Vanguard changing their advice and fees

[Catmandu]

I am 58, retired at 55 with my wife. We have 10 mil in Vanguard. We've been with them for 10 plus years now at a 60/40 s/b allocation. However, currently we are sitting on about 12% cash.

We were using their advisory service but didn't see the value as they have a strategy that's pretty straightforward. I called today to cancel and they informed me that their free financial planning services are no longer available. That service helped me rebalance and had some other nice benefits. It's now their advisory service or self-service.

Any thoughts on other companies that may be more helpful being that I have a large amount with them.

I'm open to any idea including self-management. Pralana looks like an interesting tool.

Thanks!

Marc

[LOL!]

I have not seen any financial institution that can help you that is less expensive than Vanguard while still using low-expense ratio investments.

You can pay by the hour which would be way way cheaper for you. I don't use these people, but Allan Roth and Rick Ferri charge less than $500 an hour no matter how large your portfolio is. They can be found via a search on the internet.

[SumDay]

Our fee only advisor, which we found through this board on NAPFA charges us <$500 every other year when we meet with her for a tune-up. She's a big fan of Vanguard, and suggests rebalancing and tax strategies each time. I think it's a steal, even at twice the price.

I hadn't heard about Vanguard dropping their 'free' advisory services.

[davebarnes]

Personally, I find that advice from members at two fora to be excellent.
Early-Retirement
Bogleheads

I also find that it is worthwhile to read the academic papers that are recommended.

Of course, we only 15% of your assets.

[OldShooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catmandu ... Any thoughts on other companies that may be more helpful being that I have a large amount with them. ...

Both Fido and Schwab will assign a specific advisor to you at no cost if your account is large enough. IIRC the thresholds are $100K and $250K but I don't remember which is which. I haven't used our Schwab advisor much for actual advice, more as a question-answerer and for help with administrative issues (which are few). But he is a nice guy and very responsive. At one point he ran a full portfolio analysis for us, which was interesting. He is salaried but has bonus opportunities for bringing in assets and for referrals to some Schwab services. He is not commissioned and I don't think he is actually permitted to suggest individual purchases.

Anyway, assuming you are in that asset ballpark and have Fido and Schwab offices nearby I'd suggest contacting the branch managers with your description of the ideal rep. Age, gender, investment interests, experience, etc. and ask to interview a couple of reps that fit. You'll leave each interview knowing a lot more than just the answer to the simple question you are asking. You can do all this on the phone, of course, too.