Hired a FA

[Bestwifeever]

Another inappropriate and uncalled for comment. The forum rules say to be nice. Is this a nice comment? And coming from a "moderator emeritus"!


1.7% WR and would .2 % if we started SS which we have not yet. We can afford to do whatever we want to do. You spend yours however you want to, and we will do the same.

I’ll send you a Thanksgiving card!

 

[travelover]

I'm confused. Are you saying you will or will not be buying greeting cards?

 

[ERD50]

... We can afford to do whatever we want to do. You spend yours however you want to, and we will do the same.

And I'm confused about this. Do you think we have some power over your spending?

Not sure why you get upset at these threads. The holiday card poking is pretty gentle stuff. The OP hasn't had any problem with the comments here, why should you?

Or did your FA forget to send your card this year? << That's a JOKE, son, I said a JOKE!

Really, the gist of what people are saying about FA's is true. What's the problem?

OP said recently:

I sincerely appreciate the discussion as it gives me a lot to think about and different ways to analyze this. You guys are one of the twelve steps. Thank you.

-ERD50

 

[TwoByFour]

I'm debating hiring a FA also. I've had good luck with my investments (retired 10 years early) but, really, it's luck with continual saving, and moving to the right funds at the right times. I can't claim to be a knowledgeable investor. Reading themoneyhabit.org (the blog of a woman who retired at 28 and lives in Manhattan), she's saying that passive investing in low-cost index funds is a viable strategy.
Would you guys/gals agree?

I suggest you read A Random Walk Down Wall Street and The Four Pillars of Investing. It is not about luck or skill, it is about patience.

And yes, I agree that passive investing is viable. And wise.

 

[pb4uski]

Another inappropriate and uncalled for comment. The forum rules say to be nice. Is this a nice comment? And coming from a "moderator emeritus"!


1.7% WR and would .2 % if we started SS which we have not yet. We can afford to do whatever we want to do. You spend yours however you want to, and we will do the same.

Seems to me too harsh given BWE's post.

 

[Rustward]

I'm confused. Are you saying you will or will not be buying greeting cards?

Are you trolling?

 

[travelover]

<< That's a JOKE, son, I said a JOKE!

-ERD50

 

[Rustward]

Seems to me too harsh given BWE's post.

How was this "harsh"? We can leave out the "too" part for now.

 

[Bestwifeever]

How was this "harsh"? We can leave out the "too" part for now.

So interesting that you are this annoyed with little me. Have you not read my post 151 or 152, I think, in this thread? Did you forget my post saying my DH adores his FA (and yes her greeting cards ) for his little chunk of change? I doubt you’ll find a post from me that doesn’t support getting an FA if that’s what someone wants to do. But that’s me. Sorry your feelings are hurt. I would still send you a Thanksgiving card.

 

[braumeister]

I suspect someone was inspired by another recent thread and is striving to get on the "ignored" list.

 

[pb4uski]

Maybe the real Vanguard FAs send them, but neither Vanguard nor Fidelity has ever sent me a card despite having 7 figures with both of them. Just super low expenses and good service.

Me neither but there’s no AUM fee—that would buy a lot of greeting cards.

Another inappropriate and uncalled for comment. The forum rules say to be nice. Is this a nice comment? And coming from a "moderator emeritus"!


1.7% WR and would .2 % if we started SS which we have not yet. We can afford to do whatever we want to do. You spend yours however you want to, and we will do the same.

Seems to me too harsh given BWE's post.

How was this "harsh"? We can leave out the "too" part for now.

How was it harsh? It was pretty obvious that travelover and BWE's posts were light spirited jest... something that you obviously don't get. It seems to me that you are the one not playing nice. Get over it.

 

[GravitySucks]

I don’t think your professional fence puller is going to send you a nice Christmas card with photos of the fam like DH just got from the Edward Jones FA who handles his $68K account in his small home town that he inherited from his mom (I wonder if the VG FAs send them). Sorry but I laughed when he got it and told him about the discussions re FAs here and how someone always mentions the cards. He laughed too and said he doesn’t care, he likes it.

