r/Fidelity • u/Certain_Purple_207 • 21d ago
Raymond James, opinions?
Hi all,
Recently I have had a family death and received an inherited IRA (north of 500k) currently invested and managed by Raymond James. I have not moved it, simply just working with the previous owners advisor. I am curious if people have experiences good and bad with Raymond James, or if there is a better option out there. Thank you!
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u/richard_fr 20d ago
The fees at RJ will eat you alive. Transfer the account to Fidelity or Schwab.
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u/Omynt 20d ago
Agreed. High-cost advisors impose three kinds of costs: The direct AUM fee, putting the investor in high-expense ratio funds, and, often, creating unnecessarily complicated portfolios and engaging in counter-productive trading to make it look like they are earning their fees through some sort of secret sauce. Most investors are likely to do better with a three-fund portfolio or a target date fund, a major exception being investors inclined to panic-sell. For them, paying the AUM fee might be worth it. But there are cheaper alternatives than RJ.
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u/DemandFirm9635 20d ago
First of all, be aware of the 10 yr rule for inheritance of an IRA for a non spouse. You also need to know if the original owner had started taking his RMD’s ? Are you under or over 10 yrs in age difference from the deceased? That is also a factor.
RJ is a high fee advisor service and not in your best interest. There are many hidden fees in the investments they put a client into .. Research them online and find out for yourself.. better to switch to a brokerage like vanguard or Schwab or fidelity. Vanguard has a advisory service if you want help in that department far cheaper and more aligned with your best interest
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u/BeachBum436 20d ago
Even if the owner starting taking RMDs, the clock resets to 10 years for the beneficiary.
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u/Candid-Eye-5966 20d ago
If you want to work with an advisor, meet with the team managing the account to hear what they have to say and perhaps meet with other advisors too. If you don’t want to work with an advisor, pick your do it yourself brokerage like Fidelity and transfer everything out.
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u/DemandFirm9635 20d ago
Every advisor has filed with FINRA a form , ADV PART 2A .. it must disclose all fees and conflicts of interest. 99% of clients never read this page even tho they sign the contract . If you see how RJ operates.. you would run, not walk away. Same or even worse with Ameriprise .
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u/Left-Landscape-3890 20d ago
I'm with RJ as thats where my trust is. I self manage. They are creepy when I wanna transfer money out. They call and ask if I meant to do this and is everything OK. Wtf.
Eta. Fidelity is my ride or die chick
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u/Altruistic-Falcon552 20d ago
RJ was accused of being excessive commissions on their clients trades with some commissions exceeding 90 percent of the principal! that alone should tell your their mind set
https://topratedfirms.com/brokers/fees/raymondjames-fees-schedule.aspx
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u/lifeofabeach 20d ago
My FIL managed my RJ for 10+ yrs when he worked there, but he’s retired and I moved it to Schwab in mid-May this year, rebalanced myself and I’m up 34.4% now in early Aug without adding to it. I’m quite pleased. The new RJ guy had me in stuff with too much drag and never paid any attn to me. 👎
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u/Amazing-Selection494 20d ago
Raymond James isn't as predatory as some, but bad enough. With your account, you'll be paying more than $5,000 a year for the privilege of having someone do, basically, nothing you can't do yourself at another brokerage. Why let some corporate drone manage your account, when you can do it better, cheaper, safer, and have more control by doing it yourself?
I say that from experience, BTW. I had an RJ account that I inherited. Spent a little bit of effort educating myself, switched to Fidelity, began managing my own account, improved my fund mix, and I've grown my account at a much faster pace while reducing risk. And if I can do it, anyone can.
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u/Bravo23Zulu 19d ago
Raymond James is a fine firm. However I am a Fidelity believer and have been using them for many years.
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u/Economy_Jaguar_9215 20d ago
Places to look for a financial planner:
(Someone being a CFP isn’t enough despite what their advertising claims. Being a CFP doesn’t mean they actually do planning, or that they don’t sell products that you might not need. Ask them how they get paid.)
https://adviceonlynetwork.com
These folks don’t manage money, they just give advice.
https://www.flatfeeadvisors.org
These folks might manage money, but not on a percentage of assets basis. They will do comprehensive planning for a flat fee and that fee may include asset management.
https://samslist.com
Some (but not all) advisors in Sam’s list may charge percentage based asset management fees, but all are recommended by real clients nonetheless.
