I need guidance

[mystang52]

My guess is I could have done as well on my own . It looks like they send my money to TD Ameritrade and some group there actually makes the moves. Im not angry at the guys I gave the money to ( hell the guy is a lifelong friend of mine and he manages my parents money too) I just dont think I can afford his service

My son started his investments with one of his friends, despite my urging him otherwise. A couple of years later that friend called my son, told him he left his company and is now with another one - and, oh yeah, that first company was terrible so my son should empty his account and move it to his current firm.
Fortunately my son smelled a rat, asked me for advice, and now has his money with Vanguard.
Being a friend has nothing to do with investing properly.

 

[Aerides]

We had our taxables with an FA while we were saving. The most profitable moves he ever made were at my specific direction (sell this buy that, in X amount) after I got a bit smarter.

Later, we called up Fidelity where we had other stuff and said "go get all that." They made it pretty painless, transferred it over in kind as we had no proprietary funds with the other place. If they find those they will let you know if there are any taxable events to move them.

Within a few days it was all moved over and setup in Fido. I could leave it exactly as is and pay just the fund fees, or sell/transfer stuff (with cap gains so be careful) for things will undesirable performance or expense ratios.

Did the same thing a bit later with my 401k, which was more fun as I didn't have to worry about taxes when I shuffled things around.

For starters, have a google on Bogle lazy portfolios and read up on total market type index funds. But, again, you can move everything out and keep it invested as-is so you stop paying fees, and have time to then figure out what funds you want, if you do, instead.

 

[blueskyk]

We have a “fee only” planner that helped us navigate a lot of dials (pensions/payouts vs monthly, SS timing, IRA assets) to set up a plan for us. We meet yearly to review and update at a cost of about $250. The initial plan cost $1K. He’s out of state (couldn’t find anyone local that didn’t want to charge for managing our assets) and we meet online. This option works well for us - I execute any rebalancing/trades per the plan. He’s available for consult at an hourly rate at our request.

So many here are very skilled at developing financial plans - it is neither my expertise nor do I desire it to be. Frankly, I’d rather paint and quilt in my studio.

 

[OldShooter]

My guess is I could have done as well on my own . It looks like they send my money to TD Ameritrade and some group there actually makes the moves. Im not angry at the guys I gave the money to ( hell the guy is a lifelong friend of mine and he manages my parents money too) I just dont think I can afford his service

A couple of things:

First, his "service" is likely to be costing you at least another couple of percent as FAs typically do not add value to investment returns vs the simple portfolios most posters here are recommending. That is why @pb4uski is asking about returns

Second, a funny story that someone posted here a couple of years ago: Poster was talking about his good friend who was also his FA. Friend would frequently invite the poster to go fishing on his boat, something they both enjoyed immensely. But, said the poster, since I moved my money to another FA, my good friend has stopped calling.

 

[target2019]

+1

OP - lots of good advice here, but even more people over on bogleheads.org if you have questions.

The portfolio review template is here:
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Asking_portfolio_questions#Template_for_your_post

Answering those questions in concise format is the beginning of a transition. At B-heads you'll get one type of answer.

OP Foghorn Leghorn, in general terms, you hold x number of investments. Say there are 50 entries on the left of your transition table. As you move to a future list of 10 investments on the right, you'll need to consider the various actions to get from now to future. For example, a taxable account has certain characteristics you want to understand before making changes.

 

[travelover]

Seems like you can simply move your stash over to a low cost provider like Vanguard or Fidelity and go with a target date fund or a three fund lazy portfolio. If you have much of your money in after tax accounts, it will be harder to untangle without tax implications and that is where you might seek some help.

 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Seems like you can simply move your stash over to a low cost provider like Vanguard or Fidelity and go with a target date fund or a three fund lazy portfolio. If you have much of your money in after tax accounts, it will be harder to untangle without tax implications and that is where you might seek some help.

I have zero dollars in after tax money invested with my financial advisor

 

[pb4uski]

Then it is pretty easy. There are numerous one fund soultions or two or three fund solutions that will provide you good, safe returns and you'll have a 1.5% head start.

 

[OldShooter]

I have zero dollars in after tax money invested with my financial advisor

Just so you know, when you decide to make the transfer all you have to do is to fill out a transfer form at the receiving brokerage; Schwab, Fido, VG, whatever. It is completely hands-off for you. They will transfer the assets (your choice) either as they are ("in kind") or tell the current brokerage to sell them and transfer the cash.

Either way, you do not have to talk to your FA about your plan and potentially get an uncomfortable sales pitch. You will probably want to call him after you've signed the form just as a courtesy but at that point the deed is done.

 

[FREE866]

Lots of great comments here.



I only hold major market ETF's and don't use outside help, but you really have to ask yourself though, are you disciplined enough to hold on to your AA when the waters get rough? The one value added an advisor might provide you with is some calm to stick to your plan.

 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Thank you folks.

Im going to start doing some reading and more research. First pass makes a lazy 3 fund approach look pretty doable and lots of smart folks think its a good idea.

I believe in the USA long term and believe I can stay the course during the rough patches.

 

[HI Bill]

Thank you folks.

Im going to start doing some reading and more research. First pass makes a lazy 3 fund approach look pretty doable and lots of smart folks think its a good idea.

I believe in the USA long term and believe I can stay the course during the rough patches.

Sounds easy, then! I'm a +1 for the 'lazy' 3-fund approach, because: 1) You can select where to withdraw your $ from depending on the market's performance, which you can't do when selling from a target date fund; and 2) The expense ratios are cheaper than a target date fund's.

 

[SumDay]

We have a “fee only” planner that helped us navigate a lot of dials (pensions/payouts vs monthly, SS timing, IRA assets) to set up a plan for us. We meet yearly to review and update at a cost of about $250. The initial plan cost $1K. He’s out of state (couldn’t find anyone local that didn’t want to charge for managing our assets) and we meet online. This option works well for us - I execute any rebalancing/trades per the plan. He’s available for consult at an hourly rate at our request.

So many here are very skilled at developing financial plans - it is neither my expertise nor do I desire it to be. Frankly, I’d rather paint and quilt in my studio.

What blueskyk said. We found our fee only planner here: https://www.napfa.org/

We only visit about every other year or so, and now that I'm retired, I may never visit again. I figure we save $20K a year by using her guidance and me doing a little work. That's a helluva vacation or home enhancement. You can do it!!!!

 

[38Chevy454]

Good for you making the decision to go self directed and save the FA fees.
You can also use index funds with very low or no fund fees, depending on what choices you decide to invest in.

 

[indiajust]

Another low cost option is the schwab robofund. If you are retiring, they now provide a free monte carlo analysis to develop your SWR. And you can program the robofund to transfer that to your taxable account and even pay quarterly estimated taxes.

 

[imnontrad]

Consider a fee-only CFP who is also a fiduciary and specializes in retirement. You pay by the hour for their services and will definitely cost a LOT less unless you need a LOT of handholding/time. Also ensure they are willing to educate you plus inform you of any short term and long term tax consequences of your decisions.

You can then transfer your funds to Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, or wherever you want since a fee-only CFP does not handle your assets unless you want to pay extra for them to do that. You should interview several. You could go to https://www.garrettplanningnetwork.com to find fee-only CFPs in your area.