Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-17-2014, 05:30 AM   #21
Full time employment: Posting here.
racy's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 881
Quote:
Originally Posted by doneat58 View Post
I'm thinking I might look into the services of an independent financial planner. ... Not sure where to start. Are there good websites with directory listings? What to look for? What questions to ask? ... ..
Hi done,
Here's a list of articles: How to Find a Good Retirement Planner, Financial Advisor or Investment Advisor
__________________
"It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating". Oscar Wilde
racy is online now   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 01-17-2014, 07:45 AM   #22
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 78
[QUOTE=youbet;1404311]I think paying a fee based pro for estate planning, complicated tax situations and specific situational studies/projects (example: set up a trust for a special needs child) makes sense.
QUOTE]

Totally correct..I would use a FP with these needs....I once used a fee only financial planner (picked from nafpa site) and all he gave me was the same analysis as I get from Morningstar as a premium member..charged 2K..So disappointed that I never used another one...Someday, before I retire, I will look for an FP that will be well versed on estate planning, taxes and specific situations even though I'll pay more...I still believe a good one is worth the money but as a one time advice only...Will not let anyone handle my money , better to educate myself in how to handle it...As they always say,You are the only on who will really take good care of your money...
BTW, my sister and her husband are in their mid 70's and have a FP handling their money at 1.5% of their assets...and they tell me that their FP (who manages their acct) buys and sells stocks for them several times a month!!!! does not make sense to me at their age..
jesaco is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2014, 07:57 AM   #23
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
2B's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Houston
Posts: 4,337
Quote:
Originally Posted by jesaco View Post
BTW, my sister and her husband are in their mid 70's and have a FP handling their money at 1.5% of their assets...and they tell me that their FP (who manages their acct) buys and sells stocks for them several times a month!!!! does not make sense to me at their age..
I'm sure they never have bothered to compare this guys return over a couple of years with a simple indexed portfolio. Hopefully, this fee covers the commissions on all the trades. What they don't probably realize is that their broker probably receives incentives for putting client money into specific stocks "pushed" by the firm.

It's nice to know that if their FP makes them any money he is helping to increase federal tax revenues with all the ST capital gains.
__________________
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane -- Marcus Aurelius
2B is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2014, 08:44 AM   #24
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Koogie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: GTA
Posts: 1,726
FWIW, add me to the column of people that uses a fee only financial planner.

Really what you are paying for is the help of someone with the planning portion of your financial life and you can still do the investing portion as DIY.
__________________
Family Motto: "Every penny's a prisoner"
Koogie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2014, 11:07 AM   #25
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 78
Told my sister her FP is probably driving a new BMW on his commissions by managing her portfolio.....But they won't listen...FP even recommended them to purchase a variable annuity..Oh well, I can only argue so much with them...


Quote:
Originally Posted by 2B View Post
I'm sure they never have bothered to compare this guys return over a couple of years with a simple indexed portfolio. Hopefully, this fee covers the commissions on all the trades. What they don't probably realize is that their broker probably receives incentives for putting client money into specific stocks "pushed" by the firm.

It's nice to know that if their FP makes them any money he is helping to increase federal tax revenues with all the ST capital gains.
jesaco is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2014, 01:40 PM   #26
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Sarah in SC's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Charleston, SC
Posts: 13,566
NAPFA is probably a good way to find a fee only planner to review your portfolio. It is different to get someone to give you a second opinion than someone to run your portfolio. You should be clear with them that you aren't looking for management, only a review and suggestions, if that in fact is what you want.
__________________
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching.”
Gerard Arthur Way

Sarah in SC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2014, 02:32 PM   #27
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,016
Well 10 months later I have hired a guy, spent a month feeding him *everything* related to my holdings, real estate, taxes, accounts, etc. He is going to create a comprehensive plan for me that includes redirecting some of my savings fund streams, re-balancing my portfolio which is very heavily weighted in securities now (and Oct was a scary month!!), recommending a portfolio draw plan, SS strategy, healthcare strategy,etc. His fee is $2400, there are no percentages taken from my accounts. He actually came from a large firm where they did work for % fee, and he did not like that philosophy. He felt like it was a conflict of interest. He prefers to work for free and be able to objectively consider everything. I have been impressed with him so far.

My wife and I met with him yesterday for an interim review, reality check. Long story short, I should change my forum name to "doneat55". He says that at this point my plan/expectations look very do-able. He recommended that I take the lump sum pension, and recommended redirecting some significant cash saving streams to our 401Ks and Roth accounts.

I mentioned earlier in this thread that my brother hired a 0.5% guy and was convinced he was worth it. Well the contract/period has closed and he no longer holds that view.

There is no way I wold have divulged even half of the personal finance details to this group that I did to this guy under a confidentiality agreement. I agree that at the end of the day the decisions are mine, and I should consider everything I can. But I respect this guy's experience.

