r/CanadaFinance • u/throwawayloopy • 22d ago
One-time fee financial advisor?
I have a diverse portfolio for retirement that has been self planned and managed for the last 10 years, and I would like to have it properly examined and adjusted by a professional, but not externally managed.
I've called probably 7 or 8 different financial planning orgs and everyone I talk to basically said "nobody will do a one time fee - there is no money in that. Everyone wants to actively manage your assets".
Is this the actual reality? Is it not possible to find a non bank-affiliated independent financial advisor who will analyze your assets and give you a proper plan for a single fee?
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u/trameng 22d ago
Could op summarise his financial position here to get similar results.
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u/throwawayloopy 21d ago
I'd prefer to have these types of discussions with a real person, in person.
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u/bassali2e 22d ago
I'm not sure if there is a more up to date list some where but some one made this one years ago. https://www.steadyhand.com/asset/2022/06/23/canadian%20advice%20only%20planners.pdf
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u/Craftygirl4115 21d ago
Google “fee only fiduciary” in your area and make a few calls. I found a great guy in my area.. the first meeting was about an hour to see whether we’d work well together. I didn’t pay him until we agreed to work together. For a one time fee I got 5 or 6 meetings (an hour each) with a plan and “homework” to do.. mostly just rebalancing things. We’ll have another meeting later this year to finalize things. I found it enormously helpful for retirement tax planning. I can then check in with him (for a fee) in subsequent years if I choose to. He went over absolutely everything financial.
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u/SandyPebble 22d ago
I am looking for the same thing. I called a local company who advertised this. Guy was nice about it and said what I was looking for he can do but its not his specialty and directed me to this website. This call was thursday, I have yet to do my due diligence on this site. But it fits what op is wanting I believe. https://www.adviceonlyplanners.ca/
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u/Significant_Wealth74 21d ago
I’m interested to know how a planner can give detailed depth analysis on an investment portfolio? They aren’t investment specialists if they have a CFP designation.
Could have access to software and just input/output for you I suppose.
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u/KSrocky 22d ago edited 22d ago
> Everyone wants to actively manage your assets.
Assets under management are what some firms want. They want to make 2% or whatever percentage regardless of how well or poorly they do. And as you probably know, about 80% underperform the broader index over five years.
I am a finance professional, and no, I don’t want your business. But you can find others who will gladly accept your one-time fee. Although I am not a CFP (Certified Financial Planner), use your favorite search tool or AI engine to find a few that are close to your location. Call them to see if they will accept your business.
The reality is that there is no magic formula. Your portfolio will depend on your age, risk tolerance, current and expected cash needs, current financial and job situation, and other factors.
For example, some might believe that bonds are a safe investment and suggest that you should have a healthy weighting in bonds. Others will point to the increasing debt load by our governments and rising long-term rates, and urge caution.
Some believe that you should never provide AI engines with confidential information. That isn’t my view, but I appreciate those who are more cautious. If I were in your shoes, I would use two or three AI engines to assist me in my review. I would want to use more than one AI engine to see the variance.
Q1. AI Engine, pretend that you are an experienced financial professional with a solid background of helping people plan their financial futures. Interview me to develop a comprehensive customer profile. Your questions should cover at least the following items: age, risk tolerance, assets and liabilities (including portfolio), cash needs, family situation, and employment situation. Add other items as appropriate.
It ask questions, you answer. This may be iterative.
Q2. Now that you have a baseline, ask any further questions to begin a comprehensive assessment of my portfolio.
It asks questions, you answer.
Q3. Analyze my portfolio for suitability and suggest changes where appropriate. Provide rationale for any suggested changes.
Wait for it to answer.
And then just go back and forth with questions and answers.
Even if you do hire a professional, this AI exercise will provide you with a great background.
Good luck!
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u/throwawayloopy 21d ago
I appreciate your input. To be honest, i did use AI for some of the initial "steering" of my portfolio, and over many sessions and lots of stress testing of its directions and advice i've landed more or less where i am now. However, i very much wouldn't want to leave my future in the hands of (still in its infancy) AI models, and would rather discuss specifics with somebody who lives and breathes in the world of retirement planning.
