100K in Cash - Merrill Advisor Yelling At Me to Invest

[mrfeh]

DH has a 401K with Merrill Lynch. He is no longer working but he left the account with ML.
We have discussed finding a "real" financial advisor.
I have mentioned the thought of doing it ourselves, but DH not open to that option.

We met with ML advisor who spent most of our time being snarky and sarcastic toward me because I have 100K in a bank savings account in my name and I refuse to add it in to the 401K or to invest it with ML.

She was beyond pushy about the issue.

Any advice regarding leaving ML, changing to a new financial advisor?

Would you recommend I invest the 100K? Does anyone believe in keeping some money in cash?

Move the 401K to an IRA somewhere. Fidelity/Vanguard/Schwab will be happy to do that for you.

We keep as little in cash as possible. You're losing money to inflation (assuming it really is earning 0%).

 

[Bestwifeever]

Husband is retired. I am retiring in October.
We have been calculating our sources of income without including the $100K.
We think we have enough to retire with reasonable comfort.
The 100K has been there for emergencies.
We have discussed putting it into CDs.

I have no advice on what to do beyond what's already been offered, but wanted to say we started retirement in 2008 with a separate $100K in Vanguard's prime mm fund (all our retirement money is with Vanguard). It was and is our go-to account for withdrawals so we didn't pull from the Wellesley etc funds (yes, this is probably a childish way to deal with finances), which have grown in the meantime. Now we have all distributions deposited to the mm fund and still pull from there for the RMDs that have started, and this strategy has continued to work for us.

So I obviously understand your reasoning and personally never felt the need to allocate that $$ into our four other Vanguard funds.

 

[Yipper]

CDs are fine or an online savings account gives you immediate access to your money is FDIC insured and pay 1.7-2.0%.... much more than anything ML can sell you that is FDIC insured.

P.S. If a FA treated me the way that you describe I would tear her a new you-know-what, complain about her to her superiors and move all my money somewhere else.... but I'm just a vindictive jerk when people treat me like that.... like a mirror, you get what I see.

Me too! Years ago I was getting bullied by a receptionist in my dentist's office for needing to reschedule an appointment for the second time (lots of work was needed - so several appointments). Mind you, I was standing in the office right in front of her when this conversation happened and not on the phone.

I was getting annoyed at being treated like she was doing me a favor... and said "wait - hold on."... then tapped my chest a few times and finished with "oh, yeah - that's right, I'm the customer here and there are several dentists in town that might want my business. Forget the appointment - goodbye.".

in hindsight i should have let the dentist himself know but whatever.

 

[REWahoo]

...we started retirement in 2008 with a separate $100K in Vanguard's prime mm fund (all our retirement money is with Vanguard). It was and is our go-to account for withdrawals so we didn't pull from the Wellesley etc funds (yes, this is probably a childish way to deal with finances), which have grown in the meantime. Now we have all distributions deposited to the mm fund and still pull from there for the RMDs that have started, and this strategy has continued to work for us.

Another here who deals with our finances in exactly the same childish way.

We have an automatic periodic withdrawal from the Prime mm account sent to our checking account at our local bank (our "paycheck"), and it has worked flawlessly for the past 15 years. Once RMDs started, forcing us to withdraw more than we need from our IRA accounts, we take an additional one-time withdrawal from the mm to keep the IRS at bay.

 

[timetraveling]

DH has a 401K with Merrill Lynch. He is no longer working but he left the account with ML.
We have discussed finding a "real" financial advisor.
I have mentioned the thought of doing it ourselves, but DH not open to that option.

We met with ML advisor who spent most of our time being snarky and sarcastic toward me because I have 100K in a bank savings account in my name and I refuse to add it in to the 401K or to invest it with ML.

She was beyond pushy about the issue.

Any advice regarding leaving ML, changing to a new financial advisor?

Would you recommend I invest the 100K? Does anyone believe in keeping some money in cash?

