How did you choose your financial advisor?
 

Did you just stick with the same person from before you retired (stayed with employer advisor)?

Was there something about the one you have now? Something that they said that you decided to trust them and go all in?

What was important to you about what they told you during consults/phone conversations?

Are they basically all the same?

Also, if you "jumped ship" to another advisor what prompted that decision for you?

Thanks!

I have never had a financial advisor because I never saw any value to what they do. To me, investing your money is a DIY project.

I have been self-directed since 2005 and think it was the right choice since I am still comfortably retired.

In 2005 I contacted advisors (Certified Financial Planners) and they gave me a “list” of things that I need to collect including what my goals and desires present and the future. As I gathered that info, I discovered free resources that made me confident I should self-direct. I spent a lot of time doing it, but having done the leg work, here is the essence which should be easy to do.

My main recommendation is 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. Both tax deferred and tax efficient.

Much good info on his site, just ignore the puffery and sales pitches.

I have used his Vanguard sample portfolio since the beginning with slight modification from Boglehead portfolios and it is still my “go to” mix.

Initially, we also had two small annuities which were bad investments and we withdrew the 10% penalty free until they were gonw/

Also, if you want to know too much about annuities, listen to Stan The Annuity Man® | Brutally Honest Facts About Annuities podcasts.

Podcast - Have Fun With Annuities(R) | The Annuity Man

Last recommendation is FIRECalc: A different kind of retirement calculator , a Monte Carlo simulation of your future.

Depending on life, you may also need estate planning for which a financial advisor is not the guy.

JMHO

befor bankruptcy i picked the lowest bidder........:cus::cus:

I keep my accounts at three separate brokerages one of which is Vanguard. The other two each arbitrarily assigned an advisor to my account. I never consult with them as I do not want to pay exorbitant AUM fees for advice I do not want or need but they are there for whenever a glitch of some sort occurs. If I ever feel I need an advisor I will find and use a fee-only one whom I can pay on an hourly basis.

As another poster did hereinabove I shall recommend a couple good reads. I think the OP will find, as will most folks, that indexing is the way to go, especially if you want to invest it and forget it except for a review a couple times a year.

"Winning the Loser's Game" by Charles B. Ellis and "The Four Pillars of Investing" by William J. Bernstein are the books.

Agree.
I’ve been with the same guy for 37 years. He told me he would never charge an AUM fee, never misappropriate a dime, always work in my best interest and never offer me a free dinner. I check in with him every morning when I’m brushing my teeth.
Seriously, you can do this on your own. Fidelity and Vanguard are great choices. “Bogle on Mutual Funds” is a great read.
Over a lifetime, you could easily have hundreds of thousands of additional retirement assets.

However, there are people who have no idea how to invest nor manage money. They are not interested in it, and are not numerically oriented.

We don't know how much money you have or need, but it's all about your lifestyle matching your monetary resources. A mismatch can be disastrous in one way, and very unsatisfying in the other direction. . . I would recommend interviewing independent CFPs, and asking questions about their costs, and their general strategies for people in your situation. .

Beware of annuities sales pitches, as well as all equity investments without any bond components. . . and remember that its all about after tax cash, never about total dollars or value in any one account.

good luck

Depending on what your needs, you might not need a financial advisor. Just compare your spending against your expenditures and the lifestyle you want to live. If you have enough income coming in and savings, you might be able to park your money in something secure and just live off the dividends. If on the other hand you are not in that position, even if you need an advisor, I suggest you keep an eye over their shoulder. Just remember it's not their money they're playing with.

I do my investments myself through Fidelity but in the past if I needed any advice I would go to a fee only financial adviser. They will definitely advise you and you don’t have to worry about them selling you stuff you don’t know anything about.

Do it yourself, but you should have asked this question decades ago. I read investment books everyday, there is always something to learn.

Never go with an annuity, you won’t experience the real gains and the costs are very high.