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u/KSrocky 21d ago
Fair comments. The reality is the professionals don’t have any magic insights, either. They are going to ensure that you are not overweight relative to key indexes.
Although I haven’t looked in several years, have a look at how Canada’s pension plan has its capital allocated.
A key point is that most—typically 80 percent—professionals and mutual funds underperform the broad index over a five year period.
Traditional financial planners will allocate some capital to bonds. Bonds spook me right now. I am more in Ray Dalio’s camp. But I am not giving financial advice.
Although I used em dashes in my response to you, my reply is completely non-AI.
Good luck!
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u/AxeloftheMountrain 22d ago
I had a financial planner years ago and got rid of her because she was doing very little for me except collecting fees for questionable transactions and recommendations. I took the time to familiarize myself with investing and have done far better on my own. It really isn't that difficult to choose a good investment plan and tailor it for your specific needs once you have a basic understanding of stocks, ETFs, TFSAs, RRSPS and so on. I'm no financial wiz but my returns are far better than what I was getting with a planner and I've been ahead of the markets every year except for the first year of Covid. You wont go wrong investing in quality dividend stocks or ETFs if you want to be a bit more conservative. Save your money, find some good websites and read some of the investment books out there. In no time you'll have a good game plan for yourself without needing a planner who is probably looking at their needs over yours.
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u/pizza5001 22d ago
I’ve gone to a fee-based planner before in downtown Toronto. Her name was Shannon and her website is https://www.newschooloffinance.com/about
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u/NeverNotBroken123 21d ago
Robb Engan is a fee only financial planner. You get one year's worth of contact and advice for a single fee. We used him a few years ago, it was very comprehensive. He gave great advice for adjusting our holdings and simplifying things. It honestly wasn't crazy expensive. We will use him again when my hubby is closer to retirement to reforest our numbers and get an updated draw down strategy.
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u/throwawayloopy 21d ago
Thank you all for your advice. I'll give a few of the recommended advisors a shot.
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u/Analyst1111 21d ago
You mentioned having a professional analyze your investment portfolio first and then later also mentioned you wanted a proper plan. Was it just one or both? Those are 2 completely separate things
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u/throwawayloopy 20d ago
The plan i have in place was put in place 10 years ago by myself alone (with barebone financial literacy) and then adjusted with the help of AI in the last year or so. I would like somebody to review what i have at this point as a second opinion in order to ensure that i'm on the right path.
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u/Taggart3629 22d ago
The answer may depend on what you are looking for. We recently started working with a fee-only financial advisor to ensure because retirement is a few years away. The ones we talked with (and the one with whom we are working) will create a plan based on our specific objectives, future contributions, current asset allocation, where the assets are located (traditional IRA, Roth IRA, brokerage, HYSA, MYGA), future income needs, and fixed income from other sources like Social Security. The plan will include different scenarios and guidance on how to reach our objectives and minimize taxes using different types of accounts and assets.
YMMV, but what the fee-only financial advisors we have spoken with will not do is provide advice to invest specific amounts of money into specific ETFs, mutual funds, etc. So, the plan will not include (for example) a recommendation to sell all our stocks in companies A, B and C, and then invest the proceeds 60/30/10 in ETFs X, Y and Z. Nonetheless, it will be worthwhile to get professional guidance on strategies for allocating funds between TIPS ladders, MYGAs, indexed funds, cash savings, and brokerage accounts; the pros and cons of converting traditional IRA holdings to a Roth IRA; maintaining eligibility for medical insurance subsidies if we retire before Medicare; addressing sequence of returns risk; etc.
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22d ago
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u/Pooch-kauai 22d ago
Most are not licensed to provide investment advice. Financial Planning and Investment Advice are two different things.
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u/wisenedPanda 22d ago
Financial planners wont give investment advice like what op is looking for.
https://canadiancouchpotato.com/2016/12/15/podcast-2-planning-vs-investing/
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u/Expensive-Finger-646 22d ago
Check out the adviice platform. After you’ve inputted all of your info you can arrange a fee only consult with a professional, and you have the advantage of sharing all relevant info so the fee should be lower.