I would be so upset if that happened to me or my spouse. You need to pour a couple drinks with your DH and get serious about moving/rolling over to Fidelity or Chase/Chase Private Client. I would recommend Vanguard too if you are OK with only phone/video meetings.

If you are OK with the 100K in savings account (earning 0.05%? or about $50/year), then by all means put it in a cash money market fund earning more, lets say 1.5%, that's $1500/year. $1450 extra per year, or $120/month of extra income added to savings. It is ALWAYS good to have cash you can spend when you need to spend it.

Alternatively, if you like ML, but not the advisor, you can request from customer service/management for a new advisor if it would resolve the situation easier.

 

[MRG]

Life's too short and there's too many people who are willing to take your money and not insult you. I'd call the chucklehead's manager and let them know of the treatment you received.

Follow the great advice upstream.

 

[capjak]

For someone that does not want to learn about finances than a Financial Advisor is still not a good option as you will have no way of knowing if the FA is good/or bad.

In order to pick a FA you have to learn about investing...and if you do that you do not need a FA.

The simplest thing to do (but not the most tax efficient) is to pick a balance fund like one the Vanguard ones
https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/lifestrategy/#/

examples:
LifeStrategy Conservative Growth Fund
LifeStrategy Moderate Growth Fund

choose one, it will balance regularly so just check when you want to but nothing to do otherwise and if you need a monthly check have them send you one every month direct to your checking.....

 

[FreeBear]

My Nieice was with ML and she kept complaining why her money does not grow inspite of the ten year bull market. When she decided to let me look at her account, I saw they put her on front load funds (5.9% front loaded) and with 1-2 morningstar rated funds.



She thought she needed a FA since she know almost nothing about investing. Finally, I helped her move her money to Vanguard and invest them in Index funds. Now she's happy...

Ouch! Talk about a lost decade! Glad you were able to help her out.

 

[pb4uski]

...in hindsight i should have let the dentist himself know but whatever.

Good for you! But I'm sure that he would have wanted to know that his (_*_) receptionist cost him a lot of business.

 

[NotYourAverageJones]

We met with ML advisor who spent most of our time being snarky and sarcastic toward me because I have 100K in a bank savings account in my name and I refuse to add it in to the 401K or to invest it with ML.

She was beyond pushy about the issue.

Would you recommend I invest the 100K? Does anyone believe in keeping some money in cash?

Advisers/Brokers don't get paid on cash sitting in an account. At least ours at Schwab doesn't. And if ANY financial adviser or broker were to get snarky with me, they would be history. She clearly proved by her behavior she is not listening to your wishes or will be open to putting your best interest ahead of her own. Even if she disagreed with your choice, she needed to be respectful of that choice and you shouldn't have to explain "why" to her or feel scolded by her. Regardless, I'd move on from ML. I'm very confident they are aware of her attitude, so why deal with them at all? When people show you who they are the first time, trust them.

Keeping a % of your assets in cash isn't a dumb idea and anyone who says anything snarky or condescending about holding cash, it is just being a douche. It's your $ and it's nobody's decision but yours to make, because nobody else has any skin in the game by this decision but you. You do what works for YOU!

That said, "cash" doesn't have to be greenbacks stuck in a shoe box. Cash can be CDs or MMAs. We have way more than $100k in CD ladders and MMAs because we are going to be using that $ for other short term investments that are coming up.

 

[blueskyk]

We also had bad meeting experiences with ML, along with Fisher and a Dave Ramsey "approved" consultant.

Through this board, I learned about fee only advisers and found ours here: https://www.napfa.org/

We had two distinctly different FA interviews this week. Both times we were crystal clear we were looking for fee only services (our previous fee only planner retired and we also moved to a different state). We met with a young woman and provided a one-pager overview of our goals and financial situation and wanted a 20 year planning horizon. Her first comment - “wow, not many people know how long they’ll live” delivered with a bit of unmistakable sarcasm. We soldiered on for a bit while she dragged out the big sales presentation notebook and explained that the financial plan was “free” (there’s the f-word again) with AUM services.

