I totally blew it! Need investment help

[OldShooter]

... He sent me a sample distribution. Like CABarb's portfolio he had me in a huge amount of funds/ETFs. I think they do that to make it look complex. ...

Of course. Part of the industry myth is that investing is difficult and can only be done by experts.

One funny thing is that "experts" aka CFPs are required to have college degrees. Mortuary science, no problem. Vocal music, no problem. No math courses, no problem. No statistics courses, are you kidding?

Really no different than other professions; dentists resisting dental technicians doing fillings, lawyers resisting internet law and legal assistants doing simple documents, doctors resisting nurse practitioners. Something over half the jobs in our state require state certification. Even "hair braiding." ?!!?! Caveat emptor.

 

[Dtail]

Of course. Part of the industry myth is that investing is difficult and can only be done by experts.

One funny thing is that "experts" aka CFPs are required to have college degrees. Mortuary science, no problem. Vocal music, no problem. No math courses, no problem. No statistics courses, are you kidding?

Really no different than other professions; dentists resisting dental technicians doing fillings, lawyers resisting internet law and legal assistants doing simple documents, doctors resisting nurse practitioners. Something over half the jobs in our state require state certification. Even "hair braiding." ?!!?! Caveat emptor.

Bolded by me - and that's the catch. As mentioned in a previous thread, if you studied all day and night on how to remove my appendix, I wouldn't let you. Only the certified doctor.
So many folks outside this forum, including many finance people can't imagine that an "amateur" can do the same job as a "professional" the majority of the time without the extra costs.

 

[Texas Proud]

I've been consolidating in Fidelity. When I met with the FA he recommended professional management. He sent me a sample distribution. Like CABarb's portfolio he had me in a huge amount of funds/ETFs. I think they do that to make it look complex.

Just tell the FA you don't want the service.

Yea, who needs to pay someone to invest 100% in a retirement dated fund..


Or 3 funds that cover domestic stocks, international stocks and bonds...

 

[stephenson]

There is so much emotion and so little content in the OP post, and subsequent explanations, I feel it is unwise to provide any direction other than slow down and provide specifics.

Once specifics are provided, we can offer specific help ...

 

[Helen]

CABarb,

Is this what they have you in:

https://www.fidelity.com/managed-ac...tax-managed-US-equity-index-strategy/overview

I met with a rep who was assigned to me to have him transfer accounts from Vanguard into Fidelity. He made all kinds of errors during the transfer process, his focus was more on pushing me into using the tax managed PAS "services". He is no longer my account rep.

Your account rep gets a bump up in his/her annual bonus for moving money into managed accounts.

Like others have said, take your time and do your research. Meeting with the account reps is probably going to result in more of a sales pitch with scare tactics to keep you in the managed account. You need to find out exactly what the product is they have you in then do your own research or come back here with more information.

 

[esposla]

I just met with a Fidelity after deciding to transfer $60k to them to consolidate a401k. I already have some $$ with them. We went thru highlights of the website and how to navigate on my own. She was really helpful . We set up another meeting to further plan my accounts. Good luck with managing this with the Fidelity rep. I might ask for another rep if something doesn’t fit. Maybe not change institutions.

 

[athena53]

CABarb,

Is this what they have you in:

https://www.fidelity.com/managed-ac...tax-managed-US-equity-index-strategy/overview

I met with a rep who was assigned to me to have him transfer accounts from Vanguard into Fidelity. He made all kinds of errors during the transfer process, his focus was more on pushing me into using the tax managed PAS "services". He is no longer my account rep.

Your account rep gets a bump up in his/her annual bonus for moving money into managed accounts.

My Dad had that- briefly. He's 88 but has been investing since he was in his 30s (and I've thanked him for being a good example!). He eventually got out of it. I think he had the same reaction I would- just too darned complicated. I have a decent (about $500K) account at Fidelity and am in the process of moving my checking account there, and they now display the name and picture of my "Advisor". I have no intention of calling him!

