Financial planner or do it yourself?

[HFWR]

DIY

 

[SoReady]

Seeking ER this year (actually 5 weeks away) I too may end up using a FP to verify my AA and FI. All tools indicate I should be in great shape, but a second opinion may help my sanity.

Although the biggest challenge I would like answers from a FP is on the strategy in taking the money out. This is vastly different than the accumulation stage. Given the tax implications, SS strategies, when to take pension, etc this part to me seems pretty complex and something I don't want to mess up on.

 

[NoOneGetsIt]

Seeking ER this year (actually 5 weeks away) I too may end up using a FP to verify my AA and FI. All tools indicate I should be in great shape, but a second opinion may help my sanity.

Although the biggest challenge I would like answers from a FP is on the strategy in taking the money out. This is vastly different than the accumulation stage. Given the tax implications, SS strategies, when to take pension, etc this part to me seems pretty complex and something I don't want to mess up on.

Yep...I have concerns about that along with when/how do I convert my IRA to Roth [or should I] and how to ensure my fund will support us [should I ladder some bonds? Should we stay in stock?] while I could DIY I think the not feeling like I could do it without failing is keeping me locked in prison for longer than necessary....I am risk adverse.

 

[FinanceDude]

Although the biggest challenge I would like answers from a FP is on the strategy in taking the money out. This is vastly different than the accumulation stage. Given the tax implications, SS strategies, when to take pension, etc this part to me seems pretty complex and something I don't want to mess up on.

The American College just came out with a new certification called a CRPC......I am taking the certification course this fall..............

 

[jollystomper]

The first misstep was going to an insurance agent and a stock broker for advice.

Hey, I was young (21), fresh out of college, and these folks were recommended by one of my brothers . At least I made that mistake early in life while I was single. Its been all uphill since then.

 

[scrabbler1]

I am a do-it-yourselfer but I do have an unpaid advisor (Account Executive) with Fidelity I can bounce ideas off. His predecessors were helpful back in 2007-08 as my ER plan was shaping up, helping me use Fidelity's Retirement Income Planner program to project my income and expenses in the short-term, medium-term, and long-term. They have given me some useful advice over the last few years (except for one AE I did not like and got switched to another one).

 

[Gumby]

I have always done it myself. Seems too important to let someone else handle it.

 

[obgyn65]

I am also a do-it-yourself type of person. I asked for a couple of pieces of advice from professionals in the past but always had a better answer on the internet.

 

[gauss]

When she mentioned this & suggested switching to Vanguard her boss discontinued the 401k plan! No more company match...

Since then we've kept our mouths shut, and done our own planning.

Maybe that's what happened to all the former pension plans in this country

 

[gerntz]

Seeking ER this year (actually 5 weeks away) I too may end up using a FP to verify my AA and FI. All tools indicate I should be in great shape, but a second opinion may help my sanity.

Although the biggest challenge I would like answers from a FP is on the strategy in taking the money out. This is vastly different than the accumulation stage. Given the tax implications, SS strategies, when to take pension, etc this part to me seems pretty complex and something I don't want to mess up on.

I think this is excellent advice. Our tax preparer provides it & has saved us way more than he costs. A big thing is taking LTCG and keeping them taxed at 0% Fed tax rate - below ~$72K taxable income. Minimizing other income helps accomplish this. Note that we use a FA too, but that's pretty immaterial to this issue.

 

[sengsational]

I explored fee-only financial planers through napfa, but all (three) of the local ones I called wanted "percent of assets under management". I said "What!?! I want a couple hours of your time and you want to charge me ten grand?"

There are many places I take ideas from, but you could say that I DO have a financial planner I rely on. He and I have exchanged very few words (I mostly listen). But I have received customized advice if I worded the question generally). Marotta On Money | Financial, investment, and wealth management advice. I met the senior Mr. Marotta on a cruise. He impressed me and I started following his son.

 

[Rustward]

Hey, I was young (21), fresh out of college, and these folks were recommended by one of my brothers . At least I made that mistake early in life while I was single. Its been all uphill since then.

At least you started early.

I have seen people spend their whole careers accumulating assets only in their employers' retirement plans, retire and rollover to an IRA, then make huge mistakes because they were unfamiliar with handling large assets with little time to recover.