Me: “Have you heard our explanation of services we are looking for?”

Her: “What I heard is that you would like to engage our services to get the best financial services available.”

DH: “This isn’t working.” He stands, turns to me and says “Let’s move on”.

We do.

Next we use the NAPFA link above, then schedule a Zoom meeting with a true fee only planner, chat for a while to be sure we’re on the same page and sign him up.

Yay.

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

As far as the meerill lynch person, I would move that account yesterday. GO open a fresh account with fidelity or schwab etc and have them deal with ML sucking the money out. I also would prob write a note to that guy's boss and let him know the guy made it an easy decision to move the account. Compliment him or her on their boy making what could have been a very difficult decision crystal clear.

 

[pb4uski]

Next time you see her tell her with a smile.... "If you had $100k the perhaps you would feel differently".

 

[PatrickA5]

We also had bad meeting experiences with ML, along with Fisher and a Dave Ramsey "approved" consultant.

Through this board, I learned about fee only advisers and found ours here: https://www.napfa.org/

For the fun of it, I went to the linked website and see what was available in my area. There were only 3. According to their websites, all of them seemed to employ some kind of AUM fee. I guess this is still considered fee only. One company had a flat rate of $1,000 PER MONTH, based on Net Worth - payable monthly. That would be a tough check to write every month. I guess if I had $10 million this would be a steal.

None of them seemed to offer one-time fees for financial plans - not that I need one.

 

[braumeister]

For the fun of it, I went to the linked website and see what was available in my area. There were only 3. According to their websites, all of them seemed to employ some kind of AUM fee. I guess this is still considered fee only.

That was what stopped me when I looked into it some years ago. Every single one within driving distance of my home was that way. As some of them put it, since they're not getting paid on transactions, they are "fee only" which is not exactly the way I look at it. The worst one insisted on calculating their fee based on your entire net worth, regardless of how much they managed.

 

[audreyh1]

The worst one insisted on calculating their fee based on your entire net worth, regardless of how much they managed.

Unbelievable! Even more so that the person remains in business!

 

[Badger]

Get the money away from ML. You are begging to be screwed. Either find a fee-only planner, or move the money to a shop like Vanguard.

I haven't read all the replies but really don't need to. I am sorry you are dealing with ML. Years ago they were the only option for my wife's 403b plan that wasn't an insurance company. They tried to convince her to invest in loaded funds and allow them to buy and sell as they saw fit. Since it could result in "churning" her investments and the possibility of her winding up with little to nothing in the future i had her place the money in their MM fund where we would have it moved to TRowe Price every 6 months. They even told us that was not possible to do that to which we paid no attention and moved the money every 6 months or so anyway. Be very careful of them.


Cheers!

 

[Scrapr]

For the fun of it, I went to the linked website and see what was available in my area. There were only 3. According to their websites, all of them seemed to employ some kind of AUM fee. I guess this is still considered fee only. One company had a flat rate of $1,000 PER MONTH, based on Net Worth - payable monthly. That would be a tough check to write every month. I guess if I had $10 million this would be a steal.

None of them seemed to offer one-time fees for financial plans - not that I need one.

Don't worry. The FA will make it super easy by just putting in an auto transfer. After a couple years you won't even miss it

6 years ago Mrs Scrapr wanted to see an advisor. I found a fee only one that was "ok". She is not doing planning anymore. I suspect it's a tough deal to get & keep clients over & over. Whereas the AUM model the clients are the same (relatively) year to year. There are not many advisors in our market that are fee for service. If i was going to look for one I might contact one in a large market & try a Skype call for the conference. Heck it might even be cheaper to fly out twice to get it done

 

[SumDay]

Next we use the NAPFA link above, then schedule a Zoom meeting with a true fee only planner, chat for a while to be sure we’re on the same page and sign him up.

Yay.

BlueskyK, Yay is right! Hope it works out for you.

 

[VanWinkle]

DH has a 401K with Merrill Lynch. He is no longer working but he left the account with ML.
We have discussed finding a "real" financial advisor.
I have mentioned the thought of doing it ourselves, but DH not open to that option.

