Am I crazy, or is this 'Financial Advisor' crazy?

[FinanceDude]

I believe FinanceDude is in your area.... bonus points, if he has anything mockable, you have ammo for the forum.

I don't know if he's fee-based and/or too expensive for the likes of you or me, but might be a place to start

I'd review his plan for free, and give him objective advice. He can PM me or email.........

 

[slazenger]

Just had the 401k meeting at my new job.

He said, and I quote: "We don't believe in index funds, they are the only way to guarantee you under perform the market".

The fees on the plans are 15.00 quarterly, 25.00 annually plus a range of 1.10% to 1.71% fees&charges.

I am not participating in the plan.

Thoughts?

Max individual IRAs first, $5000/year, and $5000 for your spouse (if you are married) in a low cost mutual fund company like Vanguard or T-Rowe, then go to these maxing them to the limit. Sure, 1.1-1.7% management fees are horrible, but even those aren't high enough to justify using a taxable, but low-cost investment as an alternative.

If they were matching, I'd say get the match first, but you already said they are not.

If you're married, have your spouse start a business of some kind, then open up a SEP and invest crazy amounts in that in a low-cost investment as opposed to your employer plan.