Credit Union financial advisor ?

[old medic]

Our Credit Union called asking if we would be interested in talking to their financial investment advisor. So we have an appointment to meet with him at the bank on Friday. He said that its free, he is paid by the bank. But looking at the banks site, They say.......
"The annual asset-based fee is 0.25% for cash and individual fixed-income securities (including U.S. Treasuries & Brokered CDs) and 0.50% for all other securities (equities, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, etc.). Other fees from the clearing firm (Pershing, LLC) may also apply."
Currently we each have IRA accounts at the CU, 401K with Empower thru the state, and Roth at Schwab.
What questions or ideas would you point out?

 

[pacergal]

Our CU had a FA also. We met with him twice over the years prior to retirement. We never invested via him, but he gave us some good advice and reassurance. He had a good understanding of our work pension and ran several scenarios including Social security taken at different ages. He did give us his recommendations on better investment choices, but there was never any pressure to move our accounts.

Since we met before retirement, my main questions were around pension and SS payment options, which he answered.

Are you happy with the asset allocation you have now and how you are invested? What are the reasons you wish to visit with a FA?

 

[OldShooter]

It will all depend on the individual. I would suggest starting at BrokerCheck - Find a broker, investment or financial advisor to check credentials and check for any problems.

IMO it is unlikely that a CU investment advisor is the right place to go for advice and it is unlikely that a CU is the right place for your IRAs. A CU is not the place a highly qualified advisor is likely to go for a job and a CU IRA may not offer the right investment options for you.

But if the visit costs nothing and you are appropriately adamant about not signing up for any fees, why not go and see? Maybe you'll get lucky like @pacergal did.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Remember they are most likely to try to sell you commissioned products. They are actually independent. At least that was the case with our CU Advisor. you would be better off with a SchWab or Fidelity Advisor.

 

[OldShooter]

... you would be better off with a SchWab or Fidelity Advisor.

Agree.

 

[old medic]

From what I understand, and that ain't much, He is a state employee, has the same 401/457 options with Empower, state retirement plan and CU as we do. All though there's 2 CU choices. Same CU but split between state and local government, and we have accounts on both sides. Its a free evaluation, he even said we didn't need to bring any statement paperwork unless we wanted to. I'm hoping he is up in age, not some 25 year old just out of school.

 

[OldShooter]

... I'm hoping he is up in age, not some 25 year old just out of school.

Brokercheck will give you his years of investment experience and firms. Not sure if it gives you actual age. You also want to see "Registered Investment Advisor" or something similar. Series 65 or 66 exams. Not just Series 7. Not just insurance license.

 

[jazz4cash]

A state employee? I wonder how that works. Over the years I’ve sat in a few meetings with the CU’s investment folks. They generally had unusual commissioned products to pitch like market linked CDs. Many are retired Feds or military so that adds to the membership dynamic.
A few months back they called as a big CD was set to mature and I thought they were going to offer an incentive to keep the funds at Andrews FCU but it turned out to be an annuity pitch. The worst part is that he used fear tactics and never asked a single question to identify my needs. When my next big CD matured this guy called again and had no recollection of speaking to me 6 months ago. That account is completely closed.

 

[Texas Proud]

Why would he be a state employee? A CU is not a state entity... I doubt there would be any state employee in a CU that would deal with a customer...

 

[old medic]

Like I said, My understanding is that they fall under the state retirement system. You must be a state or local government employee or family to use the CU. ill ask more specifics on Friday.

 

[ransil]

I have been talking to a CU FA for a month or so, at first we went over goals and services offered he seemed to be interested in my thoughts ...after call #2 he is starting to leaning to investing with him , got call #3 coming up and will see where that goes, want to get back to my priority list.

Empower has something , I talked to the guy but he thought I was good to go with what I was doing at least with the money I had with them.

 

[old medic]

Empower has something , I talked to the guy but he thought I was good to go with what I was doing at least with the money I had with them.

That is where 95% of our money is. Our 401s got transferred over a couple years ago, still learning the system there. Doesn't seem like much changed, still have all the same investment opportunities.

 

[old medic]

Well that was an interesting hour.... So basically our IRA money on the accounts we just started is more like a high yield (loose terms) at 2.79%. My $7500 is now in Vanguards target funds. Wifes stayed the same. will see how they compare over a few months. Didn't plan on leaving the IRAs at the CU, would be the 1st rolled over to our Roths.

