Quote:
Originally Posted by GMfitter
My company doesn't match our 401k and I am not a very savvy investor. I should have gotten professional help years ago, but, water under the bridge.
I am retiring this October. My 401k is just under 400k. How should I go about finding a good FA? Are they willing to help people with small accounts? Is it financially prudent to pay for advice?
|
I just went through this process and decided on a fee only, Garret Group CFP, that only charges for the financial plan. For us it was $1500. He does not manage your assets and take commissions or charge any annual fees based on your assets or anything like that. He simply advises.
The other ones we interviewed in person and via a ZOOM meeting seemed too anxious to take over our money and invest them in their own funds and charge percentage of our assets every year. One even wanted to invest 95% of our money in the stock market!
We wanted to keep our money with T Rowe Price and just have someone guide us about the allocations and type of investments.
He has a holistic approach and deals with all interrelated concerns for retirement, including selling our home and our our move out of state.
He will help us in terms of how to allocate our funds and also takes tax considerations into account with Roth IRA conversions and so forth. How to withdraw our money and live on it in retirement, etc.
He advises regarding insurance and estate issues and can recommend professionals in those areas IF YOU WANT. He sells nothing. And- as in our case, he will take your risk tolerance into consideration and advise accordingly.
EX: He mentioned a Qualified Income Annuity as a possibility and that he could refer us to a professional who sells the. We told him we hate annuities. He did not flinch and is working on the plan without one.
Have met with him twice already and will be meeting with him again in a few weeks. So far just paid him a deposit. He also contacts us by phone and email for information to help him formulate the plan.
From there, we can contact him ongoing with questions. And it we want next year we can put him on a retainer fee or just pay him for another plan whenever we need him in the upcoming years. He can work with us remotely also, as we plan to move.
And- Garret Group advisors will help anyone no matter what the size of your assets.
Just be careful because not all fee only advisors are REALLY fee only. Some will say they are fee only when they are fee based- meaning no commissions, just a fee- but there is a wide girth on what a fee(s) might be.
With the Garret group ones you still have to interview them and explain what you want out of your relationship. It is important that your styles and personalities jive.
I suggest you look one up in your area, but don't discount working with one remotely..
https://garrettplanningnetwork.com/
BTW- T Rowe Price also has an advisory service I utilize as well, but I am careful with them also as they always want your cash outside of their accounts to be invested with them. But I do find it a bit helpful, as well as the tools they have on line. Other companies like Fidelity and Vanguard also have this service. Just keep in mind all these companies have a bit of bias, but really you can't go wrong with with just investing in some index funds- stocks, bonds and international. Make sure you have a large cash emergency fund at a bank. Keep it simple and learn as you go along.
But try to get a good fee only advisor to help you put everything together for your retirement life.
Linear Mode
