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11-02-2008, 10:19 AM
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#21
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: South Texas~29N/98W Just West of Woman Hollering Creek
Posts: 6,671
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Good Q for a prospective FA : "What effective warning did you provide to your clients 3-6 months ago regarding the safety of their equity investments? How many of them followed your advice?"
__________________
Part-Owner of Texas
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. Groucho Marx
In dire need of: faster horses, younger woman, older whiskey, more money.
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11-02-2008, 12:17 PM
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#22
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 622
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Quote:
Originally Posted by audreyh1
Unfortunately, the anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that they are way outnumbered by those who are incompetent or downright dishonest.
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Trying to find an honest competent FA is a suckers game. What you really need is to find a dishonest incompetent FA who will inadvertently make you money as he incompetently tries to take advantage of you.
If you get an especially incompetent one he might end up charging -2%.
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11-02-2008, 02:23 PM
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#23
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Lawn chair in Texas
Posts: 14,183
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Tell me again why I hired you...
__________________
Have Funds, Will Retire
...not doing anything of true substance...
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11-02-2008, 07:31 PM
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#24
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,483
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This reminds me of why I left the Soapbox until after the election. I guess if you don't have an advisor then there's only ONE person to blame........
__________________
Consult with your own advisor or representative. My thoughts should not be construed as investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results (love that one).......:)
This Thread is USELESS without pics.........:)
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11-02-2008, 07:48 PM
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#25
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Collin County, TX
Posts: 9,294
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Well said FDude!
__________________
There's no need to complicate, our time is short..
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11-02-2008, 08:02 PM
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#26
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: North of Montana
Posts: 2,769
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Who are you and why are you investing mucking with MY money?
__________________
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who can extrapolate conclusions from insufficient data and ..
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11-02-2008, 10:42 PM
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#27
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Laurel, MD
Posts: 8,309
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Quote:
Originally Posted by saluki9
Of course, how could somebody who has guided dozens if not hundreds of people through all the stages of retirement know any more than somebody who has done it ONCE?
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I guess this would be the basis for my questions.....
1. How many individuals have you guided through ALL the stages of retirement including all the stages of of various market cycles?
2. How is MY situation similar or unique to all the others?
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11-02-2008, 10:55 PM
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#28
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oahu
Posts: 26,856
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Quote:
Originally Posted by saluki9
I don't agree. Would you say that an attorney who during her career had worked on dozens of cases wouldn't be able to know the details of yours. What about an accountant? Most of them (who do compliance work) will do over a hundred returns during a tax season, would they not be able to know the details of their clients?
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I think it's mostly ignorant communication between the customer and the paid professional.
My BIL is a tax CPA, and he's very good at asking the types of questions that have clients going "Oh, that? You need to know about that?!?" But he doesn't know the details of his clients any more than what he has on his computer screen.
Meanwhile I only have to sniff around for the tax aspects of what I did last year and what I'd like to do next year. I know our situation far better than I'd know yours or anyone else's, even if I just had one client. Even better, I know before I do something what I need to learn about it to make a good decision. Most people aren't willing to invest the time (or money) to consult with a CPA as frequently as they should... another communications barrier.
Another problem is that most people aren't willing to keep shopping around for a good CPA or adviser. Get burned once or twice and the search is over. The one time I used a CPA I immediately regretted it (he compounded his mistake by lying about it). While I was researching what I'd need from a CPA, I learned that it was easier to learn how to do my own Form 990s & 1099-MISCs for our small non-profit than it was to find a good accountant.
I suspect that, like any really good mutual fund, a really good paid professional also struggles with client bloat and keeping up with all the facets of the business. When you're doing your own, however, it's a lot easier to keep up.
__________________
*
Co-author (with my daughter) of “Raising Your Money-Savvy Family For Next Generation Financial Independence.”
Author of the book written on E-R.org: "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement."
I don't spend much time here— please send a PM.
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11-02-2008, 11:46 PM
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#29
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Pasadena CA
Posts: 3,340
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nords
I'd focus on questions that would be difficult to answer on my own:
1. What did I miss?
2. What am I forgetting?
3. What stupid/misunderstood assumptions have I made?
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I think these are real questions. That is why I posted a question recently about getting OUT of Wellesley. Not that I wanted to, it has lost less than most funds, but I have to wonder what I am missing. At one time all I knew was the S&P500 index, then I added some international. But I do not know what all the asset classes really are. and this board is a great place for me to post such questions and get people's ideas.
I had but do not currently have a FA but if I did, these are some of the better questions I would ask and I could not even formulate them as well. When I had a FA the way the question came out was simply 'do I have enough to retire'?
__________________
T.S. Eliot:
Old men ought to be explorers
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11-03-2008, 06:28 AM
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#30
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nords
Another problem is that most people aren't willing to keep shopping around for a good CPA or adviser. Get burned once or twice and the search is over. The one time I used a CPA I immediately regretted it (he compounded his mistake by lying about it). While I was researching what I'd need from a CPA, I learned that it was easier to learn how to do my own Form 990s & 1099-MISCs for our small non-profit than it was to find a good accountant.
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Yep, me too! Exactly my experience.
I had a close friend who became my CPA. She was really smart and did a great job helping with my taxes. Then she went on to get her PhD in international business and sold her accounting business. The fellow she sold it to was not impressive at all. He had me fill out a long form that was obviously just entered into some tax software. No discussion, no advice, no overview, just - OK, here's your result and the bill! My soon-to-be-husband had been using Turbotax for years for his small business, so I decided I could enter the data into the tax software myself!
