How many totally manage their own nest egg?

[vince]

I (with DW permission) manage our portfolio and finances. Have since we've had anything to manage.

 

[Bir48die]

- Some folks know they have trouble controlling their emotions & turn to help against their known faults. What's not good about that?

- Some, me, feel a second POV is worth its cost. What's wrong with that? I'm not confident/arrogant enough in me to believe that on my own I make the best judgment about anything even when I feel I'm well educated/versed on a subject. Yes, I have to & do make calls on my own when I have limited/no other options.

I've gone on record many times here why a portion of my portfolio is managed. I don't have trouble controlling my emotions except when I read that I can't control my emotions. Yes I can easily put together a 3 or 4 fund portfolio.

Won't get into this again. My guy isn't a FA. I've been successful, they've been successful and the world is all good as far as I'm concerned. I'm very happy the crew here for the most part manages 100% of your investments. Good for you.

 

[jollystomper]

But isn't he responsible for hiring the guy that had them run out of money?

I just don't get this idea of abdicating responsibility, makes no sense to me. Another poster said he was turning his account over to an FA so that he doesn't get excited and sell at a low. Again, I don't understand choosing to hire someone to choose to do the opposite of what you would do? It's still a choice. It's still your choice. If you can choose someone to not sell low, why not just not sell low, and eliminate the middle-man?

-ERD50

Some people feel there is too much risk in taking responsibility.

 

[OldShooter]

Some people feel there is too much risk in taking responsibility.

Some times I think that's the correct approach. I am on a small nonprofit's investment committee running about $6M. Several of us on the committee are quite capable of running the money ourselves but one member correctly points out that we need to have "a throat to choke." If the FA's returns are poor that is one thing, but the nonprofit board will be a lot more upset and suspicious if the investment committee produces the same results DIY. Also, the FA does a lot of bookkeeping dog work and provides continuity as/if/when the investment committee membership turns over.

I think this is quite analogous to some of the personal situations mentioned here, particularly the question of continuity after the financial person in a couple dies.

 

[ckelly78z]

My company recommends using the Principal 401K retirement options that are available for a given time period (2020, 2025, 2030, 2035, 2040) depending on when your date will be. I have always found that these plans under perform the market, and especially some of the other, more risky options. I have always chosen my own investments, and most years out perform the market.

Coming into retirement years, I will get some help with tax strategy, but otherwise...

 

[youbet]

I like to say "never say never." While I'm now consolidated at Schwab and consider myself totally self-managed, I could be called on these minor exceptions I guess.......

1. Years ago I belonged to a stock club (which was very successful!) and we used a Payne Webber broker who sometimes came to meetings and spoke, etc.

2. Because I have significant assets at Schwab (including some Vanguard funds, primarily VTSAX), I get some perks including annual financial plans and access to an FA (free) if I have specific procedural questions or just want to talk something over.

I still consider myself DIY since I determine my direction and strategies and make all decisions but admit to appreciating some occasional chats with the guy who has been assigned to my account for many years. For example, MegaCorp recently offered me a lump sum buy-out of my pension. I gave Schwab the details and they sent me their extensive analysis and we later held a phone conference reviewing it. They made no recommendation, just presented the numbers and a list of pros and cons. I combined their inputs with others and made the decision.

I've never paid for advise though. I do my own taxes.

 

[HFWR]

I’m invested in passive index funds of my own choosing and proportion.

 

[jazz4cash]

I have read that Eddie's salespeople receive only sales training, no investment training. So the guy probably doesn't know. He just sells what he's told to sell. Comforting, eh?

If someone came to me and said they wanted to run out of money as quickly as possible, I would send them to Fast Eddie.

I should ahdd that I think his EJ guy is not a snake. He had a small pension due from an ex employer. I was shocked his EJ guy did not tell him to take a lump sum to increase AUM.

 

[gwraigty]

Does anyone use TD Ameritrade when managing the retirement? All i have seen on this topic is Fedelity.

We once had a taxable brokerage account and 2 Roth IRAs with TD Ameritrade. We transferred the Roth IRAs to Fidelity and split the assets in the brokerage account between Fidelity and Schwab. Recently, Vanguard transferred the assets in DH's 401k brokerage option to TD Ameritrade, while retaining the non-brokerage 401k assets. So right now, we're dealing with accounts at 4 investment firms, not by choice. My preferences would be to just have accounts at Fidelity and Schwab.

Did you have a specific question about TDA vs. Fidelity or Schwab?

TD has historically been focused on traders and you will find few traders here. Vanguard, Fido, and Schwab tend to be the most mentioned here. We're at Schwab and very happy.

If that's true about TDA, I didn't know it. I don't use any of the fancier trading platforms. TDA didn't have any issues with us not being active traders years ago.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I have proven several times that I am quite capable of losing money without professional help. Nevertheless, we are now retired and doing OK.

 

[RxMan]

Over ten years ago I worked with a pharmacist older than me who insisted I met his FA. This FA ended up selling a younger and naive me a universal life insurance policy. One of the worst financial decisions of my life and I broke free from that money black hole a couple of years later.

The pharmacist was just trying to help but after that experience I realized I’d probably be better off doing it myself. Plus, I’ve always had an interesting in money and investing. I bought my first few shares of a mutual fund in high school. It’s just a comfort level thing now after years of learning about the markets and investing.

Having said all that I can see the value of hiring a fee only FA or CFP for when I get closer to retirement. Having someone else go over things like making sure we have enough to retire or tax strategies and other complications like SS and Roth conversions would be very valuable.

