Too many advisors ??

A good, simple diversified portfolio. Are you comfortable with 80% equities? Imagine a 50% loss - which means your portfolio drops 40% in value. Could you stay the course?

FWIW that is what I had during the meltdown and I was comfortable but I have a recession proof job (2 of them) and make enough money I could recoup losses if there wasn't a recovery. YMMV.

DD
 
1 Roth Is mine put 4k a yr. And other is my wife 4k a yr. And max out simple with11500 a year


Ya 80% might be to much
 
Snowx800 said:
Ya 80% might be to much
Click to expand...
Maybe, maybe not.

During our accumulation years (25+ years of contributions), DW/me ran 90-95% equities. The reason? Our retirement investments did not supply current cash flow, and met our risk assessment, for that time of our life.

Over 3-5 years before our planned joint retirement, we moved to a 60/40 "early retirement" AA.

I've been retired a bit over four years. DW decided to remain wor*ing (not mentally ready for retirement, even if financally so), and over that time we've moved our joint AA to a 50/50 mix. That was due to a few things, which included being beyond initial retirement (for me), getting older - and realizing that we still meet our plan, with a bit less risk.

80% equities may be too much - or to little. It all depends on your situation and your time in life. Everybody's different, and AA's usually don't remain the same over your entire lifetime...

Just one additional question. If you went with less equities (when you could "afford it") and found you did not meet "your number" once you faced retirement, would you be willing to take a greater equity risk, later in life? Just a question - you have to supply your own answer.
 
Are most of you with vanguard One of my FA had nothing good to say ? I mixed it up with different company's thinking not trust just one now in moving a lot to one company ?
 
Snowx800 said:
Are most of you with vanguard One of my FA had nothing good to say ? I mixed it up with different company's thinking not trust just one now in moving a lot to one company ?
Click to expand...

Most people on here arer with Vanguard, or Fidelity, or both. Some also do hold assets with Schwab. Most do not have any investments with advisors. This forum is DIY (Do It Yourself).........;)
 
Snowx800 said:
Are most of you with vanguard One of my FA had nothing good to say ? I mixed it up with different company's thinking not trust just one now in moving a lot to one company ?
Click to expand...


Hahaha, your advisor had nothing good to say because he/she can't figure out a way to get paid.


Run Forrest run!
 
Snowx800 said:
Would you recommend just using vanguard or use fidelity also
Click to expand...
Snow, Suggest you call both Vang and Fido customer service with your needs and see what they recommend in terms of how they can help you get your assets moved to their company. Look at their websites and see which sites are most comfortable. Check Kiplinger and Smart Money rating for best brokers and look at how each is ranked on items most valuable to you.
As others have said, both are good but you want to find the one that works best for you.
I have both and use them for different reasons. Fido has the majority because of the problem solving capabilities and better web resources.
Nwsteve
 
Snowx800 said:
Are most of you with vanguard ?
Click to expand...
We're about 65% FIDO / 35% VG.

Both have their good/bad points. Why not take advantage of the best of both?

We have our investments diversified, why not our investment companies?
 
rescueme said:
We're about 65% FIDO / 35% VG.

Both have their good/bad points. Why not take advantage of the best of both?

We have our investments diversified, why not our investment companies?
Click to expand...

What are there good and bad point in your opinion.
 
We have our investments diversified, why not our investment companies?
Click to expand...
^ Isn't that kind of an ironic response considering the how this whole thread got started and its title?

If I had to have only one vendor, it would be Wells Fargo. Vanguard would be second, TDAmeritrade third, and Fideilty fourth. We have accounts with all of them. The differences among them are very small though, so if one found a compelling reason to pick one over the others, then I would not argue with that.

Good / bad points:

WF: Everything is free to us. No commissions on Vanguard ETFs, other ETFs, Vanguard mutual funds that we want to own. Free checking, free bill pay, many local banks to walk into, free ATM, free overseas ATM. Great trade executions (ever buy ETFs at BELOW the reported low of the day?). Best for correct and complete 1099s. I don't care about research and I don't care about number of funds, etc.

Vanguard: No commissions on things I want to use, but no local office. 1099s not as good as WF. Unlike WF, mutual fund side is not seamless with brokerage side.

TDAmeritrade: Everything that I want to use (ETFs) is no commission. A nice local office. But 1099s not as good as WF. I would have to pay a commission on a Vanguard mutual fund if I wanted to go that route. Also, unlike WF, I would have to pay commission on no-fee ETFs if I did not hold them long enough.

Fidelity: No commissions on many ETFs, but I prefer Vanguard ETFs which Fidelity would charge me a commission to buy/sell. I use Fidelity Spartan Index funds in my 401(k), but would not use any of their other funds. Great web site and great retirement income planning tools though. Local office, but I've never been in it.
 
LOL! said:
^ Isn't that kind of an ironic response considering the how this whole thread got started and its title?
Click to expand...
FIDO/VG are not our "advisors" (we advise ourselves). However, they are the firms that hold our investments.

