Recommendations for Financial Advisor
 

I am looking for recommendations for a financial advisor within The Villages that can help someone totally reluctant to make any change from a current broker. Do you know of a professional who offers reliable advice about annuity and other investment accounts (to someone totally ignorant about investments)? I have an appointment with Truist about an annuity account, but aren't there other options, whether it be a bank or brokerage? Alternatively, are companies who offer a free meal to talk about retirement planning a legitimate option? The way their ads are presented reminds me of timeshare sales and makes me leery. Thank you for any responses.

Go to Fidelity. Who ever you pick make sure they are a fiduciary.

Great advice. Go to Fidelity in Lake Sumter Landing. Stay away from banks and annuity salesmen.

I would go with Schwab, or Fidelity, maybe even Edward Jones. A friend of mine used a local Advisor (Who does host dinners here) with a small office of maybe five or 6 employees they put her into some questionable stocks, some of them even went bankrupt and she lost seven to 10 thousand dollars on two of them. He was charging her 1 1/2 per cent every month. We eventually got away from him entirely and split her assets between Fidelity and Schwab. They are both self directed accounts, which means no fees. They both offer some financial guidance at either one to two percent, if you need guidence. So just go talk to them without swapping your money there and listen to their sales pitch. But I would definitely stay away from these small outfits especially when they have relatives working in their office.
Just think if one of their principles would die, the chaos your money and income taxes Would be in.

Away from annuities
 

I would stay away from annuities (high fee structure that benefits the seller) and banks (I don't believe they have the expertise). We have been with EDWARD JONES for 15+ years (not a local office as we stayed with our original guy up north). All I can say is that we have been taking money out since retirement and the account balance is more than when we first retired. Of course we are following agent's guidance so as not to run out. He calls us at least quarterly to check-in and rebalance accounts (change investment strategy) as they can't perform trades without your permission. When we have questions, he is very responsive either via web site or phone call. You don't see a lot of advertisements from this firm but I would suggest checking them out and I see they have several offices in TV. I recommended my two adult kids to EJ and they are both happy with results.

Wise to be leery. Whatever you do, at least ask yourself some questions:

. Is there anyone in this world who cares as much about your money as you do ?
. ALWAYS ask the "advisor", HOW DO YOU make money ?
. Is it easier to do study and manage your own investments, or, it is easier for an advisor to study and manage the investments of hundreds of different individuals all with varying goals ?
.... and maybe one more, HOW are all those steak dinners a nice restaurants paid for ? Plenty of investment clubs around if you have no idea about making investment decisions, go to a few meetings, listen to the discussions, and start reading the many books available...it's not as "mysterious" as some think.

Banks and insurance companies (annuities) are two of the worst places to go for investment advice.

I agree with Fidelity, but you should know that they also sell annuities. An annuity is a life insurance contract, and is usually a bad investment.

Some years ago when I was in a discussion with my Charles Schwab advisor I brought up annuities. He adamantly discouraged annuities. With a little help from him I learned to self direct my investments.

I agree. Banks can have stockholders in line to make money. (Health insurance companies have stockholders and we all know how that affects our premiums.) Btw, Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch in 2009 but their investment side calls itself Merrill, no mention of that pesky BOA name.

I like Fidelity but others I know are happy with Schwab and Vanguard and Edward Jones.

Schwab has stockholders. Fidelity and Vanguard do not. Of the big ones, Fidelity and Schwab have a bricks-and-mortar presence. Vanguard does not. Edward Jones has its advisors in individual offices.

Boomer

Recommendations for Financial Advisor
 

We are Very Happy with Blackston Financial on 466. Very knowledgeable and helpful. Kyle is Great!

Another vote for Fidelity

Whatever you do, use a fee-only financial advisor acting as a fiduciary. 1% of AUM is what many want. Edward Jones charges 1.5% of AUM. If one earns 7.5% that is 20% of one's income, a huge bite. Then add in the friction of trading costs and taxes. Brrr! Please only go with inexpensive index funds from Vanguard, Fidelity and Schwab.

