How many totally manage their own nest egg?

[jazz4cash]

I “totally” manage our nest egg but I get a ton of help from Fidelity, Vanguard, this forum, and the internet in general. These resources provide more data than I am capable of processing. Fortunately I have an organizational mindset that enables me to choose a strategy and shut off extraneous inputs. It’s so much different from the days of relying on the daily news and weekly/monthly periodicals for info.
What I can’t fathom is why anyone would pay anything like 1% AUM to an advisor to invest in mutual funds that have their own ER. Vanguard’s Advisory Service at 30 bp seems reasonable, though. I wonder if they offer guidance on non Vanguard accounts. I don’t have a good plan in place for DW if I am not capable.

 

[SpinDoctorTX]

I manage all of our Fidelity investing. DW handles the banking, including rollover stacked CDs.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Yeah, ha .... I researched Kaufmann’s numbers and opened an account a long time ago.

Good performance. Just let it ride ...

I do offset the volatility with other holdings.

Back in the early '90s when small caps were hot, Kaufmann was flying high. They definitely had their day.

 

[atmsmshr]

I manage my own investments. I've never used a financial advisor, I can't see paying somebody for something I enjoy doing.

ditto

 

[unclemick]

No broker, FA and kinda hands off in that went full auto Target Retirement since 2006 trusting those 'trusty' Vanguard computers to adjust asset mix and re balance.

As in every football season I'm tempted to buy a few good stocks with mad money. It's a male hormone thing.

heh heh heh - small amount of total world stock index ETF and a world bond fund from prior years.

 

[Badger]

I have never had a FA and have developed all the investing and planning myself. However, I did meet with a Dave Ramsey advisor in mid 2005 to see what they thought of my retirement planning. It was free. After he took my investment information etc. and processed it to come up with an evaluation he said in our second meeting that he couldn't really improve on my plans. Although, he did make some suggestions on investment options which I gracefully declined.


Cheers!

 

[Coolius]

Manage all of my investment accounts, including DW HSA and IRA.

 

[NW-Bound]

I manage the investing side of finance, while my wife takes care of paying bills.

Can't trust anybody else, because I cannot be sure that they understand the "Nest Egg Principle".

 

[Razor Hog]

Does anyone use TD Ameritrade when managing the retirement? All i have seen on this topic is Fedelity.

 

[OldShooter]

Does anyone use TD Ameritrade when managing the retirement? All i have seen on this topic is Fedelity.

TD has historically been focused on traders and you will find few traders here. Vanguard, Fido, and Schwab tend to be the most mentioned here. We're at Schwab and very happy.

 

[Carol1862]

Ourselves, always have. Mostly Fidelity.

 

[retired1]

No FA or Service. Self Manage. Small portion managed by robo (schwab intelligent portfolio)

 

[friar1610]

I do 99% of the time. Every other year or so, I use a fee only financial planner who answers questions on asset allocation, tax planning, etc. She charges about what we'd spend on a domestic airline ticket. I like the critical eye, guidance and hand-holding. Our entire portfolio is at Vanguard.

Somewhat similar to the above.^ Strictly Vanguard funds plus some CDs and I-Bonds with me as the "CFP" employing Boglehead principles. Never used an AUM advisor. I recently had a well respected, high integrity investment advisor review my portfolio for about $500. He gave me an A-/B+ with a couple of minor recommendations for tweaking/simplification. Besides that benefit, it established a relationship so my wife has someone from whom to seek pay-by-the-hour investment advice if she ends up without her personal "CFP". I may get a sanity check from him every 5 years or so but otherwise strictly DIY.

Edited to add: forgot to mention that I enjoy this stuff as well so wouldn't want to pay someone else to take my fun away.

 

[JustCurious]

I manage my own investments and I have never hired or paid for a financial advisor.

 

[Hillbilly]

I manage our investments and those of my mother (widow) also. Never talked to a planner but did have a young broker over the summer stop by the house several times once he figured out I was at home during all kinds of "normal working hours" for most. Finally had to send him on his way...I didn't get here using any of their services nor need them now.

 

[jollystomper]

I have always managed my own finances. Nothing fancy - cash, mutual funds, a few stocks/ETFs. If I felt the need to hit home runs and beat the market (HA HA HA) with my investments I *might8 consider risking having someone else manage, but I am fine with hitting singles. There is so much free information and guidance out there to help you do that.

I also have this "weird" attitude - if I invest something and it does not work out, I am fine with blaming myself and being at peace and patient. If someone else took my money and invested it, and it did not work out, I would be very, very unhappy and impatient. So I manage my own finances to keep the peace.

