obligatory comment,

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.

[rjm1cc]

Looked at then a while ago but felt they were too expensive. The fees you pay to the advisor and the manager of a fund are very important in deterring how well you will do over the years. As fees go up the ability to beat the market return goes down.

[Babubhat]

Fees are a rip off. Use ETF portfolios. No advisor should get a fee unless they beat the indexes on a risk adjusted basis. None will do that

[RICH1]

A little late in life to be inquiring about fees…Better off with Mason jars and a good shovel… a very bumpy ride coming ..Cash is King

[manaboutown]

"Buffett, 91, shared no love for financial advisers and Wall Street, saying they make money by feeding off "the crumbs from the table of capitalists" and called investment a "simple game." "

From: Buffett compares Wall Street to gamblers, would trust '''monkeys''' over financial advisers | Fox Business

[rsmurano]

I have used personal capital’s online program for years but never their brokerage firm, I have always done my own investing picks.
The only people that make money overtime using an investment firm like personal capital, Edward jones, fisher, and others, are these firms. For example, if you are paying a 1% fee on a $2M portfolio, you are paying $20K a year in fees. And, if you are losing money like this year or 2008, you are still paying a fee. If they sell everything and keep it in cash because of a recession coming, you still pay the $20K fee.
If you must use a broker, look to vanguard and get into their index funds, or Schwab has their robo broker for free.

[Kjbatl]

Originally Posted by Mansfield54

Has anyone had experience as a client of the fee-only advisor services offered by PersonalCpital.com? Thoughts? Their online free tools are very good.

I have been a client of Personal Capital for about 3 1/2 years. Their fees were less than most out there. Also they were the only one that gave me a clear picture of what they were going to do specifically when it came to investing. I put some of my money with them and compared for over a year to my wife's investments. during the pandemic downturn my balance dropped more than my wife's investments, but also came back much stronger and quicker than hers. I also do not want to be tied to a computer always having to keep up with each investment, etc. long term so I don't mind paying a fee to manage it appropriately. You can PM me if you would like more information.

[Robbb]

Originally Posted by Mansfield54

Has anyone had experience as a client of the fee-only advisor services offered by PersonalCpital.com? Thoughts? Their online free tools are very good.

Unless they are able to get insider information, which is illegal, how can they even match the market when you consider the fees involve? If you want someone to handle your investments, look at Vanguard, their personal investing services are .3%. Or if you want to even do better, just invest in balanced 60/40 fund, which is what Vanguard personal investing services will do anyway, and save the .3%

[craigrmorrison]

Originally Posted by Mansfield54

Has anyone had experience as a client of the fee-only advisor services offered by PersonalCpital.com? Thoughts? Their online free tools are very good.

No experience with this company, only advice. Some transactions and interactive decisions cannot be replaced by a remote, digital platform.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by rjm1cc

Looked at then a while ago but felt they were too expensive. The fees you pay to the advisor and the manager of a fund are very important in deterring how well you will do over the years. As fees go up the ability to beat the market return goes down.

There have been many studies that show that about 95% of all financial advisors NEVER beat the market. So, just go with an ETF like SPY. I try to allocate no more than 10% of my portfolio to individual companies. That way you can cut down on risk, but still enjoy the interest and excitement of owning some individual stocks. I often own BRK.B
......Incidentally, this would seem to me to be a risky time to be buying tons of stock. Many experts are predicting a worldwide slowdown (recession) or even a depression. Good luck with buying now. The market may be decreasing, but I imagine that it has a further way to drop!

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

There have been many studies that show that about 95% of all financial advisors NEVER beat the market. So, just go with an ETF like SPY. I try to allocate no more than 10% of my portfolio to individual companies. That way you can cut down on risk, but still enjoy the interest and excitement of owning some individual stocks. I often own BRK.B
......Incidentally, this would seem to me to be a risky time to be buying tons of stock. Many experts are predicting a worldwide slowdown (recession) or even a depression. Good luck with buying now. The market may be decreasing, but I imagine that it has a further way to drop!

Timing stocks........WHEN to buy or sell is probably more important than WHAT stock to buy. Most financial advisors make their money by "CHURN" where they try to get you to buy and sell OFTEN. That is the opposite of one of the best stock strategies, which is buy and HOLD. So, often the advisor and the advised have conflicting strategies. That must be understood when talking about financial advisors that may or may not have the best interests of the client foremost.

[Mansfield54]

I appreciate everyone’s feedback regarding the use of a financial advisor and also the cautionary advice regarding investing at this time. I have read Merriman’s Get Smart or Get Screwed and found it interesting that he himself uses an advisor. I am hoping to find a good fiduciary who can help me be a good steward of a recent inheritance.