Annuity’s are bad. Put your money in Vanguard and save all those fees. If you are totally uncomfortable with that they do have people to help you but a little research on your own is pretty easy. Their funds offer low expense ratios and you will be money ahead.

Parady
 

Honest - looking out for your best interest - I can only say great things about Parady. Ask anybody that is with them - you won’t be disappointed.

Blackston financial !
Great company!

If you don’t know how to invest your money and/or how to make money while in retirement, you are at a huge disadvantage and are vulnerable to hire a bad person to handle your money.

Just because “a friend” says some firm is good, ask your friend what kind of equities your invested in and what kind of fees they are paying and what kind of gains they are getting now and say for the last 5 years, and 99% of your friends are clueless and won’t be able to answer these questions. I have helped dozens of friends and a lot of them had some of the advisors mentioned above and they were not making any money while paying loads and high fees.

Ask any potential financial advisor can they guarantee that they will make me more money compared to what I have been making and their answer is always no guarantee.

Stay away from the free dinner investment sales pitch. Nothing is free.

I would recommend checking out the robo investment advisors for no cost from Schwab or vanguard.

If they are selling you an annuity they are not working for you. Find an advisor that is a fiduciary they are required to do what is best for you.

They actually charge 1 1/2%? The average investor can do as well or better with a list of broad market ETF's taped to a wall and a dart.

Fidelity.

Annuities are not a bad investment for many and should be a consideration of any retirement plan IMO.

Agree. Have both Fidelity and Vanguard. Both have been kind to us - Vanguard more so. We have been happy with our portfolii.

Creative Planning
 

We use creative planning, Colby Winslow (he comes to our home) who is brilliant. I’ve used vanguard, (advisor), for several years, but after a situation where they made a recommendation that I totally disagreed with and I lost 25% of my portfolio. If I hadn’t followed the advice from Vanguard, I would have been fine. They intimidated me saying I was paying for their “expert advice “. So I followed their terrible advice.
Next month I’m meeting with Colby to discuss how to approach the end of Trumps tax cuts in 2026. He thinks outside the box.

Definitely going to be an issue in Jan 2026 with the end of the tax cuts unless that’s continued. I just moved my investments from Merrill Lynch where I was paying a 1% fee to Schwab where I’m not paying any fees. Happy with the free advice, research, and info provided by them thus far.

Blackston Financial is fantastic. Located on 466.

If a single recommendation lost you 25% of your portfolio, the position sizing was completely out of whack. My cost basis on any position cannot (by my rule) exceed 4% of my investable assets at the time of the trade. The only positions I hold that exceed this percentage do so because of growth and dividend reinvestments. Once the position exceeds 6%, I place a 10% trailing stop to eventually bring the position back in line and provide me dry powder for my next investment. Using this technique, in a very-worst-case scenario, any single position cannot hurt my overall portfolio by more than 4%.

Oh yeah. Fidelity all the way. Self-directed and their trading interface is miles ahead of Schwab’s, where part of my HSA funds are housed.

Matt Plunket CFP,
Fidelity at Sumter Landing

Study the advisor
 

If you are NOT in tune to investments, I would definitely go with a company and an assigned advisor (at least to start with). The company and its cost to you does mean a lot but the advisor more so. I had an account with one of the favored companies mentioned in this thread but soon found his interest was more in himself. This was when I first moved to TV.

Another example was in the case of a different account, one I kept out of state. I was about to close that account because of the adviser but heard he resigned from the company. The advisor that took over my account was a blessing; we've been with him for about 45 years.

Financial advisor
 

It had to do with interest rates. My portfolio is diversified . I had bond funds.

Trust your instincts
 

When I first came here, I went to several presentations with the free dinners and I was told I was "over diversified" but those guys wanted me to put MY MONEY IN THEIR HANDS. THEIR CHOICES. NO WAY. The best advice I received was: Choose stocks in well-known companies paying dividends, in tech and oil companies and consumer products.

Financial advisor
 

I am quite a few of my friends use West financial group. Our contact is Skip. We have been using him for a few years and have been very satisfied with the results located here. The Villages telephone number is 33524610645 and my name is Peter Wolfinger, and I am not easy to please when I play with my money I get good returns from them and to me that's what counts

I have a Fidelity Brokerage account and Have a couple hundred Thousand from a house sale I need to invest.