Not only will I get a Christmas card, I'll also get invited to his Christmas dinner. He married my neice. I'll get a card from Fido too, so I got that going for me!
I know it's not the best comparison but it is an ongoing situation as he has repaired my fence and done other emergency jobs while I was traveling. With my dog i needed someone there that day and fixed right. You ever hire a bad contractor / handyman? ExDGF had one that messed her kitchen up for almost a year for what should have been a 50 hour job.My point is if Jerry1 wishes to hire an FA he has his good reasons.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Not only will I get a Christmas card, I'll also get invited to his Christmas dinner. He married my neice. I'll get a card from Fido too, so I got that going for me!
I know it's not the best comparison but it is an ongoing situation as he has repaired my fence and done other emergency jobs while I was traveling. With my dog i needed someone there that day and fixed right. You ever hire a bad contractor / handyman? ExDGF had one that messed her kitchen up for almost a year for what should have been a 50 hour job.My point is if Jerry1 wishes to hire an FA he has his good reasons.

Love this! Agree 100 percent.

Funny that besides the card from DH’s FA, we also just got a Thanksgiving card from the overpriced but worth it to us (just like FAs are worth it to some, we non-household-diyers need to pay others for a lot of stuff) contractor who did our bathroom remodel this year. We certainly paid the contractor enough for a decent fruit basket too.

 

[Hermit]

I haven't read all the posts in this thread so I may be restating what has already been said.

Having read the Wall Street Journal for around 40 years and watching the chimp or the dart board do as well as the best and brightest on Wall Street, I really struggle to see how any FA (or FIRE member for that matter) can consistently beat the market. I used a FA to help me set up my allocations and overall investing approach when I started investing and have had a FA review my current allocations, etc. at major junctures in life along the way. I have paid them a total of about $500. Well worth the money in my estimation. Paying them annually for no better results that the chimp? No thanks.

 

[TwoByFour]

I haven't read all the posts in this thread so I may be restating what has already been said.

Having read the Wall Street Journal for around 40 years and watching the chimp or the dart board do as well as the best and brightest on Wall Street, I really struggle to see how any FA (or FIRE member for that matter) can consistently beat the market. I used a FA to help me set up my allocations and overall investing approach when I started investing and have had a FA review my current allocations, etc. at major junctures in life along the way. I have paid them a total of about $500. Well worth the money in my estimation. Paying them annually for no better results that the chimp? No thanks.

I don't use a FA but I can see the utility in having one. It goes way beyond "beating the market". For instance:
- If you're not familiar with investing and don't want to take the time to learn
- If you are very risk-averse and want to have the minimum risk to achieve your investing goals.
- If you have complicated finances, or an inheritance with complicated assets
- If you are way too busy to think about money
- If you like to be pampered

It doesn't really matter why, we all do what we feel comfortable with.

 

[ERD50]

I haven't read all the posts in this thread so I may be restating what has already been said. .... I really struggle to see how any FA (or FIRE member for that matter) can consistently beat the market. ....Paying them annually for no better results that the chimp? No thanks.

Well, the OP (Jerry1), a few dozens of posts back I think, said he doesn't expect his FA to beat the market. It appears he's really just looking for hand-holding, so he doesn't bail on every little dip.

I'm having trouble with the idea that paying someone 1% to talk you out of bailing will work - it's still your money and you have ultimate control over it. But if it does work for OP, I guess it's worth it, better than a series of sell low, buy high transactions.

I just can't wrap my head around it, but to each his own. He can get the "stay the course" sermon here for free, anytime he wants!

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

I don't use a FA but I can see the utility in having one. It goes way beyond "beating the market". For instance:
- If you're not familiar with investing and don't want to take the time to learn
- If you are very risk-averse and want to have the minimum risk to achieve your investing goals.
- If you have complicated finances, or an inheritance with complicated assets
- If you are way too busy to think about money
- If you like to be pampered

It doesn't really matter why, we all do what we feel comfortable with.