 

[FIYes]

I met with the financial advisor at the credit union that we use a few years ago. I had received a small inheritance. Basically all he offered was annuities. I ended up going with a deposit to Vanguard Wellington instead. I have just let the Wellington grow. I’m now considering taking the dividends instead of just reinvesting them in Wellington. I started with less than six figures at Wellington but it has since grown above six figures. I’m considering taking the dividends to use but not the end of the year capital gains.

 

[Atlas FC]

Our Credit Union called asking if we would be interested in talking to their financial investment advisor. So we have an appointment to meet with him at the bank on Friday. He said that its free, he is paid by the bank. But looking at the banks site, They say.......
"The annual asset-based fee is 0.25% for cash and individual fixed-income securities (including U.S. Treasuries & Brokered CDs) and 0.50% for all other securities (equities, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, etc.). Other fees from the clearing firm (Pershing, LLC) may also apply."
Currently we each have IRA accounts at the CU, 401K with Empower thru the state, and Roth at Schwab.
What questions or ideas would you point out?

questions about their services? or about the fees/if it's worth it? the fees seem somewhat standard, even a little low (usually 1%), but they want to provide you additional services than already have. I would ask them about what types of investments they offer and other future planning services. Also, ask if the fees change b/c it may be low now, but could go up once they have your accounts.

 

[old medic]

I met with the financial advisor at the credit union that we use a few years ago. I had received a small inheritance. Basically all he offered was annuities.

We did talk about annuities, And he suggested that it wasn't a good option for us at this point in time. He is familiar with this forum and FIRE Calc, And complimented on our plan and knowledge... I learned 90% of that here, so thank you folks.
Our CU also has estate planning assistance..... And Hes the guy for that too...

 

[old medic]

Brokercheck will give you his years of investment experience and firms.

Thanks OS... He has series 6/63/67, Been at the CU his entire 8 year career. Only 1 complaint, for a stating a modular home was stick built in a RE deal.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I met with the financial advisor at the credit union that we use a few years ago. I had received a small inheritance. Basically all he offered was annuities. I ended up going with a deposit to Vanguard Wellington instead. I have just let the Wellington grow. I’m now considering taking the dividends instead of just reinvesting them in Wellington. I started with less than six figures at Wellington but it has since grown above six figures. I’m considering taking the dividends to use but not the end of the year capital gains.

Bolded by me. High commission ones I bet. Not the Free No Fee Ones.

 

[OldShooter]

Considering the resources and expertise available at Schwab or Fido I wouldn't even pick up the phone to answer a call from a one man band at a CU.

 

[Dean56]

Considering the resources and expertise available at Schwab or Fido I wouldn't even pick up the phone to answer a call from a one man band at a CU.

+1

 

[Badger]

I met with the financial advisor at the credit union that we use a few years ago. I had received a small inheritance. Basically all he offered was annuities. I ended up going with a deposit to Vanguard Wellington instead. I have just let the Wellington grow. I’m now considering taking the dividends instead of just reinvesting them in Wellington. I started with less than six figures at Wellington but it has since grown above six figures. I’m considering taking the dividends to use but not the end of the year capital gains.

Almost sounds like something I could have written. It was a pleasant meeting but he agreed that he couldn't do better than what I was already doing and annuities did not make sense based on my situation. My Wellington is in an IRA and I take the dividends to use for my RMD that Vanguard does for me automatically each year. My shares in Wellington have remained the same since retirement while the total of all the dividends have reached mid 6 figures.

 

[jazz4cash]

“One man band”
LOL. That’s a good description of the guy I met at the credit union. Next time the call goes to voicemail.

 

[old medic]

Considering the resources and expertise available at Schwab or Fido I wouldn't even pick up the phone to answer a call from a one man band at a CU.

OS, Schwab has our trivial ROTHs, the ultimate plan is to move everything there at some point.

 

[mystang52]

Well that was an interesting hour.... So basically our IRA money on the accounts we just started is more like a high yield (loose terms) at 2.79%. My $7500 is now in Vanguards target funds. Wifes stayed the same. will see how they compare over a few months. Didn't plan on leaving the IRAs at the CU, would be the 1st rolled over to our Roths.

DW is a retired teacher. Many years ago the 403b admin company had changed, and the new 403b advisor had asked if she would be interested in a free one on one session. He gave us one piece of good advice, even if it did mean moving the old money over to the new one. He kept in touch with us over the years, and one time mentioned that DW had, literally, the largest balance of all active teachers. When DW retired, and I started to move her $$$ to Vanguard IRA, this nice guy then tried, over and over and over, to dissuade me from doing so. But he couldn't overcome Vanguard's lower expense ratio.