Looking for some flat fee General advice as to where to put it.

Would the fidelity office work for that or does anybody know someone who does like consultation on an hourly basis?

Many financial advisors sponsor information meals at local restaurants. Attend a few and make appointments to meet privately with one or more that appeal to you.

Matt Plunkett at Fidelity in Lake Sumter. Stay away from all the rookie advisors Edward Jones uses.
Curt

Retirement finances
 

Highly recommend Parady. Didn't know anything about finances. They educate you before you decide what you want.

Recommendation for Financial Advisor
 

We Highly recommend Blackston Financial on 466. Very friendly and knowledgeable according to your needs. Kyle is Great!!

Schedule a visit with all three! I use fidelity exclusively and have forever so I would start there. Ask to set up an informational session to go over all the advice options they have. It doesn’t sound like self directed will be comfortable you (this is what I do but I am a confident investor). Their management fees are in line with all the larger firms and there are options for levels of service. I have a very good friend who has them manage everything and he considers the fee very reasonable for how well he sleeps at night. The biggest thing is to NOT be afraid to say, after the first meeting (whichever if the big three you go to) that “we like your services but aren’t sure the person we spoke with first is the right fit. Can we speak with other advisors?” This is VERY hard for most of us to do but it is critically important that you feel understood by your financial advisors.

Good luck. Stay away from insurance and annuity salespeople. Don’t rush the choice. Go for a fiduciary with an office here so you can meet in person if desired. I would start with Fidelity.

Did they somehow manage to sell you annuities?

Before you do a private meeting ask them for their qualifications and experience. Have found many have very little of both.

I have been looking around for an independent fee-only FA for when the time comes I will be unable to manage my own accounts. I found this which I thought lays it out well.

"Research the Financial Advisor’s Background
Make sure that the financial advisor holds necessary professional credentials such as Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), or other relevant titles. Also, verify their education and experience.

Search online databases like the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) to ensure your financial advisor is credible and competent.

Find out if they have had any disciplinary actions against them or if regulatory agencies like SEC or FINRA have ever suspended or revoked their licenses. You may use the SEC Action Lookup - Individuals(SALI) or FINRA’s BrokerCheck tool for this.

Ask Questions
A good advisor should be able to answer your questions clearly and accurately while providing specific examples of how they can help you reach your financial goals. Consider these questions:

What are your credentials?
Are you registered?
Are you a fiduciary?
How do you make your money?
What is your fee structure?
Are there any conflicts of interest I should know about?
What do you specialize in?
What other services do you offer?
When and how often will we meet?
Aside from money, how do you measure investment success?
Be sure you are confident with their answers before choosing an independent financial advisor."

From: Independent Financial Advisor | Meaning, Pros, & Cons

Beyond the above I will want to be able to meet in person, at least initially, to see if we are simpatico. Too, are we a good fit, both in the size of my accounts, age, goals and other factors.

Call me a snob but my first cut is their educational background. Did they attend and do well at a top university, majoring in economics, business, mathematics or a hard science such as physics or chemistry? I want be able to evaluate their cognitive and analytical abilities.

Tough customer. . . but fair. .

I would also ask to see some of his customer portfolios:

1) by percentage weightings, similar to what s/he would recommend for you
2) how often is the portfolio rebalanced?
3) what is the portfolio sharp ratio for the life of the portfolio?
4) what is the inception to date annualized return?
5) what was the largest drawdown and when was it?
6) what is the annual average drawdown?

If he can't answer those questions, s/he can't quantify what they are recommending.

good luck

and remember, annuities are purchased index funds with a very long term hedge as insurance against a market collapse, and a portion of the gains/dividends/index are sent to you each month. .

Over the past few years, I talk to more than two dozen firms without finding a good fit. Many of them charge AUM's or required large retainers. Some firms gave me to the "kid" or were reading from some type of script. Others were not taking new accounts.

It seems one of the main benefits to a conventional adviser is for "hand holding" which I don't need at this time.