Financial Planner

[rick0428]

My son has a financial planning business. He's based out of Windham, but is very capable of serving clients in the lakes region. He is a Certified Financial Planner which means he serves his clients in a fiduciary capacity, meaning he is required to put his clients' interests first. His only compensation is the fees he charges his clients, he never receives commissions based on products he recommends. Who ever you work with, I would insist they are a fiduciary and fee only based. His website is www.lakesidefinancialplan.com if you want to check him out.

[Descant]

It is not clear to me why the OP is looking for a financial planner, but most of the responses seem to focus on where to buy mutual funds, not the services of a CFP. I would see the CFP as helping to clarify goals and the legal documents needed to get there. Portfolio management is a different question. My suggestion is to actually interview people just like you would for any other hiring process. Don't be afraid to negotiate fees. Banks, CFP's etc. can all be flexible on fees and services.

[phoenix]

I agree one first needs to know what you are looking for. Many just charge transaction fees which I don't like but good planners will charge 1% of assets or more depending on balances. But they will have access to trust attorneys, long term care etc. so once you know then it is easier to figure out. Edward Jones from people that I know that use them charge transaction fees.

[ushaggerb]

Most of the major Fund owners now offer Target Retirement funds. Rebalances every year . All include index funds: U.S index, Global index, Bond indices, even cash for older folks. Could go to a financial planner but if they didn’t recommend a Target Retirement fund, I’d probably drop them. And why pay to get a reco for something I’m already doing? Rules of Thumb: know your investment horizon, everybody regresses to the mean, focus on the efficient frontier, the avoidance of management fees generally places you in the 68th-72nd percentile because you are buying the mean for less, buying individual stocks is gambling (refer to efficient frontier).

Best of luck!

[Doobs41378]

Originally Posted by ushaggerb

Most of the major Fund owners now offer Target Retirement funds. Rebalances every year . All include index funds: U.S index, Global index, Bond indices, even cash for older folks. Could go to a financial planner but if they didn’t recommend a Target Retirement fund, I’d probably drop them. And why pay to get a reco for something I’m already doing? Rules of Thumb: know your investment horizon, everybody regresses to the mean, focus on the efficient frontier, the avoidance of management fees generally places you in the 68th-72nd percentile because you are buying the mean for less, buying individual stocks is gambling (refer to efficient frontier).



Best of luck!

Target date funds are great but they do have higher expense ratios usually than an index fund. Vanguard 500 .4 basis points or 4 cents for every hundred dollars for admiral shares compared to .16 or 16 cents for every 100 dollars. So while not a ton of money per say it still costs 4 times as much to own that fund over the other.


Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

[FlyingScot]

Originally Posted by phoenix

I agree one first needs to know what you are looking for. Many just charge transaction fees which I don't like but good planners will charge 1% of assets or more depending on balances. But they will have access to trust attorneys, long term care etc. so once you know then it is easier to figure out. Edward Jones from people that I know that use them charge transaction fees.

Yes, one needs to know what he's looking for. But the 1% per year that you advocate is breathtakingly expensive over time. Paying 1% per year for 20 years will cost you approximately 25% of your total portfolio. It's as if you've decided to give a quarter of your life savings to the planner. As a number of us have noted above, it's best to start with free advice, then be really careful before you give away a quarter of your savings.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by PeterG

Yes, one needs to know what he's looking for. But the 1% per year that you advocate is breathtakingly expensive over time. Paying 1% per year for 20 years will cost you approximately 25% of your total portfolio. It's as if you've decided to give a quarter of your life savings to the planner. As a number of us have noted above, it's best to start with free advice, then be really careful before you give away a quarter of your savings.

Not quite sure I understand the math,...are you saying the 1% adds up to 25% over 20 years of your original investment? In other word 20 years ago you started with 100,000.00 after 20 years of 1% fees it has cost you 25,000.00? If so wouldn’t that only apply if you made nothing over the years on your investment?

Dan

[Doobs41378]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Not quite sure I understand the math,...are you saying the 1% adds up to 25% over 20 years of your original investment? In other word 20 years ago you started with 100,000.00 after 20 years of 1% fees it has cost you 25,000.00? If so wouldn’t that only apply if you made nothing over the years on your investment?



Dan

Yes but they take 1% of your assets so if you now have 250k because of interest etc they aren’t still taking 1% of 100k. I think 1% for 20 years is 20%. Not sure were the other 5% comes from. On the other side of the coin if the person makes you a lot more than 1% in gains perhaps his 1% was well worth it.


Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

[ApS]

This discussion had me check on my former financial for-fee advisor. A very engaging advisor, he prepared personalized graphs putting me on a stabile financial track which, and I quote, "Should see me through age 85". That was 25 years ago and now, alas, I'm reading that my first-ever financial advisor died last year.

If you're 10 years from retirement, you're late to have visited a financial advisor.

As multi-millionaire radio advisor Dave Ramsey says, "When the market goes up, I bought stocks. When the market goes down, I bought more stocks. Why? Because over the long run, the stock market offers the greatest gains."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iUJAPR5KAA

Also says, "Get out of debt".

