financial manager

[wrichards58]

I really do not feel confident in managing my money so I am looking at financial manager.... does anyone know anything of fisher investor group

 

[REWahoo]

If I had to select an investment manager I would not choose Fisher. Check out this recent thread: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/fisher-investments-63867.html

 

[Brooks Saddle]

Go to the Bogleheads web-site and read the thread on the 3 fund portfolio and see if it makes sense to you. You might find yourself more comfortable with the possibility of doing it yourself. The money you save on management and investment fees will buy a lot of other stuff.

 

[wrichards58]

Go to the Bogleheads web-site and read the thread on the 3 fund portfolio and see if it makes sense to you. You might find yourself more comfortable with the possibility of doing it yourself. The money you save on management and investment fees will buy a lot of other stuff.

I just read the thread on Fisher, which I believe could be just as better off staying with Vanguard funds... where can I learn at ETFs..... I am a type of person that watch my money at least once a week.... I feel that I want to be careful with what I have...

 

[wrichards58]

Go to the Bogleheads web-site and read the thread on the 3 fund portfolio and see if it makes sense to you. You might find yourself more comfortable with the possibility of doing it yourself. The money you save on management and investment fees will buy a lot of other stuff.

could you please give me that link so I can read... If I start reading then I might feel more comfortable with doing things myself

 

[comicbookgujy]

I have no experience with Fisher Investments, but based on their marketing material and their high fee, I would never consider them


Sounds like a terrible place to work too. Makes me feel better about where I'm working!

Fisher Investments Reviews | Glassdoor

 

[Brooks Saddle]

The Boglehead 3 fund portfolio philosophy is a simple one. First, determine how much you want to allocate to stocks and bonds from a % standpoint. Within the stock category determine how much you want to allocate to international vs domestic stocks. Break out your money into those categories and then ignore it. Once a year or so depending upon how the markets move, you may have more in your bond fund from a % standpoint so you move that over to your stock part of your portfolio to rebalance to your desired allocation. If you need income, you can use the cash by selling the bond portion instead of reallocating.

The beauty of doing it this way is you don't have to watch it weekly. In fact it's best not to watch it at all until reallocation time or when you need to withdraw money. This way you don't follow the herd mentality such as recently witnessed. Stocks ran up in value in the mid 2000's and people were buying them as fast as they could at very high valuations. The stock market crashed and people panicked and sold their stocks as fast as they could and started buying bonds "for the safety" even though the bond valuations were now high and going higher but the money kept pouring in. Just pick your allocation and stick to it.

If you have trouble envisioning what your allocation should be, the Vanguard website has a good questionnaire to help you decide this.

I'm not a money manager, CFP or anything of the sort and I feel entirely capable of taking the DIY approach. Think of it this way. If you pay a money manager a fee of say 1.5% of your assets and they put you in mutual funds or other places that charge another 1 to 2%, you just created a heavy load in an investment world where real returns are currently less than 4%. DIY with low cost index funds from Vanguard or Fidelity will save you a boat load of money that you can use for other things in the future.

If you never read the Bogleheads website, I would encourage you to do so.

Hope this helps some.

 

[target2019]

could you please give me that link so I can read... If I start reading then I might feel more comfortable with doing things myself

I went and read a few threads where you asked financial-type questions. I think it would be a good idea if you get an account at Bogleheads.org and introduce yourself there. The best course would be to lay out a summary of your situation, and begin a conversation with those folks. I think if you start with "where you are now" and what your future needs might be, then the conversation will progress, and you'll end up with a free plan that works. But it will take some time and you will have to work through reading and understanding many posts.

A second "free" idea is to wander over to Morningstar and look at the discussion forums there. I prefer reading and participating there as there is a wide variety of investment ideas. However, if you just want an index approach, B-heads is fine.

In lieu of "free", you may want to follow through with a fee-only adviser. I know that sounds similar to fisher investments. But the fee-only advisor is definitely head and shoulders above the types of sharks you meet at "free" financial dinners.