But you can’t throw a dart at a board of stocks symbols and expect to make a fortune. Decades ago, I bought subscriptions to Morningstar, motley fool, and somebody else to deep dive into why they were recommending certain stocks and funds. That was invaluable since, and I haven’t subscribed to any of these for decades.

I have a set of index funds and etfs that when I’m in the market, make me 20-35% over and over again for the past 2 decades. Plus a few stocks that have been very good for decades.

Learn to be a boglehead!

Fiduciary responsibility
 

I used to think I could handle it myself also, but the amount of time I spent payed very little. I still own stock in a treasure hunting company that has been successful until our government makes them give it back to a foreign country.
That being said, ETF's are the way to go. Edelman Financial Engines doesn't make money off of trades. They charge a flat percentage and my return has been over 6 percent including the fees.
Not saying my choice is the right one for you, but I got my time back and don't have to worry about my decisions or rebalancing my portfolio.
Just make sure you don't sign up with someone who makes money off of trades. There are a lot of schisters out there stealing your hard earned money and destroying people's wealth and retirement.
Good luck.

We are self-directed, but for a steak dinner we tried ARS. All they wanted to do was to sell an annunity which we had said initially we would not do. Claimed he was a fudiciary, but in his mind, only the Annunity was an option. Gave us a book to read for "how" to select an advisor, but he violated at least two major principles, so...we cancelled future appointments. Be wise.

You may want to consider a fee based adviser, less bias with investment recommendations since they don't earn commissions, try Garrett Planning Network

Vanguard is probably the lowest cost, they have excellent advisors and are very sharp with taxes relative to investing and withdrawals.

My advisor said don't let your wife have any credit cards, it worked well so far:ho:

Remember ENRon. way too many people had way too much money in that basket…..bad!!!!!
 

Smart investors always have more than one fiduciary…a fiduciary is someon that does not sell commissioned products…they charge a small percentage of you gains…so when your portfolio grows their compensation increases….never put all your eggs in one basket….

Informed feedback
 

Thank you for your post. It represents the main reason I read this forum, to learn from people more knowledgeable than myself on certain subjects. There are lots of bright people out there. Thanks for sharing.


QUOTE=petsetc;2339090]I have been self-directed since 2005 and think it was the right choice since I am still comfortably retired.

In 2005 I contacted advisors (Certified Financial Planners) and they gave me a “list” of things that I need to collect including what my goals and desires present and the future. As I gathered that info, I discovered free resources that made me confident I should self-direct. I spent a lot of time doing it, but having done the leg work, here is the essence which should be easy to do.

My main recommendation is 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. Both tax deferred and tax efficient.

Much good info on his site, just ignore the puffery and sales pitches.

I have used his Vanguard sample portfolio since the beginning with slight modification from Boglehead portfolios and it is still my “go to” mix.

Initially, we also had two small annuities which were bad investments and we withdrew the 10% penalty free until they were gonw/

Also, if you want to know too much about annuities, listen to Stan The Annuity Man® | Brutally Honest Facts About Annuities podcasts.

Podcast - Have Fun With Annuities(R) | The Annuity Man

Last recommendation is FIRECalc: A different kind of retirement calculator , a Monte Carlo simulation of your future.

Depending on life, you may also need estate planning for which a financial advisor is not the guy.

JMHO[/QUOTE]

Investment houses recommend what they have available to sell. I wanted to diversify into some precious metals and was told that was "not appropriate." After retirement, I gained control of my IRA account and moved to another investment house that was not stuck on "the right mix" of hyperinflated stocks and negative real interest-yielding bonds. Before retirement, I paid extra taxes to move some of the IRA into physical precious metals wrapped in a Roth IRA. Inflation can run wild, but I have protected at least some of my wealth.

