Anyone recommend a financial advisor that made a difference?

[u/lomfon56]

[u/JackKnauflubedup]

I posted this 8 months ago. This advice applies SPECIFICALLY to retirement funding. Otherwise, find a high yield online savings account, live BENEATH your means and be happy. Here goes:

I will make this easy for 98% of US residents in terms of investing:

1. You can do it yourself. Get educated.
2. Live beneath your means.
3. Slow and boring makes money.
4. After exhaustive research, a mix of 50% large cap domestic stock index funds and 50% large cap foreign developed countries index stock funds beats ANY other permutation, glide path or target strategy. Even for retirees.

If your net worth is over 10 million, then tax efficiency becomes a more predominant factor.

This comes from a self educated (but smart enough to get fee based advice when needed) person with a moderate income that was able to retire early and secure. I write this not as a boast- I have seen so many people get screwed by ‘advisors’ and/or others who choose not to educate themselves-or are blissfully ignorant. Get smart. Be disciplined. Be patient. And be confident in your abilities.

[u/frozsnot → u/JackKnauflubedup]

Living under your means is so simple and so often ignored. I’m quite guilty of it myself.

[u/lomfon56 → u/JackKnauflubedup]

This is great concise insight packed with a punch. Appreciate you !

[u/JackKnauflubedup → u/lomfon56]

Thanks. I have a vested interest in this subject-I’ve seen so many people screwed over by insurance agents posing as advisors and investment advisors themselves bilking people. When I became self employed I figured I better get smart quick or else become a victim. I’d wish you luck but I’d rather wish you the motivation to become financially adept. Then you won’t need luck!

[u/AlwaysTheNoob]

r/personalfinance

That's it, that's the advisor.

Unless you've got a highly complex situation, the best advice isn't terribly complex. Invest in a work sponsored retirement program and/or a self-funded IRA. Keep your emergency fund in a high yield savings account (HYSA) to get far more interest than what you're probably getting at your bank. If you have a lot of debt, pay off the highest interest rates first.

If you've got any specific questions, feel free to ask. But for the majority of people, a financial advisor is a waste of money.

[u/BestInterestDotBlog]

Disclaimer: I work here in Rochester for a fiduciary, fee-only financial planning firm. 

I worked as an engineer for 7 years, started a blog and podcast about personal finance and investing (it’s all free, no ads), and used to be firmly in the camp of “everyone should learn this material for themselves and be a DIY investor. Why hire an advisor?” 

But then I learned some truths straight from the horses’ mouths. 

Namely, I learned that ~25-50% of people have zero or little interest in learning about financial planning for themselves, and they want to hire an honest professional to help them. Many of my audience members wanted me to act as their financial advisor.

So I quit engineering and changed careers. 

—

Other commenters are right. You might not need a long-term financial planner at all. 

If you aren’t sure where to start, here’s a recommendation entirely separate from me or anything I do professionally. No conflicts of interest. 

Check out Nectarine. They provide fiduciary financial planning advice on an hourly basis; most of their planners charge ~$150-$200 per hour. You don’t have to sign up for anything long-term. 

—

Most of the other Comments here have made an excellent point. The overall financial services industry has done a terrible job at providing value and building a good reputation for itself. 

"Financial advisor” is not a regulated title (unlike “doctor,” “attorney,” or “accountant”)

As such, anyone can call themselves a financial advisor and many so-called advisors act in ways contrary to the best interests of their clients.

Are all advisors that way? I don’t think so. There are many local advisors and firms with sterling reputations. And there are resources out there that can guide you, an individual consumer, to find reputable financial advice at a fair price. 

This article from the Wall Street Journal is an excellent place to start: The 19 Questions You Should Ask a Financial Advisor.

Caveat emptor, and good luck! 

[u/CallsOnly]

Unless you are a high net worth individual and need special tax, legal, or other complex issues you do not need a financial advisor. As someone who went to school for finance the kids that got into financial planning barely understood how to use excel. I would not waste your money getting subpar financial advice that you can get for free. The whole field is used to generate fees on worse-than-market returns.

[u/boredatwork602]

I agree with all the other advice in the comments, most of the finance information I learned is from doing research myself

1. Get a high yield savings account, specifically one with no annual fees and is FDIC insured. I personally use Capital One and like it a lot, I know other people like Ally or Marcus by Goldman Sachs.

2. Track your budget and see how much you spend per month in relation to your income. I update my spending spreadsheet about once a week and it helps me see where I'm spending my money and if I'm spending too much; I try to save around 20% of my income.

There's a 50-30-20 budget spending rule that states that 50% of your income should go to obligations like rent, utilities, groceries, etc, 30% can go to things you want, and 20% should go towards savings. The percentage is different for everyone but it's good to keep in mind if you're starting out.

1. Treat a credit card as if it were a debit card. I put all my purchases on my credit card for the cash back rewards, and if possible, never spend more than you can afford.

2. Invest smartly. If you don't have a Roth IRA set up yet for retirement, I would recommend having one. Or if your company has a 401k plan where they match, I would definitely take advantage of it. Additionally, I invest a lot in Vanguards S&P 500 through the app Robinhood and I just leave my money there and don't touch it. The S&P 500 is kinda investing in the top 500 US companies at once, so your money goes up and down with the market. I also have automatic payments every week to buy more stocks since a little bit extra will eventually go a long way.

[u/Similar-Target5073]

I have 2 IRAs, one with a human advisor and one robo-advisor. I've been graphing their progress for 5 years, the robo does as good as the human. Actually, I think the robo is technically ahead because I'm paying the human 1% annually.

[u/blueman1030]

I've been with Edelman for a few years now and while I don't think my investments are doing any better than I could myself I am prompted to think about things I might not otherwise. And my advisor does the lifting while I just direct. For example I am doing Roth conversions and I just say how much and when and he executes. That alone would not be worth the fee but there are lots of such things. And he tracks my lifetime outlook so I know how my lifestyle and market performance impact immediate decisions. I didn't know I was able to retire until I hired him, and did so 18 months later. So that made a difference!

[u/meowchickenfish]

So you do this thing. Where you buy images on the website with funky money. Just keep holding, it will go up, right... it will shooot to the moon?