We met with ML advisor who spent most of our time being snarky and sarcastic toward me because I have 100K in a bank savings account in my name and I refuse to add it in to the 401K or to invest it with ML.

She was beyond pushy about the issue.

Any advice regarding leaving ML, changing to a new financial advisor?

Would you recommend I invest the 100K? Does anyone believe in keeping some money in cash?

This bolded line would be enough for me to leave her. Go to a fiduciary at Vanguard, Fidelity, or Schwab. Don't forget to make sure the person is a fiduciary!!

 

[Winemaker]

We have over $150k in cash in a Stable Value fund with Merrill and nobody bitches at me! In fact, they don't know I exist unless I call them, or they send out a quarterly statement.

 

[blueskyk]

For the fun of it, I went to the linked website and see what was available in my area. There were only 3. According to their websites, all of them seemed to employ some kind of AUM fee. I guess this is still considered fee only. One company had a flat rate of $1,000 PER MONTH, based on Net Worth - payable monthly. That would be a tough check to write every month. I guess if I had $10 million this would be a steal.



None of them seemed to offer one-time fees for financial plans - not that I need one.

This is a real annoyment when looking for a true fee only planner - I feel like the FA world clearly knows the distinction and then those that are not actually fee only (in the classic definition of the term) are deceptive and try to move you into the AUM lane. (Many do also offer asset management as another service but when you are clear you only want planning, that shouldn’t come up again IMHO). We couldn’t find anyone local either which is how we ended up in a Zoom meeting. And that worked fine for us.

The service we agreed to is a one time plan ($1000: $500 up front and then $500 after we have worked together and agree all has been addressed). Then, every 12 - 18 months, we’ll check in at an hourly rate (this usually runs $300 - $500). We do any transactions (AA rebalancing, purchasing other financial products, engaging other professionals, etc.) as necessary.

This kind of service was instrumental in getting us to retirement and I’ve found (YMMV of course) the comprehensive review of all financial elements (insurance, estate planning, tax management, SS strategy, AA, etc) without the advisor having a dog in the fight very useful and thought-provoking. Now that we’re actually retired (@ 62), we wanted a second opinion (other than our own) as we transition from an ACA-subsidy income constraint, turn 65 (Medicare), and are eligible for pensions. We also wanted a look at SS strategy and
IRA disbursements in light of this as well.

But perhaps one of the most substantial benefits for us (again, YMMV) is that Mr. Blueskyk and I are doing this together. In the past, I did all the numbers work with the FA and part of our preparing-for-the-inevitable of one of us leaving the planet before the other is to make sure we both deeply understand the finances and the strategy. This will give him the opportunity to ask lots of questions and have a say on the plan going forward and know it’s his plan too. To me, this is priceless.

I know lots of people here in this forum could sort this out (and would enjoy it!) on their own. Based on what I’ve learned here, I’ll be able to tell if the plan is a good one!

 

[capjak]

We have over $150k in cash in a Stable Value fund with Merrill and nobody bitches at me! In fact, they don't know I exist unless I call them, or they send out a quarterly statement.

Same here we have the "preferred deposit" pays 1.3% FDIC insured and never get any phone calls except when first signing up. Gave $2,000 bonus to move some $$ there so I am good with it plus have BofA platinum preferred bonus on credit card.

Good for ETFs not so great if want Vanguard Mutual Funds as they charge transaction fees.

 

[Dtail]

Same here we have the "preferred deposit" pays 1.3% FDIC insured and never get any phone calls except when first signing up. Gave $2,000 bonus to move some $$ there so I am good with it plus have BofA platinum preferred bonus on credit card.

Good for ETFs not so great if want Vanguard Mutual Funds as they charge transaction fees.

Same here with ML. No calls.

 

[MisterBill]

How could you even put that 100k in your 401k? Run away.

Or maybe the advisor didn't actually say that since there is no way it is possible.