Asset Management
 

I am sure you will get any number of suggestions; however, I have had the same asset manager, advisor for the past 20 years and he has caused steady growth in my portfolio. Contacting me frequently to discuss various options based upon my attitude of "play it safe"...."let's go for it"....or "what do you advise." Here is his contact information:
KEN WINGERTER, VP INVESTMENTS, MORGAN STANLEY WEALTH MANAGEMENT
8889 PELICAN BAY BLVD., STE. 300 , NAPLES, FL, 34108
Phone: (239) 449-7830
Ken.Wingerter@morganstanley.com
(239) 449-7830 800.234-9928 MOBILE

To clarify, most advisors who charge a percentage fee will collect a percentage of your total portfolio even when you don't have any gains.

Had a few when I first retired and was not satisfied with a person with contact by email, phone etc. Have an advisor Joshua, at Tower Federal Credit Union. Stop by and talk to him when we are staying at Annapolis. Very satisfied. LPL is the investor. I trust Joshua.

Just for clarification. There is a huge difference between “fee-based” and “fee-only” advisors. Fee-based advisors do make commissions. Fee-only advisors do not make commissions. The Garrett Planning Network is an excellent resource and only lists fee-only advisors.

[QUOTE=AMB444;2339021]Did you just stick with the same person from before you retired (stayed with employer advisor)?


Has anyone used senior financial services in The villages?

I've used Fidelity since the 1970s. They are an ethical financial company. I worked for them for 7 years. They will give you a free portfolio analysis which will give you a good starter education. I never paid them fees as I too am a DIY investor, but they do have options to manage your portfolio for an annual fee. Fidelity offers DIY tools on their website. At this age, it's hard to answer the question of "what are your goals?" I continue to spend less than I earn as I always have. Not very smart as my heirs will be beneficiaries but I like sleeping well at night. My biggest financial mistake has been not moving more money from a traditional IRA to a ROTH in earlier years. RMDs are killer and have an IRMA impact on what you pay for Medicare. Good luck.

The problem with fee only advisors is they are impossible to find. I know there are many resources saying they are fee only, but when you dig into them the "fee only" is 1% AUM.

The 1% AUM fee is only charged if you let the “fee-only” advisor actively manage your portfolio. You can engage them for a one-time fee (perhaps $1500 to $2500) to provide you with a thorough portfolio review with specific suggestions. Then, contact Fidelity or Vanguard and implement the plan. Meet once or twice a year and pay an hourly fee to review and make any appropriate adjustments. In other words, pay them like you pay your attorney or accountant, by the hour.
Obviously, this requires effort on your part but you will be richly rewarded by avoiding the AUM fee. It really depends on how much hands-on help you need.
Consider this: A $1,000,000 portfolio with a 1% AUM fee will cost you $10,000 in annual fees. Over a 30 year retirement, that adds up to $300,000 in fees!

Just put your money in Vanguard and stop paying for nonsense fees that take away your profits.

A couple of things:
Nobody can say etfs are the way to go, there’s 1000’s of etfs, some are good, some are dogs. Just like index funds, stocks, some are great, some are good, and others are dogs.
As for how people make money, it’s not on just the gains, it’s on your whole portfolio. For example: Fisher investments wants almost $60,000 up front fees to manage my money with no guarantees if they can do better than what I can do. 10 years they would get 1/2 a million dollars.

Also, 6% is a very low return. Put your money in a money market to get 5.3% and it’s safe. I had a couple index funds that I was getting over 35% and some stocks that doubled in a little over 6 months, with no cost except the .02-.04% fund fees.

For me, the only benefit of an etf is that you can trade them like stocks, no waiting period to settle or buy. I had a couple of etfs that were making in the high 20’s%.

Over the past 30 years or so, I have used the Vanguard S&P 500 Index mutual fund for almost all of my stock investments. I also have some shares in the Fidelity Magellan growth fund, which I purchased at least 30 years ago. At one time, the Magellan fund was the largest and hottest fund around and managed by Peter Lynch, who is no longer the fund manager. Today, I checked the returns for both funds for the past 10 years. I was surprised to discover that the Vanguard index fund has an average annual return of 12.65 percent and the Magellan fund has an average annual return of 13.05 percent. So, you can shop around for stocks, funds, and ETFs, but what is the point? I think index investing is the way to go.