 

[kgtest]

186 positions is totally ridiculous. Fire them and do it yourself or move it all to Vanguard and put it in one to five funds in each account.

+1.

We can help you make this transition. I know because this forum helped me move from "Target Date Professionally Managed" to Do It Yourself self-managed.

The first question I have for you is what is your risk tolerance? It seems like you are fine in Equities or have been.

You can accomplish whatever the salesmen at FIDO is selling you on your own, don't let them fool you.

You might need to give us a more clear picture of your IRA, ROTH and Taxable account balances, do you have Pensions coming, SS? Somewhere there is a post in the "Hi I am" that details what we would need to know to assist.

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f26/read-this-before-you-introduce-yourself-65548.html

 

[indiajust]

yes, 180 plus positions a bit much. standard recommendations inside motley fool and many other is at least 25 individual stocks, but no more than 50. Upper limit is set by how much reading you can do to keep up with all the news. Hyper concentrated folks might get down to 12-13 positions but you better not make any mistakes. At some point in the 80 position range you are definitely just doing a complicated index fund.

I like schwab and I am considering shifting into their version of the automatic low cost rebalancing account, schwab calls it Intelligent Portfolios. It just moves assets between about 30 of their low to no cost ETF's. Zero effort once you set it up.

I'm sure Fidelity and Vanguard have similar offerings, but I am most familiar with schwab.

 

[FIREarly]

MSFT Microsoft

If you talk to Charles Schwab they matched the time in full years (ex: 1.1 years = 1 year; 2.7 years = 2 year) you spent with another broker/dealer and provide free trading durin this time (up to 1000 trades). They also charge $4.95/trade after that. The people in the office are super friendly too.

As for as investments: this is not from an investment advisor because I do not hold any FINRA licenses {drumroll please...}

MSFT Microsoft!!
1 of 2 AAA rated stocks out of the entire S&P500 (500 stocks).
It does an exceptional job outperforming the market.
It provides quarterly dividends.
Yahoo wrote an excellent article with more information about how good MSFT is: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gaming-products-could-drive-microsoft-113056455.html

Yes, I do own shares of MSFT and will continue to buy them because, in my opinion, MSFT is awesome!

 

[imnontrad]

You are the one responsible for your money. If you do not understand how she invested it, sit down with her and have her explain it until you do understand. And do your homework to ensure it really is right for you long term.
BUT more than 100 is absurd!! I have 60, mostly individual stocks, and I am gradually moving all into 10 ETFs with very low administrative fees (Paul Merriman 10 ETFs strategy) and just have the ones beating the S&P 500 index. I want simplicity as I get older and reduced fees. I think it is a good idea to consolidate numerous account though.

 

[Steeler75]

I am assuming that the 180 positions are not in her IRA or Roth accounts.

I recently had similar discussions with my Fidelity Sr. Advisor, when I discussed tax strategy of investing. The PMA for tax harvesting was presented, where Fido purchases about 200 of the S&P 500 stocks, then look for opportunities to tax harvest by selling at a loss and purchasing similar stocks ( Ie. selling Coke at w loss then buying Pepsi) to lock in loss while staying invested.

While it certainly is a valid strategy, i wasn’t convinced that lowering my cost basis was the right direction as it seems to really just defer a higher tax later on when stocks are sold.

 

[Dtail]

I am assuming that the 180 positions are not in her IRA or Roth accounts.

I recently had similar discussions with my Fidelity Sr. Advisor, when I discussed tax strategy of investing. The PMA for tax harvesting was presented, where Fido purchases about 200 of the S&P 500 stocks, then look for opportunities to tax harvest by selling at a loss and purchasing similar stocks ( Ie. selling Coke at w loss then buying Pepsi) to lock in loss while staying invested.

While it certainly is a valid strategy, i wasn’t convinced that lowering my cost basis was the right direction as it seems to really just defer a higher tax later on when stocks are sold.

Not to mention it kind of then allows picking losers to be thought of as more acceptable due to tax loss harvesting.