I realize this is an important decision, and many of the concepts seem to change as you begin to understand them. Not very fair, is it?

Because of how complicated it seems from time to time, some fall prey to outfits like fisher. I really feel you can find a few virtual advisers at Morningstar or Bogleheads. Even though it seems you must act now, it is better to ask more questions.

 

[Brooks Saddle]

I'm sorry but I missed you asking for a link to the Bogleheads website and honestly I don't know what it is. I google bogleheads and go from there.

Good luck!

 

[target2019]

This is a link to the three-fund portfolio wiki at Bogleheads.

It's a good introduction to a simple concept.

So things are clear, you would go to bogleheads.org and apply for an account if you wanted to open a discussion there.

 

[SumDay]

We too started looking at an advisor at Fisher Investments. When I sat down and figured out what we'd be paying him, we grabbed our file folder and ran.

I then joined this forum, and someone suggested we try to find an advisor using NAPFA. Link: Fee-Only Financial Advisors Home - NAPFA - The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors

I filled out a very detailed questionnaire, paid her a little over $1,000, and she sat down with us for ~4 hours. She told me I had too much cash, and recommended two different Vanguard funds that we look at. She made suggestions for rebalancing our 401(k)'s. She told us we spent too much on eating out and groceries. She said I needed a support group to curb my Amazon Prime habit. She said she'd help us pick our Social Security strategy when that time came. Basically she went through every category of our spending and told us what we needed to hear. I was very, very impressed.

She's also a CPA, so she can do our taxes, if we want her to. And when we are closer to retirement, she charges $600 for a "tweak" session.

Some here wouldn't have spent this money, but for me it was well worth the peace of mind it brought to let me know what we were doing wrong, and what we were doing right. If it makes you sleep better at night, go for it. But no way am I giving someone 1 - 1.5% of my hard saved money every single year to do what I can do myself.

 

[pb4uski]

I just read the thread on Fisher, which I believe could be just as better off staying with Vanguard funds... where can I learn at ETFs..... I am a type of person that watch my money at least once a week.... I feel that I want to be careful with what I have...

Have you considered some of Vanguard's balanced funds?

Wellesley, Wellington, STAR or the Target Date funds depending on your desired AA. Simple and effective. Set it and forget it.

 

[JBmadera]

Here is a link to Bogleheads discussing Portfolio Solutions:

Bogleheads • View topic - Portfolio Solutions Investing?

I'm looking at them right now.

 

[Brooks Saddle]

Have you considered some of Vanguard's balanced funds?

Wellesley, Wellington, STAR or the Target Date funds depending on your desired AA. Simple and effective. Set it and forget it.

This in my estimation is an incredibly good approach for many. The allocations are set and you can from that point forward ignore it except when cashing out some of your money.

I have chosen to go with the 3 fund portfolio approach instead because I can hit the minimums to qualify for Ambassador shares which have even lower expense ratios. The balanced funds don't have Ambassador shares availble but the balanced funds have such low expense ratios I am most likely splitting fine hairs.

 

[pb4uski]

This in my estimation is an incredibly good approach for many. The allocations are set and you can from that point forward ignore it except when cashing out some of your money.

I have chosen to go with the 3 fund portfolio approach instead because I can hit the minimums to qualify for Ambassador shares which have even lower expense ratios. The balanced funds don't have Ambassador shares availble but the balanced funds have such low expense ratios I am most likely splitting fine hairs.

Make that Admiral shares, not Ambassador.

 

[Svensk Anga]

Anyone here use Portfolio Solutions (Rick Ferri)? See:
Investment Philosophy | Rick Ferri

For those who feel not quite confident enough to go it alone, his system looks attractive, using low cost index funds and charging a low 0.25% management fee.

 

[twolfy]

Anyone here use Portfolio Solutions (Rick Ferri)? See:
Investment Philosophy | Rick Ferri

For those who feel not quite confident enough to go it alone, his system looks attractive, using low cost index funds and charging a low 0.25% management fee.