 

[jazz4cash]

I also have this "weird" attitude - if I invest something and it does not work out, I am fine with blaming myself and being at peace and patient. If someone else took my money and invested it, and it did not work out, I would be very, very unhappy and impatient. So I manage my own finances to keep the peace.

That’s interesting. I compare notes with a colleague that uses EJ. He’s always asking about this and that but when I ask him why he doesn’t he ask his guy at EJ. he says they give advice but don’t discuss the reason for the advice. He uses them because if they run out of money he can tell his DW he hired a pro and won’t have to take responsibility if he self manages and runs out of money.

 

[gerntz]

Looks like there's somewhere around 110 on here that do. How many members are there?

 

[imoldernu]

I manage the big stuff... Once a year, I check the status of our IBonds, while jeanie does the easy stuff... she pays the bills.

 

[ERD50]

That’s interesting. I compare notes with a colleague that uses EJ. He’s always asking about this and that but when I ask him why he doesn’t he ask his guy at EJ. he says they give advice but don’t discuss the reason for the advice. He uses them because if they run out of money he can tell his DW he hired a pro and won’t have to take responsibility if he self manages and runs out of money.

But isn't he responsible for hiring the guy that had them run out of money?

I just don't get this idea of abdicating responsibility, makes no sense to me. Another poster said he was turning his account over to an FA so that he doesn't get excited and sell at a low. Again, I don't understand choosing to hire someone to choose to do the opposite of what you would do? It's still a choice. It's still your choice. If you can choose someone to not sell low, why not just not sell low, and eliminate the middle-man?

-ERD50

 

[dirtbiker]

I've never felt the need to hire someone to do what I can do myself for free. And at 1.3%?!?? To put that in another context, at retirement, a widely regarded safe WR would go from 4% if self-managing to 2.7% if paying 1.3% to someone else. That's crazy. And in the accumulation phase (where I'm at), it's even more dire, as that's a loss of compounded growth.

The only way that having an FA that charges a wealth tax makes sense IMO is if their advice is causing you to appreciably tuck away more money than you otherwise would. I would gladly go back in time and have 18 year old me pay someone 1.3% if it meant I were putting money toward retirement. Unfortunately I didn't start saving until my mid-20s, and didn't really buckle down and start saving heavily until my early to mid 30s. Of course, if I could go back in time, I'd invest heavily in Apple and make some well-timed sports bets in Vegas, and I'd already be retired.

 

[gerntz]

I just don't get this idea of abdicating responsibility, makes no sense to me. Another poster said he was turning his account over to an FA so that he doesn't get excited and sell at a low. Again, I don't understand choosing to hire someone to choose to do the opposite of what you would do? It's still a choice. It's still your choice. If you can choose someone to not sell low, why not just not sell low, and eliminate the middle-man?

-ERD50

- Some folks know they have trouble controlling their emotions & turn to help against their known faults. What's not good about that?

- Some, me, feel a second POV is worth its cost. What's wrong with that? I'm not confident/arrogant enough in me to believe that on my own I make the best judgment about anything even when I feel I'm well educated/versed on a subject. Yes, I have to & do make calls on my own when I have limited/no other options.

 

[OldShooter]

... why he doesn’t he ask his guy at EJ. he says they give advice but don’t discuss the reason for the advice.

I have read that Eddie's salespeople receive only sales training, no investment training. So the guy probably doesn't know. He just sells what he's told to sell. Comforting, eh?

... He uses them because if they run out of money he can tell his DW he hired a pro and won’t have to take responsibility if he self manages and runs out of money.

If someone came to me and said they wanted to run out of money as quickly as possible, I would send them to Fast Eddie.

 

[NW-Bound]

...I just don't get this idea of abdicating responsibility, makes no sense to me...

When I was faced with a life-threatening illness, I immediately researched to understand it, and to know about the options for treatments and surgeries, and the chance for surviving it.

One of my best friends said that he would rather not know, and would just go along with whatever the doctor recommends. Said he was afraid of bad news.

People have different philosophies.

 

[kgtest]

Manage my own. Have been since around 2011. Before that had robo advisor with Fidelity for about 4 or 5 years with a work 401k...and I had 0 invested in 2006...I did own RE though.

Now I manage my own, help my DF and both my DS. Although none of them listens to my advice 100% except for myself lol. Which is fine, my returns are also consistent with that advice, beating everyone in my family...and likely a lot on this board...but who's counting

AAPL has helped me along with VHT.