Webzter
Full time employment: Posting here.
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2007
- Messages
- 567
My wife and I fight over whether to invest or pay off the mortgage. Can I still post here?
DD
Frankly, that's the only way you can post here
My wife and I fight over whether to invest or pay off the mortgage. Can I still post here?
DD
Even if it is, you are comparing Vanguards total expenses with the additional expenses charged by the advisors. Even though the ETF have lower fees than Vanguard's funds, you probably don't have the correct total cost.
That seems right to me. It takes a fair amount of thinking about the topic to get your head around the counter-intuitive idea that you should pay somebody to not manage your money.
If you believe the target fund is the best return for risk equation, no need for adviser. But why would you think that is so? Why is any one target date right? Seems you're deciding that investment mix is right, no questions.In my view, I can't see how picking the 'right' advisor is any less difficult than picking something like a Target Retirement fund, or a blend of Total Stock and Total Bond index funds. I actually think picking the funds is easier.
But you had to decide on an advisor - so this is actually two decisions. You choose an advisor that will choose the right funds. It doesn't really change the picture as I see it. is
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And how are these advisors going to change that? From what I saw, they were picking the low cost index funds. Is there a better answer?
-ERD50
If you believe the target fund is the best return for risk equation, no need for adviser. But why would you think that is so? Why is any one target date right? Seems you're deciding that investment mix is right, no questions.
As I said when I wrote it, the DIYers have decided that's right & easier for them. You've reconfirmed my statement. Thanks. All I said is why it may not be right for every one. I happen to believe that's a real possibility.
Target fund managers select investments or the adviser does.
I wasn't necessarily talking about those advisers but in general.
The Target fund you may have made a decision to select is picking investments too. So I don't see a difference.
My wife and I fight over whether to invest or pay off the mortgage. Can I still post here?
DD
My wife and I fight over whether to invest or pay off the mortgage. Can I still post here?
DD
I thought that was a requirement to post here ...You can always lie when you post here.
Trends in personal finances | Military Retirement & Financial IndependenceYes, that would be a worthy topic.
I think that's a good idea. A small set of funds, one of which (60%/40%, 50%/50%, or whatever) could be recommended in good conscience to any who come here asking what to do about saving for retirement. It's not that complicated -- just keep sending your money in to a mutual fund, then you can forget about it. No need for a financial adviser, account executive, an individualized plan, or anything like that (which costs extra): just send money.IMO - there is even a lower cost solution... that is good... a low cost and well diversified balanced fund that meets the asset allocation model of the investor.
A lot of the topics I read on this board now turn into blog posts, and someone at Flat Fee Portfolios noticed that I mentioned them. Or maybe they have a Google Alert set for their company name.If any of you have discussed this with Betterment or Flat Fee Portfolios, could you let me know how it went by either posting here or sending me a PM? Thanks.
A lot of the topics I read on this board now turn into blog posts, and someone at Flat Fee Portfolios noticed that I mentioned them. Or maybe they have a Google Alert set for their company name.
A couple weeks ago I got an e-mail from the staff of Flat Fee Portfolios, and I ended up talking to the CEO for about 30 minutes. Good guy. Knows his stuff.
When I received the e-mail to schedule a phone call, I was initially concerned that it was a legal maneuver. It turns out that it's just business etiquette, something with which military veterans are notoriously unfamiliar.
Anyway Mark Cortazzo's revenue model is that he can serve customers who are currently being fleeced by Ameriprise, FirstCommand, and other high-priced "advisers". So he's reaching out to those who are paying 2% or more for their financial management. The challenge of that approach, however, is that a blissfully ignorant customer is unlikely to be checking the financial-adviser market for a better deal. They might only come to places like FFP after getting pissed off and perhaps finding this discussion board. So he's pursuing a publicity campaign in the media and hoping for word of mouth to reach the ones who are paying an obscenely high amount.
In the meantime he's accumulated a core of investors who see $199/month as a bargain for their seven-figure portfolios. But he's still trying to reach the smaller investors.
He thinks we DIY investors could do better if we were willing to work harder for it-- especially that buy&hold crowd who doesn't do something but just stands there. We agreed that DIYers are not the customers he's looking for.
We also agreed that FFP cannot compete with the Thrift Savings Plan, but that we can't put all our assets in the TSP. Not yet, anyway.
I'll put up a blog post about the details on the morning of Wed 24 Aug.