Personal Capital FA

[Souschef]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Another Reader The picture of the FA assigned to me is of a guy in his early 30's with greased back hair. He claims over six years of investment experience. Should be over seven now, unless they aren't counting the time working for PC. Well, I have 40 years of investment experience. Thanks, but I don't think I need financial advice from this fellow.

That reminds of my late Dad. He lived in a FL condo and was made himself an expert on condo law. The board introduced their new young lawyer, and my Dad said,"I was reading condo law when you were in high school"

[Another Reader]

Trust me, this guy didn't go to law school...or any other school that would give him the right to include some initials after his last name. His credentials aren't listed beyond the six years of investment experience.

[stlguy57]

I blocked the San Francisco the FA's seemed always to call from. I continue to use the asset tracking service. It's very good for free.

[Ready]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stlguy57 I blocked the San Francisco the FA's seemed always to call from. I continue to use the asset tracking service. It's very good for free.

From what I've heard if they connect with you once and you make it clear you have no interest they leave you alone. It might be worth a brief conversation just to get it out of the way.

[karen1972]

Hmmm, I didn't get to the selling part, a nice man called and offered "FREE Hands-On Training, just set up a time" he was worried maybe there was something wrong with my setup and was reaching out to "help me". I guess he was hoping I had a few more million hidden away somewhere... anyway I did not need training and was sorry I signed up as the last thing I need is a sales pitch.

[BeachOrCity]

I use the FA service for a small portion of my portfolio. Basically an old Roth IRA and a small amount of taxable.
I do look at how they do versus an alternative indexes and it is satisfactory. The fees charged for service provided are also reasonable too but I would not pay them for managing bonds or international as they use mutual funds for those and as such provide little additional value three and it is double in fees.

Some people won’t ever use a FA and that is a personal choice. But the benefit I get in terms of advice from them is worth the cost for me. It would not be worth the cost for my full portfolio.

[CaliKid]

I like PC. I use the free consolidation service and find it useful. I had a call with the sales guy and I declined the offering. No biggie. Low pressure. They call a few times a year, I don't return the calls, not a big deal. I am impressed with the company overall. I am sure plenty of people use their service and are probably perfectly happy with it. Not everybody is a DIYer.

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ready From what I've heard if they connect with you once and you make it clear you have no interest they leave you alone. It might be worth a brief conversation just to get it out of the way.

I did this and don't hear from them more than 1-2x a year (but rarely answer the call anyway). And if I do answer it, it's a pleasant person asking if I want to go over some new options for investments, free account review, etc and a polite "no" once or twice ends the call and I go back to using their free cloud-based tracking service unmolested for 6-12 months.

I did actually sit down for an initial consultation right after I signed up 4 years ago. They aren't bad but basically wanted to stick me in a closet index fund of 85 or so equities for their almost 1% fee. Said I could keep on managing the international component using indexes since that's what they would recommend anyway (and save myself the 1% fee). If you need the services of an FA, they seem as good as the average place. Possibly better since they won't Ameriprise you with stupidly expensive investment options, then churn your account, then charge an annual AUM fee or flat fee for the privilege.