Like Lemmings over a cliff...

[Andy H]

Aw great...now I have to find another analogy. I appreciate knowing this though... Surprisingly, I used to do a weekly radio program and for years, used the Lemming "tale"...no one suggested it was a hoax! Good thing my profession isn't animal related! See, just willing to prove that I'm not above error! I am human, hear me err.

[Andy H]

I suppose you people are going to tell me that the carriage doesn't really turn into a pumpkin at midnight, now, right? Dang that Walt...and I trusted him all these years. Consider this my formal complaint to Grumpy, Doc and Mickey!

[AzDreamer]

It's amazing how much nonsense people will swallow and not give it a second thought.

[dex]

Is this a Sienfield episode I missed? A thread that looks like something but is really about nothing?

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dex Is this a Sienfield episode I missed?

I'm thinking the Soup Nazi is gonna show up any minute...

[ERD50]

Is there a marine biologist in the forum? -ERD50

[Achiever51]

or an architect...a latex salesman...Art Vandelay?

But seriously, Andy, I think we'd all appreciate it if you'd share a LITTLE more detail about your investment philosophy and style.

Oh, one other thing. You probably shouldn't start a thread about when to take Social Security. You've been warned.

[chinaco]

Welcome Andy.

I will be interested in reading your comments. Just to compare and contrast the wisdom of a pro to the average DIY guy.

I am curious. What is your fee structure? How does it work?

Plus, could you describe your typical approach with clients... High level process.

[Andy H]

chinaco -

This one is long, but if you're really interested in my thoughts...

I'm currently doing more speaking , writing, and consulting work with other advisors. Although licensed and series'd and initialed out the yingyang, the client work that I do now is mostly with parents of college-bound kids and fees are independent of finances- many in this business have found success letting licenses lapse given liability issues.

Any new client I meet with is gratis for evaluation - based on radio program I used to do, they'd typically come in with a specific need, but I've always been holistic in my approach - my firm belief is that you can change the tires, but if your hemulator valve is blown - yes, I know there is no such thing as a hemulator valve...simply for illustration...sort of like lemmings... ;-) your overall performance may still be weak.

I think perhaps an area where DIY's sometimes fall short, is not understanding the integration of EVERYTHING they have going on financially. I often used the term "aggregate interest rate" when referring to debt (yes, I look at debt before completing an investment plan) - too many people are proud of their 5% mortgage rate, but are seemingly blind to their credit cards from the local department store at 21%.

What attracted me to this site, however, is the level of financial consciousness that most people have here.

For the record, I'd like to stay in the background a bit and simply watch and learn what the DIY's are doing. I'll chime in if I think I have 2cents, but I'm not above believing that the informally trained on this site haven't come up with some pretty nifty approaches that I could share with my audiences. As I said, I do some speaking, to high school classes about finance, to teachers, to adults from many walks of life on many topics - if I can't translate on the layman level, I won't do them any good. Perhaps this can be my dose of real life.

Thanks all for the comments on this site!

[dex]

The shortest line between two points is a parabola.

[MasterBlaster]

Andy_H:

Before you fade away...

What's your take on optimal asset allocation for someone who is 40 ? or who is 50 ? 60 ?

How is your stash allocated ?

[Andy H]

Trust, me, I'd love to have an "OPTIMAL", but honestly, from my vantage point it simply doesn't exist. If there were a true cookie cutter recipe that would be optimal for life stages, there would be no need for guys like me.

The fact of the matter (at least from my perspective) is that OPTIMAL is entirely dependent on several key components: PERSONAL GOALS, RISK TOLERANCE, FAMILY STRUCTURE, and CONTROL DESIRE...and by that last one, I mean the degree to which the individual wants to be involved.

That said, I also believe that the closer one is to retirement should not dictate the pace of withdrawal from market upside. Too many people think that just because I've reached the next decade, my portfolio must need more bonds and mattress money. There are risk mitigation strategies that anyone can use that may reduce the need for elimination of market return in one's portfolio. I've seen some of them on this forum for example and they include: Indices, annuities, insurance strategies, etc.

I'm sure it may get blasted herein, but there are some nice insurance strategies that could lessen the tax blow in retirement too (see Douglas Andrew's Missed Fortune 101 for examples). And before anyone jumps on me, I'm not suggesting insurance is the only way to go...just that properly used, it can be a handsome COMPONENT of a retirement portfolio if built properly, and is another way to avoid RISK as retirement nears as well as potentially provide tax relief on some retirement income.

I hope you accept that I'm not trying to avoid your question, but I'm also unwilling to be a Suze Orman and suggest that everyone should do X, Y or Z. My practice and thus my approach is always very personal.

Oh, and I won't fade away...I'll probably be right around the corner listening in and if I can help, I will.

[Andy H]

Master...you also asked how my stash is allocated. Perfectly legit question and given the anonymity herein, I'll share a little: Advisors have a cool thing for retirement called residual that can provide a bit of retirement comfort. So that is accounting for some retirement income. I'll continue to speak, consult, etc so that too will keep me in golf balls and tees plus talking to families about money is an absolute passion.