Many years later in the 1990s, I consulted a CPA firm about the AMT implications for my stock options and the new tax laws that has lowered the cap gains rate - was that 1998? It turned out that I knew way more about AMT and incentive stock options than these people did - all they did was come "up to speed" at my expense. I was so unimpressed, I pretty much said "that's it"!
Audrey
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11-03-2008, 06:38 AM
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#31
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: East Nowhere, 43N Latitude, NY
Posts: 9,037
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i had a very good experience with a CFP back in 2002. i asked a ton of questions about investing, estate, retirement, etc. i negotiated a set price for a soup-to-nuts analysis, and documented all tasks and products delivered. i delivered all the necessary documentation and let them do their thing. i got exactly what i asked for and then some.
i still use their report as a baseline for financial planning. my current status is DIY. if i were to revisit with them, i would ask exactly the same questions i did last time for checkpointing my status post-FIRE status.
__________________
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
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11-03-2008, 10:41 AM
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#32
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oahu
Posts: 26,856
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Quote:
Originally Posted by audreyh1
Many years later in the 1990s, I consulted a CPA firm about the AMT implications for my stock options... all they did was come "up to speed" at my expense.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by freebird5825
i had a very good experience with a CFP back in 2002. i asked a ton of questions about investing, estate, retirement, etc. i negotiated a set price for a soup-to-nuts analysis, and documented all tasks and products delivered. i delivered all the necessary documentation and let them do their thing. i got exactly what i asked for and then some.
i still use their report as a baseline for financial planning. my current status is DIY. if i were to revisit with them, i would ask exactly the same questions i did last time for checkpointing my status post-FIRE status.
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Yakers and your comments brought back some more memories. In Saluki's/FD's defense, I did get good advice from two FAs.
One listened to my questions/issues over the phone and said "Gosh, it sounds like you know what you're talking about and you seem to have all the issues covered. Why not just take 3% from your portfolio every year and stop worrying about it?" This being the summer of 2001, in retrospect that was a gutsy call. Best money I'd never spent for good advice.
The other was an AXA rep who I'd been referred to for what at the time was their awesome modeling software. They had an extremely detailed data form questionnaire that, by the time I'd completed it, reassured me that I hadn't missed anything. When I went over the paperwork with their rep and started asking Monte Carlo questions, he admitted that he didn't know the answers but would get them from the guy who was designing the new software. I asked him more questions about the new software, learned all about its features, and said that I'd love to continue the conversation when they implemented it. They never implemented it (or at least they never called me back) and I found FinancialEngines' MC software to be more than enough for my needs.
__________________
*
Co-author (with my daughter) of “Raising Your Money-Savvy Family For Next Generation Financial Independence.”
Author of the book written on E-R.org: "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement."
I don't spend much time here— please send a PM.
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11-03-2008, 11:17 AM
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#33
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,483
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nords
One listened to my questions/issues over the phone and said "Gosh, it sounds like you know what you're talking about and you seem to have all the issues covered. Why not just take 3% from your portfolio every year and stop worrying about it?" This being the summer of 2001, in retrospect that was a gutsy call. Best money I'd never spent for good advice.
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He was being honest. He probably figured out you knew more about your finances than 99.99% of his clients, and gave you the correct advice.
Quote:
The other was an AXA rep who I'd been referred to for what at the time was their awesome modeling software. They had an extremely detailed data form questionnaire that, by the time I'd completed it, reassured me that I hadn't missed anything. When I went over the paperwork with their rep and started asking Monte Carlo questions, he admitted that he didn't know the answers but would get them from the guy who was designing the new software. I asked him more questions about the new software, learned all about its features, and said that I'd love to continue the conversation when they implemented it. They never implemented it (or at least they never called me back) and I found FinancialEngines' MC software to be more than enough for my needs.
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Axa reps are pretty much insurance guys, not true FAs. The fact he couldn't answer Monte Carlo simulation questions confirms this. Probably noone ever asked him a question about Monter Carlo before you.......
__________________
Consult with your own advisor or representative. My thoughts should not be construed as investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results (love that one).......:)
This Thread is USELESS without pics.........:)
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11-03-2008, 01:07 PM
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#34
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Charleston, SC
Posts: 13,566
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Quote:
Originally Posted by freebird5825
i had a very good experience with a CFP back in 2002. i asked a ton of questions about investing, estate, retirement, etc. i negotiated a set price for a soup-to-nuts analysis, and documented all tasks and products delivered. i delivered all the necessary documentation and let them do their thing. i got exactly what i asked for and then some.
i still use their report as a baseline for financial planning. my current status is DIY. if i were to revisit with them, i would ask exactly the same questions i did last time for checkpointing my status post-FIRE status.
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Your experience is what happens when you, a well-prepared person, finds and hires an actual planner. I'm glad it went well for you.
Folks who are looking for "free" information from salespeople are bound to be disappointed. You gotta separate the salespeople from the real advisors. And while having a CFP or CFA isn't a guarantee that they aren't pond scum, but it does help weed through some of the most egregious ones.
__________________
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching.”
Gerard Arthur Way
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11-03-2008, 02:23 PM
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#35
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: East Nowhere, 43N Latitude, NY
Posts: 9,037
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarah in SC
Your experience is what happens when you, a well-prepared person, finds and hires an actual planner. I'm glad it went well for you.
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TY. i went in the same way i would running an R&D contract - do the statement of work, ID the deliverables, put it all down in writing, agree upon the fixed fee, award and sign. the CFP loved working with me cuz i saved both of us a lot of Q&A time and we were both able to get down to business. we got along great. but i'll bet he secretly sighed with great relief when we were done.
__________________
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
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