Investment advice wanted

[kgtest]

It has been said many times here that nobody will ever care as much about your money as you do, and learning to manage it yourself is nowhere near as hard as most people think it is.

Why not just dip your toe into the water and start reading a book or two on the subject?

One of my favorites for beginners is Millionaire Teacher by Andrew Hallam.

+1
I managed to get my neighbor (construction foreman) into investing and he had never owned a computer in his life and had 100k cash sitting in his checking account when I met him DOH!



Now he's off buying semi-conducters, asking me about emerging markets...he's gone wild lol.



it's all about your goals and your risk appetite. When those two align, you can sleep well at night. For me, not knowing anything was too much of a risk and believe me when I say I wasn't sleeping very well at night.

The first question I asked myself was "what do I own?" Not understanding and knowing that simple answer was scary but it all worked out once I gained the knowledge.

I was deathly scared of Vanguard but have grown to love and respect them.

Many on the ER forum rely on an asset allocation strategy, followed by an optimized withdrawal strategy.

 

[jazz4cash]

Thanks! I appreciate the advice. I know the TSP has the lowest fees, so I'll probably leave it in the TSP a while longer and read up more on TSP investment advice and the Boglehead strategy. I've heard the Lifecycle funds in the TSP are on the conservative side, so may split between the 2030 and 2040 funds, with maybe 20% in the G Fund (unless the rumor I'd heard of the govt cutting its interest rates pans out). I'm not planning to touch the money for another 10 to 15 years anyway.

The FA didn't tell me what funds they plan to put my money in; and I just received a Thank You from Ameritrade for choosing to get all my notifications electronically. I've never even logged in to Ameritrade - my comfort level with this whole idea has been exceeded...

I think you see the overwhelming opinion here is that TSP is a great place for simple low cost index investing. I am still having trouble with your logic. If you believe the Lifecycle funds are conservative, why split between 2030,2040, and G fund? Adding G makes it more conservative and you say you won’t need the funds for over 10 years so using 2030 for more than a small allocation makes the overall strategy more conservative. Don’t sleep on the Lifecycle Income find. Have you seen the Lifecycle fund tool that shows how the makeup of each fund (except Income) adjusts over time? As for FA, not telling you which funds they are using is a huge red flag.

 

[i-like-gin]

I do not have a TSP, but TSP is AWESOME.


The G Fund is free money, no risk of losing principal. DO NOT GIVE THIS OPPORTUNITY UP.


And the C Fund is just the S&P 500. You literally do not need anything else.


G + C Funds in proportion.


I wish I had a TSP.

 

[jIMOh]

I'm 57, single, retired last year and have the majority of my funds in the Thrift Savings Plan. My new FA (I decided to get one since I'm nervous about this market and not sure what's the best thing to do for investing) wants me to move all my money out of the TSP and put it into Ameritrade funds. I'd told them I just wanted advice, didn't want them to have hands-on to my cash, but they've sent up an Advisery account at Ameritrade for me and want me to move the funds, and they'll arrange it all... (Sounds pretty hands-on to me.)

I'm leery (I know; paranoid much?); it's a small firm; don't know how good the adviser is. I'd tried Vanguard but didn't have a good experience with the two guys I talked to there. Hadn't gotten around to trying Fidelity yet. I have a beneficiary IRA being handled by another small firm my parents used, but they tell me they can't advise on the TSP. I don't think the TSP offers a broad enough selection - no Large Cap funds for one - and I'm not very knowledgeable on investing overall. Wish the darned crystal ball worked!

Any suggestions? Try Vanguard again?

A fee-only RIA can advise you on TSP.
Many brokers can only give advice on assets at that brokerage

series 7- could not give advice on assets outside of that brokerage (that is a brokerage license)
Series 65 or 65 or 63 (state registered RIA) could give advice on any assets regardless of custodian as long as they are independent of a brokerage.

 

[pb4uski]

I'm 57, single, retired last year and have the majority of my funds in the Thrift Savings Plan. My new FA (I decided to get one since I'm nervous about this market and not sure what's the best thing to do for investing) wants me to move all my money out of the TSP and put it into Ameritrade funds. I'd told them I just wanted advice, didn't want them to have hands-on to my cash, but they've sent up an Advisery account at Ameritrade for me and want me to move the funds, and they'll arrange it all... (Sounds pretty hands-on to me.)

I'm leery (I know; paranoid much?); it's a small firm; don't know how good the adviser is. I'd tried Vanguard but didn't have a good experience with the two guys I talked to there. Hadn't gotten around to trying Fidelity yet. I have a beneficiary IRA being handled by another small firm my parents used, but they tell me they can't advise on the TSP. I don't think the TSP offers a broad enough selection - no Large Cap funds for one - and I'm not very knowledgeable on investing overall. Wish the darned crystal ball worked!

Any suggestions? Try Vanguard again?

No way I would move my funds to an aggressive Ameritrade FA... recipe for disaster.

I don't understand the whole thing about not being able to advise on TSP... there is no magic there.... perhaps they just don't care to do it and that is an excuse.

You're sort of putting the cart before the horse however. Your first step should be deciding an AA that you are comfortable with and can sleep at night.... then select the TSP funds to fit that AA. That small firm should be able to help you select an AA that you are comfortable with and even advise on how TSP funds would fit into that AA... but you might offer to pay them for their time for helping you do that.... if they won't help you, you can ask here.

The TSP C Fund covers large cap.

If it were me, I would go with 27% C Fund, 15% S fund, 18% I Fund, 20% G Fund and 20% F Fund.... it is 60/40 overall and covers all US stocks and some international stocks and government and corporate bonds.