And lastly, he projected my portfolio to be able to return 8.8% post retirement (before inflation) and would use 4.22% as an inflation value. Both numbers seemed a little high to me.
doneat54 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2014, 02:36 PM   #28
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
gauss's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,594
Quote:
Originally Posted by doneat58 View Post
Well 10 months later I have hired a guy, spent a month feeding him *everything* related to my holdings, real estate, taxes, accounts, etc. He is going to create a comprehensive plan for me that includes redirecting some of my savings fund streams, re-balancing my portfolio which is very heavily weighted in securities now (and Oct was a scary month!!), recommending a portfolio draw plan, SS strategy, healthcare strategy,etc. His fee is $2400, there are no percentages taken from my accounts. He actually came from a large firm where they did work for % fee, and he did not like that philosophy. He felt like it was a conflict of interest. He prefers to work for free and be able to objectively consider everything. I have been impressed with him so far.

My wife and I met with him yesterday for an interim review, reality check. Long story short, I should change my forum name to "doneat55". He says that at this point my plan/expectations look very do-able. He recommended that I take the lump sum pension, and recommended redirecting some significant cash saving streams to our 401Ks and Roth accounts.

I mentioned earlier in this thread that my brother hired a 0.5% guy and was convinced he was worth it. Well the contract/period has closed and he no longer holds that view.

There is no way I wold have divulged even half of the personal finance details to this group that I did to this guy under a confidentiality agreement. I agree that at the end of the day the decisions are mine, and I should consider everything I can. But I respect this guy's experience.

And lastly, he projected my portfolio to be able to return 8.8% post retirement (before inflation) and would use 4.22% as an inflation value. Both numbers seemed a little high to me.
Does he use the x% of pre-retirement income as the income needed in retirement (as opposed to calculating the income needed from historical spending data and the appropriate changes when retired?)

This can make a huge difference in the amount needed for LBYM/high savers.

-gauss
gauss is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2014, 02:43 PM   #29
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
gauss's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,594
Quote:
Originally Posted by jesaco View Post
Told my sister her FP is probably driving a new BMW on his commissions by managing her portfolio.....But they won't listen...FP even recommended them to purchase a variable annuity..Oh well, I can only argue so much with them...
Sounds like they are paying for "peace of mind".

Hopefully it will be worth the price paid for them in the long run.

-gauss
gauss is offline   Reply With Quote
How to find a good *Independent* financial planner
Old 11-12-2014, 03:06 PM   #30
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 1,069
How to find a good *Independent* financial planner

Quote:
Originally Posted by doneat58 View Post
Well 10 months later I have hired a guy, spent a month feeding him *everything* related to my holdings, real estate, taxes, accounts, etc. He is going to create a comprehensive plan for me that includes redirecting some of my savings fund streams, re-balancing my portfolio which is very heavily weighted in securities now (and Oct was a scary month!!), recommending a portfolio draw plan, SS strategy, healthcare strategy,etc. His fee is $2400, there are no percentages taken from my accounts. He actually came from a large firm where they did work for % fee, and he did not like that philosophy. He felt like it was a conflict of interest. He prefers to work for free and be able to objectively consider everything. I have been impressed with him so far.

My wife and I met with him yesterday for an interim review, reality check. Long story short, I should change my forum name to "doneat55". He says that at this point my plan/expectations look very do-able. He recommended that I take the lump sum pension, and recommended redirecting some significant cash saving streams to our 401Ks and Roth accounts.

I mentioned earlier in this thread that my brother hired a 0.5% guy and was convinced he was worth it. Well the contract/period has closed and he no longer holds that view.

There is no way I wold have divulged even half of the personal finance details to this group that I did to this guy under a confidentiality agreement. I agree that at the end of the day the decisions are mine, and I should consider everything I can. But I respect this guy's experience.

And lastly, he projected my portfolio to be able to return 8.8% post retirement (before inflation) and would use 4.22% as an inflation value. Both numbers seemed a little high to me.

Ha. "My money man can generate 50% returns. Only 49% inlflation. So far he's over performing in real returns!"