From an investment standpoint, I'm probably more aggressive than most 48 year olds - having a considerable sum in a "flyer" that may someday put me in the stratosphere of comfort, I also own some real estate locally and in a resort area (real estate will come back!) and have a few big stocks, some whole life insurance for generational wealth building, and the obligatory IRS designed retirement coffers from my formative years.

Another thing I'd suggest is that sometimes not WHAT you own, but HOW YOU OWN IT can be equally important when you consider generational issues, estate issues, etc...hopefully there's some attorney's on here who can chime in when the topic shifts to optimal transitioning of wealth.

[REWahoo]

Andy, what's your opinion regarding annuities? And do you advocate paying off a mortgage early?

[Andy H]

Wahoo (are you an Indian's Fan?)

Man o man, do I need some training on giving short and sweet answers...I just can't do it!


- Opinion regarding Annuities: too big of a topic to have a single opinion. They can service a particular need very well. There's a cost issue to consider, but there's also guarantees available so they must be evaluated using the pertinent criteria. But you start looking at variable, fixed, indexed, annuitized or not, guarantee withdrawal benefits, etc...they can be a great fit in the right circumstance but again, there's no single opinion - I can love them or hate them depending on what I need them to do.

As for paying off a mortgage early: GEEZ, you're going to hate me but IT DEPENDS! Let me re-ask your question and see if I can give you what you're looking for:

Do I like my own money stuck in real estate for long periods of time? NO.

Do I like being in a position to have 100% equity? YES

Sounds confusing, but here's what I mean: If my client is going to sleep better at night knowing that he or she doesn't have a mortgage payment, then by all means, it needs to be paid off.

If, however, my client understands that using a mortgage can provide opportunities for the equity that might otherwise just be sitting in the banks' vaults, then we find something else to do with it. No, I'm not in violation of any SEC regs because I'm not telling you to rob your equity and go put it in pork bellies.

What I AM saying is that you need to understand the components of principal payments inside of your mortgage: 1) there's ZERO return on this money...your property value may increase, but that has nothing to do with your principal dollars inside of each mortgage payment. 2) there's the issue of liquidity. most people think the equity they have in their home is their own (while they have a mortgage), and it's not...it belongs to the bank until you sell your home or completely pay off your mortgage. 3) there's no tax advantage to principal dollars you pay on your mortgage - you may get a tax deduction for interest payments, but nothing for principal payments and 4) there's no guarantee on equity...house values collapse...where did your equity go.

So I have a hard time with the philosophy that you should send more in to your mortgage every month, because that's paramount to putting your money in an investment with 0% return, no tax benefit, no guarantees and limited liquidity...how many people could I turn on to that sort of "investment"? I'm just not that good of a salesman I guess.

Now here's where you'll think I'm talking out of both sides of my heads, but some of you may understand this: I like accelerating the equity position, simply because it allows me to make choices about my equity on a more frequent basis...but I don't want to do it with dollars I have that could otherwise been properly invested. In otherwords, I'm unlikely to ever recommend pulling investment dollars to pay off a house. See ,I knew this would get complicated. Sorry, does this make any sense?

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy H Hi folks, I'm Andy, a financial advisor. I've spent considerable time reading posts herein...

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Andy, what's your opinion regarding annuities? And do you advocate paying off a mortgage early?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy H Wahoo (are you an Indian's Fan?) Man o man, do I need some training on giving short and sweet answers...I just can't do it! See ,I knew this would get complicated. Sorry, does this make any sense?

Andy, see that "Moderator Emeritus" title next to REW's avatar? And notice when he joined the board, plus his number of posts? Is it possible that the questions he's asking have been brought up once or twice before?

I can understand not knowing how REWahoo! chose his poster name, but you might want to spend a little more of that "considerable time" searching old threads for keywords like "annuity" and "mortgage". You'll get that invested time back when you no longer have to draft answers from scratch.

Right now you're demonstrating why people come to this board to discuss those subjects instead of going to a financial advisor.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy H Wahoo (are you an Indian's Fan?)

Nope. My username relates to the celebration of achieving FIRE: "Retired Early, Wahoo!" The exclamation point got lost in translation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy H Sorry, does this make any sense?

Actually, they were rhetorical questions. However, I do appreciate your detailed responses. It's always interesting to learn where a professional stands...or waffles...on these topics.

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Poor Andy H. You guys are merciless.

Andy, the annuity and mortgage issues are a standing joke around here (which you have no reason to know about). They've been tossed around so much and so passionately that even mentioning them brings on choruses of moans and groans among the old timer.

Hang around - you'll be givin' it out as good as gettin' it before you know it.

As for REW, he's from Texas, so forgive him. Nords? Spent years locked in a submarine, and .. well, the rest is history (we lock him in the bathroom with the water running when he gets out of control). Both, as well as myself and a couple others, are recently retired moderators here, so we take liberties.

Welcome to the board. Don't let them yank your chain too much. And your insight is great: there are a lot of not-formally-trained financial whiz kids around here that I always learn from.

[Andy H]

Thanks Rich. Nothing quite as fun as being the new kid on the block. I hope REW enjoyed the Rangers game last night and I thought I sensed some echo in NORDS tone... ;-)

[Sam]

Robert Kiyosaki!!! And now Doug Andrews!?!

Chain yanking? Sounds like an understatement.