I don’t need a lot if hand holding but getting a second opinion from an expert might help me avoid a costly mistake or reveal an option or strategy I hadn’t considered or didn’t know existed. That’s worth the fee they will charge me to gain that knowledge and to just have someone else look over your financial plan.

 

[RobbieB]

I flat out suck at investing, that's why I hire it.

 

[6miths]

DIY here. Have made a few missteps along the way but not as large as those when had the help of an FA years ago.

 

[Dtail]

DIY here. Have made a few missteps along the way but not as large as those when had the help of an FA years ago.

Learned to DIY.
Made a few mistakes in 2018 like buying Nasdaq and increasing small cap mid year through and getting rid of bond fund for CD's (although fine on that now).
Everything settled in this year and tweaking much less and am happy with this years' returns apples to apples.

 

[Montecfo]

No FA here. I started with a long merged discount broker, Rose & Company, back in 1982. First stock I ever owned was Quaker State, gifted to me by my mother, who was also a DIY investor. I think it was $10k.

I also my do my own taxes, financial planning, household management, fleet management, gardening and driving.

 

[SeanPizzle]

For vanguard folks, are you buying vanguard funds in accounts held with schwab, etrade, et al or are your accounts with vanguard? I have accounts with Schwab (IRA and a taxable), american funds (sepIRA, inherited IRA), etrade (company ESOP). I'm wondering how best to consolidate. I'm stuck with etrade for work account

 

[OldShooter]

For vanguard folks, are you buying vanguard funds in accounts held with schwab, etrade, et al or are your accounts with vanguard? I have accounts with Schwab (IRA and a taxable), american funds (sepIRA, inherited IRA), etrade (company ESOP). I'm wondering how best to consolidate. I'm stuck with etrade for work account

We have almost everything at Schwab. I do have one small experiment with DFA funds running with an FA who agreed to a 50bps fee; it is at Fidelity. But I was able to add that external account to my Schwab accounts summary page, so it really doesn't matter a lot that it is somewhere else. I don't trade, so just viewing is completely adequate.

 

[mrfeh]

For vanguard folks, are you buying vanguard funds in accounts held with schwab, etrade, et al or are your accounts with vanguard? I have accounts with Schwab (IRA and a taxable), american funds (sepIRA, inherited IRA), etrade (company ESOP). I'm wondering how best to consolidate. I'm stuck with etrade for work account

Fidelity is our primary account provider, and we do hold Vanguard funds there.

 

[finnski1]

I've never felt the need to hire someone to do what I can do myself for free. And at 1.3%?!?? To put that in another context, at retirement, a widely regarded safe WR would go from 4% if self-managing to 2.7% if paying 1.3% to someone else. That's crazy. And in the accumulation phase (where I'm at), it's even more dire, as that's a loss of compounded growth.

The only way that having an FA that charges a wealth tax makes sense IMO is if their advice is causing you to appreciably tuck away more money than you otherwise would. I would gladly go back in time and have 18 year old me pay someone 1.3% if it meant I were putting money toward retirement. Unfortunately I didn't start saving until my mid-20s, and didn't really buckle down and start saving heavily until my early to mid 30s. Of course, if I could go back in time, I'd invest heavily in Apple and make some well-timed sports bets in Vegas, and I'd already be retired.

completely agree.

If one had to pay an FA 1.3% and were only withdrawing 2% then they are really withdrawing 3.3 % and therefore would have given the FA almost 40% of what they had to withdraw. How crazy is that! Yet that is what many people do.
So as an example someone needs 40k a year. They take out 2% of their 2 million. Then they give $26,000 to their FA. Then repeat that every year.
I can't imagine mot people (at least on this board) can't figure out simple AA and withdrawal plans.

 

[iloveyoga]

For vanguard folks, are you buying vanguard funds in accounts held with schwab, etrade, et al or are your accounts with vanguard? I have accounts with Schwab (IRA and a taxable), american funds (sepIRA, inherited IRA), etrade (company ESOP). I'm wondering how best to consolidate. I'm stuck with etrade for work account

I am using a balanced asset allocation of Vanguard mutual funds, their total stock market index, a couple of bond mutual funds, and their money market fund.

 

[ERD50]

I flat out suck at investing, that's why I hire it.

But there's really no reason I can think of for anyone to suck at investing these days. Decide on an AA, buy a Total Market Fund/ETF,and a Total Bond Fund/ETF, and take a nap.

Yeah, I know, your "guy" has been beating the market after fees. That's nice, but based on a preponderance of evidence here and in published studies, the odds of a poster here finding a market beating FA is extremely slim.

-ERD50

 

[Retiree_Having_Fun]

We pay about 2% aumm because you really DO get what you pay for, broker invites us over for nice steak dinner annually on his yacht.
Broker really likes me since he took out a life insurance policy on me.(just kidding)

Discount brokers self managed mostly index funds and bond funds. Done well (no yacht)

 

[Jeffman52]

I manage DW and my investments with no input from any adviser.

 

[bloom2708]

Even if you are now retired, you still have a 20, 30+ investing horizon.

1% over 20, 30 years may be $200k, $400k, $500k and up depending on portfolio size.

1% is 25% of your 4% withdrawal. Steeeeep cost. Do it yourself.

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

My Paternal grandparents AND my Maternal grandparents were devastated when their banks locked their doors, froze all accounts and foreclosed on all mortgages.

They made it through the Depression by owning rental houses, with no mortgages on them.

My grandparents would climb out of their graves if I ever used an FA.