The problem with some of those is - you need to learn as much or more to determine if the FA is any good or not. It's actually less time consuming to just DIY with 3 funds.

The trick is, you need to first learn how simple it is, and an FA is't going to tell you that. It's kind of a catch-22.

-ERD50

 

[Rianne]

The problem with some of those is - you need to learn as much or more to determine if the FA is any good or not. It's actually less time consuming to just DIY with 3 funds.

The trick is, you need to first learn how simple it is, and an FA is't going to tell you that. It's kind of a catch-22.

-ERD50

ERD, I often do not agree with you, but this time I do. Almost done with Bogle investing book/audio and I get it, finally. It's pretty basic and the 2nd grader who beat all the seasoned investors with his 3 funds is pretty funny. We came close to hiring VG FA, but realized we were already diversified and with the right funds. Been with VG for over 10 years. I simply got confused with bond funds, but I get it.

 

[Scuba]

I don't use a FA but I can see the utility in having one. It goes way beyond "beating the market". For instance:

- If you're not familiar with investing and don't want to take the time to learn

- If you are very risk-averse and want to have the minimum risk to achieve your investing goals.

- If you have complicated finances, or an inheritance with complicated assets

- If you are way too busy to think about money

- If you like to be pampered



It doesn't really matter why, we all do what we feel comfortable with.

+1

 

[24601NoMore]

I’ve met guys like Alan Roth and Rick Ferri both doing hourly consultation and planning. Reach out to one of those guys and you won’t go wrong and you’ll ultimately save a ton of money.

AMEN to this! The ONLY FA I'd ever consider hiring would be a "fee only" person on an hourly basis.

Paying someone $10K+ yearly on every million AUM (PLUS in all likelihood, additional $$ on high ER funds they inevitably recommend) - no freaking way. That's a huge chunk of $$ in ER unless you're extremely well off / wealthy and have so much other money coming in that you can truly "blow that dough" on something you don't need.

If you are looking for someone to "beat the market", you may want to consider that it's been well proven for decades that NO $$ manager consistently can 'beat the market'. That includes truly great managers like David Hero at Oakmark. Morningstar awarded him 'International Fund Manager of the Year" multiple times. Go look at how OAKIX (which I sadly own) right now and see how he's doing this year. Bernstein also has a good example of Robert Sanborn (another Oakmark manager who runs OAKMX) in his Asset Allocation book, and if I remember right there's a classic story about another really well run fund that there was even a different book written about - because the manager was able to defy all odds and "beat the market" - until he didn't. And when his run of good luck (and that's all it is) stopped, investors in his fund got creamed.

There IS NO "beat the market". If that's what you're looking for or expect, you're being sold a bill of goods. And if someone pitches you with facts, figures or charts, look very, VERY closely and ask yourself - can this be repeated? Because it's likely even if someone "beat the market" over X period that is highly unlikely that they can maintain that year in, year out. Does not, and cannot, happen.

 

[ERD50]

One trait that served me well in my career was that I’ve never had issues delegating or giving people the space they needed to succeed. Of course, with a watchful eye. So this takes a strength of mine to help deal with a weakness. There’s a plan in place and we have met enough to have a understanding of what I expect. He has full authority to move money and I get an email when he does. So, yes, I’m going to give him a year. This is consistent with behavior I’ve held for many years. We’ll see how it melds with my internal nature.

Curious how it has gone for you in the past year. Can you provide an update?

-ERD50

 

[Jerry1]

Just noticed this. All is going well. I was planning on writing up an update after the year end results are in. Stay tuned, but the bottom line is that I love the service, but I continue to struggle with the cost.

 

[ERD50]

Just noticed this. All is going well. I was planning on writing up an update after the year end results are in. Stay tuned, but the bottom line is that I love the service, but I continue to struggle with the cost.

Can you give an update now?

-ERD50

 

[splitwdw]

Yep, curious too.

 

[Jerry1]

Posted update.

https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/fa-after-one-year-2019-update-102207.html#post2371498