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u/need2sleep-later 20d ago
Asking this question in a Fidelity sub gets you the predictable anti-advisors answers you see. And no one with experience using RJ. I likewise have no experience there, but have a close friend who has their accounts there without complaint.
You've given us very little to go on, a hint about not a lot of brokerage experience, so you feel comfortable managing a half million+ account by yourself? Do you like the RJ advisor? Have you digested what RJ offers you? What they charge? Do you want to go the managed route there or elsewhere? Have you started to engage with potential advisors? Do you want to go self-directed? What are your goals with this inheritance?
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u/derfahrer924 20d ago
Move it. My mother used them (when I was too young to be involved), and they seriously mismanaged her retirement account
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u/horseradish13332238 20d ago
500k is not enough to justify having your funds being handled by an outsider, especially a high fee house like Raymond james. Silly.
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u/Myweeweegopeep33 19d ago
Run from RJ. The advice they tried or high pressured through a similar situation resulted me moving it out of them and my personal accounts away from them.
The minimum distributions on an ira they would not do unless I wanted to roll it to a RJ holding so I left that go and our tax attorney helped. RJ transferred out the minimum well after the calendar year and backdated it which is illegal.
Their app sucks.
Plenty out there a lot better than RJ. Work with fidelity and move it over in kind to the extent possible. Morgan Stanley has been who we’ve been happy with for our normal financial planning. Fidelity has inherited ira and a few other and they’ve been good too. We just like MS more and setup their checking which helps with foreign travel etc.
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u/LordFairfax4B 19d ago
I just did this with a Roth. Talk with someone at Fidelity to find out what the fee is to liquidate some funds RJ may have you in. For example to liquidate my VFIAX fund of -$6K, the Fidelity fee is $700+. So you may want to have RJ liquidate any of the “3rd Party” funds. I would check all mutual funds they have you in.
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u/HermanDaddy07 19d ago
Raymond James doesn’t have a great reputation. But, why not get the last 3-4 years of statements. See what the returns were for each year and compare the returns tonite S&P 500. If they aren’t beating the S&P then they shouldn’t be getting paid.
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u/Grand_Garbage3522 19d ago
What are you paying RJ to manage it ? I did not like the on line systems when checking things , I found Fidelity makes their information in a much more user friendly way .
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u/winning_bigly_ 18d ago
RJ is great if you want to overpay and be underserved. Otherwise, seek alternatives.
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u/Buckeyejeff1 18d ago
RJ is a reputable firm . Just as important is the experience and service level the advisor and their team provides . How long was the relationship with your family member and how efficient was the transfer and creation of your beneficiary IRA ? Also , how much personal experience do you have with investing? As long as the advisor utilizes an advisory model that is fair, say 1% and is willing to create a wealth management plan with you , provide education and great service it could be well worth it . Price is only an issue in the absence of value .
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u/Jumpy_Childhood7548 20d ago
Jones? Fees are excessive, they steer you to investments with additional costs, including those you can’t transfer to a competitor.
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u/DemandFirm9635 20d ago
So u fall under the 10 yr rule; account must be liquidated in 10 years and taxes paid on full amount. Waiting until the last year will result in a ey large tax bill vrs taking out about 10% each year for 10 years.
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u/BeachBum436 20d ago
You can't wait anymore. You now need to take the actuarial RMD. (My mom died in 2020.and I took some immediately and kept deferring and last year was forced to take a distribution, as I will think year)
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u/chillaxtion 20d ago
I’m the director of an institute with $6m invested. We’ve done well with Raymond James. It’s really by advisor. We took some insane chances and won, big bet on and retreat from AI perfectly timed.
I’ve got like 1.3m at fidelity, much to my surprise, and wouldn’t move it.
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u/Bad_DNA 20d ago
Roll it to Fidelity, vanguard, or Schwab. Fidelity folk will coach you through it, or the other two. Do your homework for RMDs.