As to some of the reasons? FIDO has superior tools, IMHO along with some (but not all) low cost funds (such as the Spartan series).

VG OTOH has mostly low cost funds, but also give us access to certain desired sectors, such as VGHCX (Vanguard Health Care) which is part of our core holdings.

If you have an investment plan and feel comfortable with that plan, the company means little - other than access to the specific fund area/sectors that your plan directs you to invest in.

However, if you are looking for somebody else to take over management of your funds (which was the title of the thread - "Too Many Advisors"), that's a completely different question than what was asked: "Would you recommend just using vanguard or use fidelity also"
 
That's why I was looking hard at fidelity because they have an office I spent some time on the phone with vanguard today very helpful. ?
 
rescueme said:
FIDO/VG are not our "advisors" (we advise ourselves). However, they are the firms that hold our investments.

As to some of the reasons? FIDO has superior tools, IMHO along with some (but not all) low cost funds (such as the Spartan series).

VG OTOH has mostly low cost funds, but also give us access to certain desired sectors, such as VGHCX (Vanguard Health Care) which is part of our core holdings.

If you have an investment plan and feel comfortable with that plan, the company means little - other than access to the specific fund area/sectors that your plan directs you to invest in.

However, if you are looking for somebody else to take over management of your funds (which was the title of the thread - "Too Many Advisors"), that's a completely different question than what was asked: "Would you recommend just using vanguard or use fidelity also"
Click to expand...

I'm tired of paying high fees. So for Roths and simple Ira I'm going to move them to vg or fido I'm Maxed out on tax free accounts so this is were I think I will need help for next move. Thanks.
 
Snowx800 said:
That's why I was looking hard at fidelity because they have an office
Click to expand...
DW/me have been to the local FIDO both before and after (my) retirement, and found it helpful. I also went there a couple of times after I retired to attend some "user classes" on different topics. However, with the improvement of on-line communication, they no longer hold these sessions.

Both FIDO and VG hold interactive video presentations (assuming you are an investor with them) and I find they are equal in value.

The only thing I miss is the pizza that FIDO would supply during their sessions :LOL: ...

Regardless of the lack of further instructional sessions, I did feel better by meeting one-on-one with somebody (sometimes more than one person) who sat across from you at a table/desk, especially just before/after my retirement. You can still get that with the local FIDO office (if you are close enough).
 
And just an FYI, you can still be roped into high fee/commission funds at brokerages like FIDO, especially if you work with an adviser there. You need to find out how the person you are talking to is compensated, every time, before you sit down with them. That is key to understanding how the process works.
Everyone has to get paid, the question for you to ask is how.
 
Sarah in SC said:
And just an FYI, you can still be roped into high fee/commission funds at brokerages like FIDO, especially if you work with an adviser there.
Click to expand...
I can't agree. This specific question was asked by me/DW upon our initial discussions prior to retirement, at their local branch.

Basically, they are compensated with a basic salary, with a bonus based upon the amount of "business" (e.g. assets) brought into FIDO. That only not includes FIDO funds, but also other (i.e. VG) funds held through FIDO as affiliated investments.

They also receive an adjustment based upon "customer satisfaction"; this I know since I get a follow-up call every time I have a phone/net question/activity with them. They do treat their customers well.

Here's a current document on the process:

http://personal.fidelity.com/misc/gettingstarted/pdf/representative_compensation.pdf

BTW, even though we have the majority of our investments with FIDO, we still have a substantial amount with VG, since they are part of our "total investment" plan.

I didn't add that when we do sell in order to fund our "retirement cash buckets" on the VG side, we transfer the cash to our FIDO MM (tax deferred) accounts. Since we (more specifically, me) draw monthly from these funds to supply my "retirement cash", I'm more familiar with the FIDO process of paying taxes, and having deposits made to my various checking accounts. I would rather just do this through one vendor (and receive one 1099 - for tax purposes) at the end of the year.

OK - I admit it. I like FIDO (especially their RIP software) and they act in a more "professional" manner than my dealings with VG. I guess "low cost" also has it's challanges. Not to slam VG (hey, we do have assets with them), but on the customer service side, they can't compare to FIDO.

Just my personal POV :facepalm: ...
 
Rescueme, the part of my comment that you chose not to quote suggested that he, at the very first meeting, find out exactly how his adviser is being compensated.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to clarify yet again for the OP how important it is to investigate the people giving him advice and find out how they are compensated, so he can decide for himself how he wants to pay for the information.
 
Sarah in SC said:
Rescueme, the part of my comment that you chose not to quote suggested that he, at the very first meeting, find out exactly how his adviser is being compensated.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I try not to re-quote entire postings :facepalm: ..

As the youngin's say "my bad"...
 
I will put in a good word for Schwab. We have been there for a long time and been happy. Cheap commissions , a broad selection of products (including their bank), good service and lots of offices.
 
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