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
dallas27 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2014, 05:27 PM   #31
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,016
We are actually figuring on pretty much the same monthly expenses post as pre-retirement, although my wife will work 3-4 years beyond me. He is also recommending against over paying our mortgage as we have been (by about 30%) because we are losing tax advantage. I agree, and have been able to see that in our returns each year. We will redirect that income elsewhere as well.
doneat54 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-12-2014, 11:15 PM   #32
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Sunset's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Spending the Kids Inheritance and living in Chicago
Posts: 17,008
In my own projections in various calculators, I've used inflation numbers higher than the standard given ones as a safety factor since some things do rise higher than 3%.
So I find nothing wrong with your FP's view of 4.22% inflation other than its silly to go to the 2nd decimal (I would have used 4 or 4.4).
Same with the return value, its good to see he is not suggesting some wild number like 12% return.
Sunset is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2014, 12:58 AM   #33
Recycles dryer sheets
thefinancebuff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 299
Quote:
Originally Posted by doneat58 View Post
My brother has one and pays 0.5% of portfolio quarterly. What is the going rate?
The going rate is 0.5% a *year* or less. Your brother is paying 4x.
thefinancebuff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2014, 06:08 AM   #34
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
pb4uski's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sarasota, FL & Vermont
Posts: 36,263
Quote:
Originally Posted by doneat58 View Post
.....My brother has one and pays 0.5% of portfolio quarterly. ....
2% a year? Wow. That's highway robbery. He should be getting Super Bowl tickets at that rate.
__________________
If something cannot endure laughter.... it cannot endure.
Patience is the art of concealing your impatience.
Slow and steady wins the race.

Retired Jan 2012 at age 56
pb4uski is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2014, 10:30 AM   #35
Recycles dryer sheets
robertf57's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 337
I am glad you are happy with your new adviser. I am in favor of paying people for their work; not some % of my accumulated work! I have some concerns over the recommendations you have relayed. Perhaps I don't understand the totality of what he has told you:

1) Taking the lump sum at retirement is a decision that needs to be carefully weighed. Too often I have seen people taking a significant drop in the expected value of this asset by taking the lump sum. I hope he gave very clear reasons for this decision and modeled what you are trading off

2) His return estimates may be fine on average, but I sincerely hope he isn't modeling that as an annual return in your withdrawal plan.




Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum
robertf57 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2014, 10:38 AM   #36
Administrator
MichaelB's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 40,581
Quote:
Originally Posted by thefinancebuff View Post
The going rate is 0.5% a *year* or less. Your brother is paying 4x.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pb4uski View Post
2% a year? Wow. That's highway robbery. He should be getting Super Bowl tickets at that rate.
This was corrected here
Quote:
Originally Posted by doneat58 View Post
I checked with my brother, he pays 0.5% total annually, 0.125% per quarter.
MichaelB is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2014, 11:19 AM   #37
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: aberdeen
Posts: 267
We decided to do it our own, and take the possible occasional errors and learn from it. My brother work with a planner from one of the major firms who charge 1% of the total asset/ year. Obviously this planner is not independent and work for the firm.
Despite some of our mistakes along the way, we felt that there are just a lot of information out there to help us decide what to do. Learning it ourselves make us more knowledgeable and confident on financial matters.

The 1% is a lot if a portfolio is worth several millions. I rather pay myself 1% and add another few %'s and live with it.
Birchwood is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2014, 02:09 PM   #38
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,016
Quote:
Originally Posted by thefinancebuff View Post
The going rate is 0.5% a *year* or less. Your brother is paying 4x.
I was mistaken, he is paying 0.5%/yr, 0.125 a quarter... plus some other retainer fees.
doneat54 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2014, 02:15 PM   #39
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,016
Quote:
Originally Posted by robertf57 View Post
I am glad you are happy with your new adviser. I am in favor of paying people for their work; not some % of my accumulated work! I have some concerns over the recommendations you have relayed. Perhaps I don't understand the totality of what he has told you:

1) Taking the lump sum at retirement is a decision that needs to be carefully weighed. Too often I have seen people taking a significant drop in the expected value of this asset by taking the lump sum. I hope he gave very clear reasons for this decision and modeled what you are trading off

2) His return estimates may be fine on average, but I sincerely hope he isn't modeling that as an annual return in your withdrawal plan.
1) The annuity value being offered calcs out at about 5.9%. And yes, he did show a simple rationale of how the lump sum, invested moderately, would outperform the offered annuity value. It is known that my company is "jacking" the lump sum amount once I hit a certain point to incent people "sign out". Likewise, the lump sum offered decays for every year I stay on after that date. The message, and decision are clear.

2) He is not using that % to model annul return/disbursement allowances, in fact, was quite clear that that is an expected LONG TERM average. What we have yet to do is start to look at how the funds will be drawn, from where, and when, all the while rationalizing the tax liabilities.
doneat54 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2014, 09:34 PM   #40
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,637
Quote:
Originally Posted by doneat58 View Post
We are actually figuring on pretty much the same monthly expenses post as pre-retirement, although my wife will work 3-4 years beyond me. He is also recommending against over paying our mortgage as we have been (by about 30%) because we are losing tax advantage. I agree, and have been able to see that in our returns each year. We will redirect that income elsewhere as well.

I can think of several reasons why you might not want to pay down your mortgage early, and that issue has been debated many times. However, the tax "advantage" reason would be well down the list.
PatrickA5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:51 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.