The first 10 years as an investor, starting at age 27, I lost a lot of money listening to financial advisors. Then I looked in the mirror and have been using that one for the past 4 decades with no regrets. Except one: I ventured out looking for 'professional advice' a few years ago on how to best position my portfolio in preparation for the coming inflation (completely predictable). All those advisors said, 'Buy the TIP etf.' Big mistake -- TIPs have done nothing even with massive inflation!

I have been DIY since the early 70's. There is a learning curve not only with investments but also with your own risk tolerance. If you are retired, you have either gone through this or have left your investment choices to other advisors or pension funds, etc. Many advisors will want to offer hand holding guidance for your investments for a 1% annual fee. This can be a huge annual number. I have a friend who was a public service employee who had a negative view of the investors in general and since he would be receiving a defined benefit retirement package he never thought about investing. Life has a way of presenting the unexpected. He found himself through inheritance with a portfolio. He didn't know what to do, got the name of an adviser from somebody and happily pays him $20K a year to take this "burden" off his hands. It works for him. Personally, I can do a lot with $20K. Unless you have more complicated holding such as commercial real estate, limited partnerships, etc., you don't need an advisor. And if you have complicated assets that you don't understand you should probably liquidate them because one day they may bite you. Most advisors will play it safe but to convince you that they are special they will give you a complicated mix of investments (probably mutual funds or etfs) in the name of diversity (the investment kind). A simple plan is to maintain a 60:40 or 50:50 mix of equities and fixed incomes. You can do this all with index funds or go for the few managed funds that consistently do as well as or slightly beat the indexes. A few funds are all you need. To keep up with inflation don't go below 50% equities. If you want to play a little take out 5-10% for your own ideas in a brokerage account realizing that this may not do so well but then again it might surprise you. But then again at this point in life you already know whether you would enjoy investing. Have fun with the $XX,000 you save in advisor management fees.

If you would have done nothing other than invest in the S and P over the past 20 years, you would be up 345% and paid zero in fees.

Totally agree, however I have never been able to find a "flat fee" advisor. Every "flat fee" advisor I have contacted ended up charging a 1% AUM. or a flat fee plus a monthly fee plus a 1% AUM fee. I am happy to spend 5, 10 even 20 thousand for a solid plan, problem is I can't find anyone.

I thought I'd get a lot of good info here... so thanks SO much to all that responded!!

That's what Im thinking of doing. I'm tempted to bring it all together but unsure I like my advisor. Thanks!

Yes exactly. Can you please explain your thoughts on this.

...

Good results for the past 15 years with our guy from Oakbrook IL. Don’t fix what’s not broke.

Long before I retired, my company at the time (I think it was IBM, but it could have been a later job) basically paid to have Fidelity manage our 401(k)s and to provide financial services. I've stuck with them ever since and have never regretted it. One thing I have learned is that you MUST have an advisor who is bound by fiduciary duty. That means they can't try to sell you something that benefits them whether or not you would benefity by whatever it is they are selling. Too many advisors out there get bonuses for selling one financial product over another and will twist you arm to go that way.

I would also think about the overhead of the company. There are some advisors here in The Villages who spend a TON of money on full-page and half-page newspaper ads, billboards, radio ads, promotions, guest speakers, dinners, parties, etc., etc. That money isn't coming out of their pockets, it's coming out of yours. To me, they are a "parody" of financial services, but that's just my opinion.

I would strongly recommend reading Don't Worry, Retire Happy! by Tom Hegna (or his older but essentially identical book, Pay Checks and Play Checks). My wife and I have followed his investment advice and have never regretted it. We have enough fixed income to handle all the bills and enough in investment accounts to keep us having fun for the rest of our lives and we did NOT start with the million dollars that some folks say you absolutely have to have to keep from living in a cardboard box under an overpass somewhere.

Morningstar
 

For those that use Morningstar for research. It is back at the Sumter County Library. It was away for a short period, but that is another story.