 

[freebird5825]

I used an independent CFP firm, with a written statement of w*rk (I wrote it very specifically) and an agreed upon price and product (analysis and report, retirement benefits analysis and what-if's, estate planning analysis and recommendations). I was minimally educated in FP from my own reading efforts at the time.

Once I felt more comfortable, I went 100% DIY. And still am.

 

[TOOLMAN]

Curious how many on this blog used financial planners versus did their planning themselves? What did you do?

Tried that for one year with the upfront understanding that if the net growth did not surpass the S&P 500 he would loose my business. Was told that this would not be a problem based on his past performance. I was his customer for 1 year.

 

[ShortInSeattle]

We got general advice from our Fidelity assigned planner - he offered us some helpful tips and adjustments.

We also decided to try out their managed services account. They charge 1%. (We gave them 20% of our investments to manage.) On the plus side, they did some nice tax loss harvesting for us. On the down side, they keep the money in a dizzying array of funds and send us statements that are hard to decipher. Also, having some funds managed and some funds not managed made it hard to get a wholistic view of our asset allocation. It is almost like having two portfolios - one that you control and one that is a black box.

I got DH into reviewing the Bogleheads materials and we're going to pull those funds back into our own management this year. We'll still meet with our Fidelity advisor occasionally to listen to his input on our strategy, then make our own decisions.

SIS

 

[teejayevans]

I've tried VG, Fido and my CU. The CU one was the best, the others were cookie cutters. I admit not knowing more about all aspects of financial planning but I do know more about my situation

If you made it thru 2008 without panicking you probably can do it yourself with some self education
TJ

 

[FinanceDude]

I explored fee-only financial planers through napfa, but all (three) of the local ones I called wanted "percent of assets under management". I said "What!?! I want a couple hours of your time and you want to charge me ten grand?"

Well, you could always go to an Ameriprise rep, who would charge you a couple grand to go over your finances, and then put you in high cost proprietary products to boot!

 

[tightasadrum]

I allocated about 25% of investable assets to Fidelity PAS group. I thought I'd see if they could get a better return than me. In about ten years it's been about a tie. I do get a review twice a year when we discuss just about anything. Sometimes this is helpful for identifying specific funds, sectors etc. I also get many invitations to attend their economic reviews. Sometimes I attend and get breakfast and coffee and occasionally a worthwhile financial tip.

Before a retired I had a financial plan done by a CFP at USAA, before it was free. He offered a few minor suggestions, probably not worth the cost, but did give me more confidence in my plan. I've been talking to another CFP who recently called me out of USAA's Wealth Management group. We'll see how that goes. Very little pressure is the key. When someone starts pushing, I leave the room.

 

[DeborahB]

A couple of years before I retired, I made an appointment with a CPA to go over what I had and my spreadsheet that looked at scenarios. It was well worth the money - but he was recommended highly by my stockbroker as being smart and honest I wanted to make sure I had enough saved to retire.

I am mostly DIY but I use the stockbroker for the trades and for his advice. In this very particular case, I know the guy and he gives me a reasonable deal on the commissions. He's not getting rich off me - and I get advice that I have found very valuable.

However, there are also some trust accounts that I manage for my elderly dad - I inherited them when my mother died. The two brokers are completely clueless. One more than the other. I closed one of the Merrill Lynch accounts and moved it to my broker here. I would never trade with ML and its fees.

 

[karluk]

I've never used a financial planner, and don't expect to do so in the future. I was permanently turned off from people selling me financial products by the life insurance salesmen I met in college. Here was I, a poverty-stricken college student with no dependents and hardly any income, and those bozos all thought that life insurance was the perfect thing for me. Nor was it useful to debate with them - they all had perfect answers prepared for whatever objection I brought up. I finally decided that the simplest thing to do was to not talk to them at all. It's an atitude that has served me very well over the years, most recently a few days ago when an Edward Jones rep came ringing doorbells door-to-door. My only mistake was answering the door in the first place. He introduced himself. I said "hi". He asked me if I had ever done any retirement planning with anyone. I said "no", thanked him for stopping by, and closed the door in his face. He tried to give me his business card, but I didn't hear him before the door closed. Hopefully that is the end of that.