Originally Posted by phoenix

I agree one first needs to know what you are looking for. Many just charge transaction fees which I don't like but good planners will charge 1% of assets or more depending on balances. But they will have access to trust attorneys, long term care etc. so once you know then it is easier to figure out. Edward Jones from people that I know that use them charge transaction fees.

Though I'd never heard of them, as a new Executor, I was directed to the Edward Jones office in Wolfeboro.

One Edward Jones office sprang up when Bank of America closed their only Florida office—for 30 miles.

Edward Jones' offices are everywhere. I'm presently in a tiny burg smaller than Wolfeboro, and there's two Edward Jones offices here.

Although you'll get just one "Primary Advisor", each office can be helpful in their own way. (Check Depositing, faxing, ordering checks, credit cards, NDIC-insured savings, notary services and grounded information from a local).

Edward Jones Investments have come a long way!

.

[Gatto Nero]

Originally Posted by rick0428

My son has a financial planning business. He's based out of Windham, but is very capable of serving clients in the lakes region. He is a Certified Financial Planner which means he serves his clients in a fiduciary capacity, meaning he is required to put his clients' interests first. His only compensation is the fees he charges his clients, he never receives commissions based on products he recommends. Who ever you work with, I would insist they are a fiduciary and fee only based. His website is www.lakesidefinancialplan.com if you want to check him out.

I second Lakeside. Jared doing a great job for me. www.lakesidefinancialplan.com

[garysanfran]

Don't hire a FP because you have no idea what your doing. Most mutual fund index funds beat most fund managers. It is important you educate yourself so you can communicate with the FP on a certain level that ensures your best interests. I subscriber to Bob Brinker's Marketimer and listen to his radio show on Sundays. Have followed his advice for years , as have many, many of my friends.

[pjard]

Originally Posted by garysanfran

Don't hire a FP because you have no idea what your doing. Most mutual fund index funds beat most fund managers. It is important you educate yourself so you can communicate with the FP on a certain level that ensures your best interests. I subscriber to Bob Brinker's Marketimer and listen to his radio show on Sundays. Have followed his advice for years , as have many, many of my friends.

I should have been a bit more specific in my original question. I am pretty financially savvy. Most of my $$$ outside of the 401(k) is with Fidelity. They are GREAT. However as the "wealth" accumulates I would simply like a second set of eyes to look at things. I want opinions of Whole Life Insurance, particularly 10 year pay....my own retirement projections....anything in my portfolio that scares them...etc, etc. It's the advice and counseling piece I am after more than mutual fund recommendations. I agree with everyone on this board, you can get some pretty good information from the mutual fund companies. I am a bit curious about one thing though, why has nobody mentioned DAK Financial in Meredith?

[FlyingScot]

Originally Posted by pjard

I should have been a bit more specific in my original question. I am pretty financially savvy. Most of my $$$ outside of the 401(k) is with Fidelity. They are GREAT. However as the "wealth" accumulates I would simply like a second set of eyes to look at things. I want opinions of Whole Life Insurance, particularly 10 year pay....my own retirement projections....anything in my portfolio that scares them...etc, etc. It's the advice and counseling piece I am after more than mutual fund recommendations. I agree with everyone on this board, you can get some pretty good information from the mutual fund companies. I am a bit curious about one thing though, why has nobody mentioned DAK Financial in Meredith?

I know you didn't ask, but I cant quite help myself--Whole Life Insurance is among the worst investment vehicles a person can buy--it's simply adding a high cost/low return investment fund on top of term life insurance. The agent who sold it to you took a hefty commission. If you find a good financial planner, he'll explain the details, and he'll illustrate how you'd be better off buying term insurance and investing the difference alongside your existing Fidelity account. If the financial planner you find does not do this, he is either an insurance salesman or not very good at his job.

[joey2665]

Originally Posted by PeterG

I know you didn't ask, but I cant quite help myself--Whole Life Insurance is among the worst investment vehicles a person can buy--it's simply adding a high cost/low return investment fund on top of term life insurance. The agent who sold it to you took a hefty commission. If you find a good financial planner, he'll explain the details, and he'll illustrate how you'd be better off buying term insurance and investing the difference alongside your existing Fidelity account. If the financial planner you find does not do this, he is either an insurance salesman or not very good at his job.

Great advice by Peter G. Whole Life is possibly the worst investment you can make just below an annuity. High cost low rate of return equals a poor investment. Even universal life is an iffy investment at best. Just do a small comparison between your cash value in you whole policy and you mutual fund account and there will be a very stark difference.


Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

[Biggd]

Most insurance products are bad investments vehicles. Usually the only people that make out in the deal are the people that sell them.
Buy Term Life only and invest your money elsewhere.

[joey2665]

Originally Posted by Biggd

Most insurance products are bad investments vehicles. Usually the only people that make out in the deal are the people that sell them.
Buy Term Life only and invest your money elsewhere.

We are all on the same page.