 

[jIMOh]

No way I would move my funds to an aggressive Ameritrade FA... recipe for disaster.

I don't understand the whole thing about not being able to advise on TSP... there is no magic there.... perhaps they just don't care to do it and that is an excuse.

You're sort of putting the cart before the horse however. Your first step should be deciding an AA that you are comfortable with and can sleep at night.... then select the TSP funds to fit that AA. That small firm should be able to help you select an AA that you are comfortable with and even advise on how TSP funds would fit into that AA... but you might offer to pay them for their time for helping you do that.... if they won't help you, you can ask here.

The TSP C Fund covers large cap.

If it were me, I would go with 27% C Fund, 15% S fund, 18% I Fund, 20% G Fund and 20% F Fund.... it is 60/40 overall and covers all US stocks and some international stocks and government and corporate bonds.

In the investment advisor world, a brokerage (by law, by securities and exchange act of 1933??) can only advise on assets in their custody.

A RIA (a state registered investment advisor) which is fee only, and not tied to a brokerage can advise on assets at any custodian.

 

[jazz4cash]

In the investment advisor world, a brokerage (by law, by securities and exchange act of 1933??) can only advise on assets in their custody.



A RIA (a state registered investment advisor) which is fee only, and not tied to a brokerage can advise on assets at any custodian.

So could a broker advise on a generic AA to offer a prospective client a sense of how he would invest for the clients situation? If the advisor must have custody of the assets before advice is offered how exactly does that work? Sounds like a black hole.

 

[ABQ2015]

I agree with others that the TSP expense ratios are very low and the C and G are great funds. However, there are weaknesses in the I and S fund. The I fund is heavily slanted to large caps and Great Britain and Japan with no emerging markets. The S fund is almost entirely mid caps but no small caps. The other issue is the lack of TSP withdrawal options that are not conducive to Roth conversions or accessing monies for unexpected expenses.

So after retiring last year, I did a partial rollover of about 25% of my TSP so that I could better manage my investments. But I would never close my TSP account.

 

[Badger]

I had a similar experience with ML when my wife was trying to start a 403B. They wanted control of her money to invest and sell/reinvest in loaded funds as the market fluctuated. Fortunately I understood the word "churning" and passed on their offer.


Educate yourself. Read and study a few of the recommended books suggested in this website. Search and read posts about topics that are appropriate for your situations. Eventually you will recognize those members that appear to be knowledgeable and that give the best advice.


I have no background or formal education in finance yet have found it fairly easy to make investment selections that worked for me to be financially independent for life while working for a modest salary. Just don't get bogged down with the high level math and fancy calculations to squeeze out pennies. I leave that to those with the background that enjoy that kind of challenge.


Cheers!

 

[DaveInMi]

I have been doing business with Edward Jones since a couple of pension buyouts from past companies about 7 years ago. The retirement accounts recently switched over to advisory types.
The EJ FA seems to not study the companies or funds he recommends, but follows an easy checklist based on age and years until retirement. Recommended so much in long term bond funds...why, when interest rates are rising?? Recommended Tesla stock since Tech is cool. Tesla market valuation was higher than GM & Ford combined but company was not making money; where have we seen this before? We had some intense discussions, but ultimately the Customer is in charge of his/her destiny. Keep an eye on market conditions, know the companies you invest in, ultimately you are accountable for the results.

 

[braumeister]

I have been doing business with Edward Jones since a couple of pension buyouts from past companies about 7 years ago.

FYI, almost nobody on this forum has anything good to say about EJ.

 

[jazz4cash]

I do know some folks that seem to be well served by their EJ advisors. I think it really depends on the advisor but recommending TSLA in anything other than a speculative account sounds scary to me and several other comments about DaveInMi’s guy at EJ don’t inspire confidence either.

 

[pb4uski]

In the investment advisor world, a brokerage (by law, by securities and exchange act of 1933??) can only advise on assets in their custody.

A RIA (a state registered investment advisor) which is fee only, and not tied to a brokerage can advise on assets at any custodian.

Can you provide some support for that assertion? I'm skeptical that what you wrote is correct.

Since many people will have employer 401k's as part of their overall portfolio... if a brokerage that holds their taxable account assets can only advise on assets in their custody that makes them pretty useless.

I recall many years ago I had Vanguard do a plan for me and it included everything.

 

[target2019]

FYI, almost nobody on this forum has anything good to say about EJ.

Got a $100 gift card to a steak restaurant once for listening to an EJ advisor.
His advice and newsletters are filled with many errors.

 

[yakers]

I agree with others that the TSP expense ratios are very low and the C and G are great funds. However, there are weaknesses in the I and S fund. The I fund is heavily slanted to large caps and Great Britain and Japan with no emerging markets. The S fund is almost entirely mid caps but no small caps. The other issue is the lack of TSP withdrawal options that are not conducive to Roth conversions or accessing monies for unexpected expenses.

So after retiring last year, I did a partial rollover of about 25% of my TSP so that I could better manage my investments. But I would never close my TSP account.

Did something like this when I retired 10 years ago, rolled over about 1/3 of TSP to (in my case Wells Fargo) brokerage account IRA. Used this to do some Roth conversions and to hold some assets not avialable in the TSP(foreign bonds, REITs) and will use it to make QCDs when I have to take RMDs in a couple years. But I would always keep some assets in the TSP to have access to the G Fund, it is something like a stable value fund which cannot lose money. The hard thing for me (and many others) these days is figuring out where to put Fixed Income, as far as I am concerned having access to the G fund solves this 'problem'.
In any case run from this FA 'opportunity'!!!