Anyone Have Knowledge About Cooper Network?
- Thread starter SSQQ
- Start date
REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
I've never heard of Andy Cooper and judging by the lack of response to your question it would appear he's not well known. Who is he? What do you know about his investment track record?
For a minute there I thought it was astroturfing. And then I wondered if one of the Coopers is posting here.
For example, these guys:
David P. Cooper - Eileen A. Murray, CFP® - Andrew Cooper IV 'Chip' - Smith Barney Financial Advisors - San Francisco, CA
... who for some reason also seem proud to have a Citi logo on their website.
I don't know squat about them, but here's a couple questions for you:
- Have you done the reading that was recommended in your other thread? The reason I'm asking is because when other posters have done the reading, they've asked questions about the reading. The posters who have not done the reading, however, have almost all asked questions like this one.
- The typical ER math question on financial advisers goes like this: "If my portfolio will only support a SWR of 4%, do I really want to give 1-2% of that to a financial advisor?" In other words, is the financial security so good that it's worth giving them 25-50% of your annual expenses? Your situation is different and your expenses may be less, but put it in terms of dollars to them divided by dollars you spend each year and ask yourself if it's worth it to you.
If you're going to hire someone to manage your money for you, eventually you're going to wonder if they're doing a good job. To determine the answer to that concern, you're either going to have to pay more money to someone else for their opinion (which may or may not be worth what you pay for it), or you're going to have to educate yourself enough to answer your own questions about their performance. By the time you know enough to determine if they're doing a good job, you will also know enough to not only manage your own portfolio but you will also have the confidence that you know how to manage it.
Or you could just solicit the opinions of a bunch of anonymous Internet strangers, which is worth almost as much as what you're paying for it. If there are over 6000 members on this board, most of whom manage their own finances, how difficult could it be?
Taylor Larimore on the Vanguard Diehards board is managing his own portfolio in his 80s, and he prides himself on spending just a few minutes per year doing it. He even wrote a book about it: "The Boglehead's Guide".
For example, these guys:
David P. Cooper - Eileen A. Murray, CFP® - Andrew Cooper IV 'Chip' - Smith Barney Financial Advisors - San Francisco, CA
... who for some reason also seem proud to have a Citi logo on their website.
I don't know squat about them, but here's a couple questions for you:
- Have you done the reading that was recommended in your other thread? The reason I'm asking is because when other posters have done the reading, they've asked questions about the reading. The posters who have not done the reading, however, have almost all asked questions like this one.
- The typical ER math question on financial advisers goes like this: "If my portfolio will only support a SWR of 4%, do I really want to give 1-2% of that to a financial advisor?" In other words, is the financial security so good that it's worth giving them 25-50% of your annual expenses? Your situation is different and your expenses may be less, but put it in terms of dollars to them divided by dollars you spend each year and ask yourself if it's worth it to you.
If you're going to hire someone to manage your money for you, eventually you're going to wonder if they're doing a good job. To determine the answer to that concern, you're either going to have to pay more money to someone else for their opinion (which may or may not be worth what you pay for it), or you're going to have to educate yourself enough to answer your own questions about their performance. By the time you know enough to determine if they're doing a good job, you will also know enough to not only manage your own portfolio but you will also have the confidence that you know how to manage it.
Or you could just solicit the opinions of a bunch of anonymous Internet strangers, which is worth almost as much as what you're paying for it. If there are over 6000 members on this board, most of whom manage their own finances, how difficult could it be?
Taylor Larimore on the Vanguard Diehards board is managing his own portfolio in his 80s, and he prides himself on spending just a few minutes per year doing it. He even wrote a book about it: "The Boglehead's Guide".
Rich_by_the_Bay
Moderator Emeritus
SSQQ, if the premise is that you already decided to let an adviser handle your investments, my only further suggestion is to do your homework and be comfortable that it is worth 1.5% of your assets (comparable to about 30% of your annual withdrawals when that time comes). Especially remembering that few advisors beat the indexes over the long haul.
Can't help on your specific question. I fired my advisers two books into my financial education.
FinanceDude
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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Every advisor charges a different rate. For instance, NONE of my partner's managed accounts is over 1%, and a fair number are around .75%...........
Rich_by_the_Bay
Moderator Emeritus
It's variable for sure. My former adviser had a sliding scale depending on amount under management. My "marginal" rate (below the first bracket) at the time we terminated was 1.6%, with the overall rate about 1.4%.
Point stands. You need to be aware of the costs and what you are receiving for them.
FinanceDude
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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Agreed. Sometimes "wealth management suites"like the Cooper Network are expensive to deal with, because they have a LOT of support staff to pay. Their attitude is: "we charge a lot, because you get a lot",not always the case..........
Nords,
You are correct. I haven't read the material yet. I will get the suggested books. But I want to retire in one or two months and I know I will not be prepared to handle my own investments by that time. I do hope that I can learn quickly and handle my own portfolio at some point, but that won't happen by July.
So I do need to start out with a financial adviser and I would like to know that I'm selecting a reputable one. So, that's the reason for the post.
Everyone,
Thanks for the feedback. And I hope to keep learning more from you guys.
You are correct. I haven't read the material yet. I will get the suggested books. But I want to retire in one or two months and I know I will not be prepared to handle my own investments by that time. I do hope that I can learn quickly and handle my own portfolio at some point, but that won't happen by July.
So I do need to start out with a financial adviser and I would like to know that I'm selecting a reputable one. So, that's the reason for the post.
Everyone,
Thanks for the feedback. And I hope to keep learning more from you guys.