I just sent away for one of their info packs to see what they offer. I prefer to do my own but the 0.25% was intriguing considering everywhere else wants 1.5 - 2.5% of your total account. Portfolio solutions uses Vanguard funds. Seems like a new little sector of very low cost financial planners is coming about and they are using Vanguard funds to achieve customers goals. There is another company out here that charges the exact same fee as Portfolio Solutions and also uses Vanguard funds. I think it called wealth management of something close to that. It was mentioned elsewhere in the forum. They seem to be targeting the young investers, which is not a bad idea as most are not as knowledgeable about this area of their finances and they can have these customers along time as they increase the size of their portfolios.

 

[photoguy]

charging a low 0.25% management fee.

This doesn't sound like much, but for someone targeting a 3% WR thats 8% of your income. At 4%WR that's still 6.25% of income per year.

I guess it obviously that i am a fan of do-it-yourself.

 

[Svensk Anga]

Yes, 0.25% is a large chunk of a 3% withdrawal rate. But how many of us are making 0.5%, 1%, or worse mistakes most years by not sticking to the plan? I am a firm believer in educating myself to where I can DIY. I do not see myself relinquishing control to an adviser. But I have to wonder if I might not be better off doing so, if just to get dispassionate execution of the plan.

Perhaps it is not so much an issue with those on the ER forum, but eventually one's capability to manage one's finances will deteriorate. Or perhaps the surviving spouse is not interested enough or equipped to take over. A low cost adviser could be the solution. Or maybe just set up a one-fund (balanced fund) portfolio.

 

[urn2bfree]

Depending on the size of your portfolio, there are per hour advisors whose fees amount to less than 0.2% and in some larger portfolios less than 0.1%. Evanson and Cardiff are two of the bigger ones worth checking out which have access to DFA funds that are not available to DIY investors and MAY have some advantages over other index funds.

 

[photoguy]

Yes, 0.25% is a large chunk of a 3% withdrawal rate. But how many of us are making 0.5%, 1%, or worse mistakes most years by not sticking to the plan? I am a firm believer in educating myself to where I can DIY. I do not see myself relinquishing control to an adviser. But I have to wonder if I might not be better off doing so, if just to get dispassionate execution of the plan.

I don't disagree with you and probably there are many people who make mistakes that cost much more than 0.25%. But I personally could never turn over control of my portfolio.

 

[smjsl]

If you want to try doing it yourself with minimal overhead, here is something simpler than even the 3-fund portfolio:

(1) If most of your money is in taxable, or if most of your money is in tax deferred account, use on of four Vanguard Life-Strategy funds (if you want a particular bond/stock split) or Target retirement fund (if you want it adjusted over time for you)

(2) If there are significant chunks in both taxable and tax-advantaged accounts, choose Life-Strategy (or Target Retirement) funds in each, such that they have higher bond percentage in tax-advantaged account and lower bond percentage in tax-deferred, and so that their average stock/bond split (weighted based on amounts in taxable vs tax-advantaged) approximates what you are comfortable with.

Then, you'll be set with 1 fund per account and can set it and forget it (except for any changes once every 10-20 years to adjust your bond allocation higher).

If you have tax advantages accounts without possibility of access to funds like above, try to approximate with what you have...

I like others suggestions for fee-only adviser, if you feel you would still benefit from it.

 

[serie1926]

wrichards58, my wife and I signed up with Bill Schultheis and his team at Soundmark Wealth Management a year ago and are very pleased with their efforts and results.

Please PM me if you'd like to discuss.

 

[Tyro]

(2) If there are significant chunks in both taxable and tax-advantaged accounts, choose Life-Strategy (or Target Retirement) funds in each, such that they have higher bond percentage in tax-advantaged account and lower bond percentage in tax-deferred, and so that their average stock/bond split (weighted based on amounts in taxable vs tax-advantaged) approximates what you are comfortable with.

I kind of like the idea of this strategy using Wellington (67/33) for tax-deferred and Wellesley (33/67) for taxable accts.

Does this make sense, or am I missing something?

Tyro

 

[REWahoo]

You might consider reversing the two for better tax efficiency.