Confusion reigns! In the industry, "fee-based" means that the advisor does not get paid commissions on what he/she sells. The typical "registered representative" of a brokerage house gets sales commissions and is not a fiduciary. "Fee-based" can either be AUM fees or an advisor (rare) who charges by the hour, by the project, or sells himself as a subscription service with a periodic fixed fee.
Good job, @Kayzmum. Never, ever be in a hurry when investing. To reinforce the point, if you charge off in all directions now and make a mistake, you will remember it for the rest of your life. If you take a few thoughtful months, you have a much better chance of embarking on an investment journey for decades. You will never remember the few months.
The problem with "parking" the funds is that complacence can set in, and the balance loses traction to inflation each day at almost-zero interest.
Yes. That's why I suggested a 6 month CD; it gives you the mind set of waiting, thinking, reading, for a period of time and reduces the temptation to hurry and do something.
True enough, but the cost of hurrying and making a mistake is potentially much higher than a small loss to inflation.
That's a good idea but I would suggest that you hold off for a few months as you learn the concepts and the lingo. Best case you will be educated enough to have very productive meetings; worst case you will walk out, having become smart enough to recognize someone who does not necessarily have your best interests in mind. You don't have to be too wary with Schwab or Fido, but the people there are financially motivated to get you signed up and started paying fees, so you can't go even there in complete innocence.
