[travelstiles]

There are several ways to work with financial institutions, as well as fee/commission arrangements, depending on how involved you want to get (no such thing as one size fits all!).
I am a Certified Financial Planner (not looking for work!) who's worked for a major financial services firm and just retired. I've transferred my NY membership in the Financial Planning Association to the Florida region and will be very active with them when we move to TV on 12/28. I've also provided financial planning seminars on the entire east coast, so love financial education and sharing what I have learned. I'd love to help start a financial club when we get to TV.
I will go through my files and post some informational links for everyone to access (none affiliated with any company, all educational). As I am on my way out for the rest of today, I'll post a full page by tomorrow afternoon, but for now begin with this one, which is the best (you'll know this if you've read Jonathan Clements columns in the Wall St. Journal:

http://www.cfp.net/


stay tuned for more... :bigthumbsup:

[TV MAN]

Had a meeting with Ameriprise about a month ago. They wanted $900. I was under the impression from the reps that this was a YEARLY Fee :yikes:.

Said no thanks for now. I have other ave's to check out.

[golfnut]

Travelstiles, what do you think of Fidelity???

[travelstiles]

:bigthumbsup:
Among the best online resources for research, retirement planning, etc.* If you like to manage your own investments, it's great.
For those who have substantial investable assets of >$1MM they also have a network of personal financial advisors.
Retirement and Estate planning tools online are very good as well -
http://personal.fidelity.com/plannin...tml.cvsr?bar=c

[golfnut]

thanks, I've been using them for years and have been satisfied, good to hear they are OK.

[travelstiles]

Let's get that investment club started in '08 and share info with each other on what we have found works well. Nothing is better than a referral from a satisfied client!

[Avista]

We've been very pleased with Fidelity. Would be interest in that Investment club. (Not a club to buy stocks, but rather a club to help me learn.) Count me in!

[TV MAN]

Although I am not yet in TV full time I have the same interest as Avista. So keep me in mind as well.

[drdodge]

you should not hsve to pay for somebody to invest your money. All of the top finsncial plenners do not chsrge. I have used 2 one up north one one here in Florida no charge

drd

[stjade]

WE HAVE ALSO USED A FINANCIAL ADVISOR UP NORTH FOR YEARS-THERE IS ALWAYS SOME SORT OF FEE TAKEN SOMEWHERE---will be closing on our house in piedmont in feb-and moving full time to TV in sept-we would be very interested in a financial club--steve and jane >

[travelstiles]

Steve and Jane are correct. There are no free lunches unless you are completely self-directed and buy no-load funds, etc.
There are numerous ways to hire a qualified professional advisor. Qualified, which usually means licensed, a member of a professional association, etc. You also need to check their records to be sure there have been no disciplinary actions taken against them (see links below).
As far as fees or commissions, some advisors are paid a one-time flat fee for a comprehensive plan, some assess an annual fee, some work on a percentage of assets under management, some work on straight commission from the investments they place your assets in.
As I have posted earlier, there are several websites to research, but the best in my opinion is: http://www.cfp.net/ Click on the learn about financial planning tab for more information. Other good sources are Jonathan Clements, a contributor to the Wall St. Journal at: http://www.jonathanclements.com/ladviser.html and a new website: http://www.dolans.com/. They also have a syndicated radio show that I listen to religiously.

[Avista]

I love to listen to The Dolan's. I download their podcasts and listen at my leisure.

[zcaveman]

There are many free financial checks in TV with a free lunch. If you are not in TV then I would suggest that you look around at the financial institutions that give a free review. I got a free one from American Express. After you decide, see what the penalty period is to remove your money. At AMX it was 9 years before I could get 100% of my money out with out a penalty.

If I could do it again, I would have stayed where I was.

[travelstiles]

zcaveman,
Not sure what you mean by "There are many free financial checks in TV with a free lunch."
Many institutions are willing to provide "free" introductory seminars (often with refreshments, if that's what you meant by a free lunch) or "free" initial consultations, but as you mentioned there has to be some type of pay for professional services.
I like to make an analogy to surgery - would you hire a surgeon to operate on you who works for "free?" I doubt it. But many people are penny wise and pound foolish when it comes to their investments. We've all worked long and hard for our money, so we need to do our "due diligence" when working with advisors.
As with everything else in life you get what you pay for. If you are willing to put in the time to do all of your own research, follow the market closely, read the WSJ and invest on your own, you can save a significant amount of money, but the average client doesn't have the time, resources or interest in doing this.

[SeaCruiser]

Several years ago I started making it a point to learning basic retirement investment on my own. After all, it is my money, I earned it so I should take responsibility as to where it is invested. I did so by listening to shows like Bob Brinker (Money Talk), CNBC and more recently Adam Bold (The Mutual Fund Show) I use a blend of many of these resources. I liked the common sense premise of using no load mutual funds analyzing their performance and managing my portfolio myself. There are many things to keep in mind like assett allocation appropriate to your age. These days I have a laddered CDs included in the fixed income catagory (I Like federally insured to be included)

I also enjoy listening to Suze Ormans CNBC shows. She for the most part, is more general in her approach but she covers many pertinent financial issues. One of her recent shows she spoke about the perils of "free dinners" at retirement communities and the problems with annuities and other products these seminars sell. She says avoid them at all cost!

If a club would be organized I would be interested in participating if:

1. It was limited to people managing their own portfolios through brokerage accounts (This could be Fidelity, Vanguard, Scottrade etc)

2. Absolutely no discusion on how much people have. That is a private matter. Only percent in various investment choices.

3. Perhaps discussions on appropriate age allocations (we all remember the foolish people who lost everything because they had it all in Enron stock)

3. I think looking at various funds and bringing in due dilligence research could be helpful

4. Discussions on when to get out of funds and why

5. Share articles that could be helpful from reputable financial magazines

5. I would want absolutely NO salespeople appearing hawking their products. There are enough free dinners for people who want to participate in those!

6. The most important thing is I want to control my funds.. not somebody else!

Well anyway.. If anyone one else is interested and has the same goals... count me in!


Sea...