<p>We have never had one before because we have never had finances to manage.
We do have retirement accounts through H work, which has lost money over the years, even though I try and rearrange the percentages in the money market funds-
I am not doing so good I guess & I also do our taxes but I don’t know if we can claim those losses or how to do that.</p>
<p>But with my moms passing, apparently I will be getting a 1/3rd of her estate which will be over 6figures after her bills are paid & while our house is in desperate need of a roof/wiring updates- I don’t want to blow it on the house and would like to invest it, but not have it tied up in high risk high yield type things. ( luckily- while our mortgage is still higher than when we bought the house, thanks to having to take money out to pay for college etc.,it is still in a very popular area, and it is manageable)</p>
<p>What kind of questions do you ask when looking for an advisor with what will be I assume a relatively small amount of money- or is it?</p>
<p>Both my brother and my BIL have offered advice- but I am so clueless that I wouldnt trust my judgement on whether their advice was sound.</p>
<p>I used to be much more on top of things- but it is difficult for me to get a grasp of the individual strategies</p>
<p>I looked into financial advisers years ago when many that I worked with used them. I asked to talk to one of them after he visited a coworker and spent about an hour with him. I asked him various questions about his investing methodology and he said that they offer the two mutual funds in each category that had the best performance the previous year. I asked him a few basic questions on technical analysis and he didn’t know what I was talking about. He did understand areas of financial planning but his answers were fairly stock - if you spent some time digging into the area, you could learn the conventional wisdom on your own. It’s kind of like spending money on a college counselor vs asking questions on College Confidential.</p>
<p>My personal feeling is that it is better to learn how to manage your own money if you care to put in the time and effort. There are too many Bernie Madoff’s out there. Mutual fund managers manage your money and get paid a fee and that fee is often paid whether they make money for you or not. The nice thing about having a fund manager or investment adviser is that you have someone to blame if you lose. It doesn’t make your balance feel any better but it may make you feel a tad better.</p>
<p>There are lots of books out there about personal financial management and financial planning. There are lots of books out there about investing too. It wouldn’t hurt to do a little reading while trying to decide what to do.</p>
<p>I learned a lot of this stuff in my 40s and some from my CIS degree a long time ago but I’d wish that I learned it and put it to use in my 20s. Still, I prefer managing things myself for greater peace of mind rather than let someone else do the driving.</p>
<p>I have a financial planner. Things that I looked for when choosing him:</p>
<p>1) Fee Based - I pay him a straight % of assets under management. It is not in his interest to trade my account. Other Financial planners get paid on commission - and, if they are dishonest, they make trades that are only to make money for them.</p>
<p>2) CFP certification - you want someone who has gone through the testing and process required to be a certified financial planner. A Chartered Financial Analyst is a good alternative title here.</p>
<p>3) Managing the funds through another firm. My planner trades on my behalf through Schwab - but the money resides in Schwab and he does not have the ability to remove money from that account, protecting me from the Bernie Madoff style theft. </p>
<p>4) Sophistication of his investment approach - and ability to explain it to me in terms I could understand. </p>
<p>I agree with BCEagle that if you have the time to do this yourself, that would be best. I simply did not have the time and had demonstrated over the years a willingness to neglect this area. If you have the time and are going to be disciplined, great. Otherwise, a planner is a good idea. </p>
<p>You still need to be educated in order to make the right choices. After all, it is still your money. For that I would recommend Andrew Tobias’ books as a starting point.</p>
<p>I’m a fan of the Vanguard Diehards approach. There is an active online community very much like this one - you can ask any kind of question from beginner to expert. To find the site, search for “diehards forum”. The real title of the forum is “Bogleheads Investing Advice and Info,” named after John Bogle who was/is(?) the head of the Vanguard mutual fund group. The group mostly discusses passive investing using low-cost index funds, with a lot of attention to choosing an asset allocation that will let you achieve your goals while still being able to sleep at night. </p>
<p>Several Bogleheads wrote a book that I think is a very good introduction; it’s called the Bogleheads Guide to Investing, and it’s available at Amazon. I’ve given this book to both of my younger brothers, because I wish I had learned about these topics when I was younger.</p>
<p>I also agree with BCeagle. I go to a lot of these financial planner seminars which they use to get customers. I usually go for the free meals and entertainment. Most throw out the standard worn out methodologies that don’t work. Fortunately after getting burned a few times this decade, their audience is pretty much onto them.</p>
<p>I almost had a good one came through my husband’s company. I wished I had listen to him. He said to sell some of the stocks and stock options I had and converted to cash. I looked at him as if he were out of his mind. This were before the tech bubble burst. In hindsight, I should not have doubt all financial advisors, ie they are not all scumbags, only some are. BTW, I heard recently, Charles Schwab is getting into the financial advisor business. The financial advisors there charge fee based on asset size. You might want to check them out.</p>
<p>I agree with everyone telling you to get as much knowledge as possible yourself. You may then want some help, but you’ll need minimal help. Unfortunately, these professionals all have minimums in terms of client funds. If you have millions, there are many good people to choose from. With a few hundred thousand, the average professional is not going to be great and will only be able to make money by keeping your money in play as opposed to in conservative investments.</p>
<p>Don’t know a thing about your and DH’s relationship, but I feel obligated to throw out that what you inherit is yours and yours alone. You may want to commingle this money (giving him claim to it) or keep it separate.</p>
<p>Start with people that are invested in you and their reputation. Ask your banker (if you know who that is) , ask your insurance agent,ask the estate attorney and ask your tax preparer (if you have one). Ask people who provide you with financial services for three names. Then pick those and interview them. Check and Check and Check the references they give you. Check credentials like CPA’s and CFP with state licensing. If he/she tells you they graduated form so and so go on line and verify most Universities have alumni verification on line. </p>
<p>Find some one you can trust and get along with. Don’t be afraid to ask them about their politics or religious values. Make sure they understand your investment ethic and preferences. </p>
<p>As the previous post says: make sure the investments are separate from the investment advisor. Avoid the black box like Madoff.</p>
<p>I cant say check the references enough. I can tell you I have found numerous embezzlement in my career and so far none of them have been prosecuted. make the phone calls dont rely on internet.</p>
<p>Honestly, I would poke around, read some books, talk to some folks [I got great advice from the lady at T Rowe Price re investing in mutual funds and risk], and figure out what you are comfortable with, risk wise, and what your goals are; be mindful of taxable events;your bank might have a financial advisor, too. It really depends on you and your needs, too. If you prefer to have the funds liquid, that is one to consider. I have also called the IRS with questions re annuities and they were most helpful and sent me information.</p>
<p>If it was me, I would fix my house so that it was safe and comfortable to live in- including new roof and new wiring, and make sure I had solid transportation, then I’d pay off my mortgage in full, then the rest in TIAA-CREF accounts, some in the guaranteed annuities, some index funds, etc. I like to have LOW expenses - and getting rid of a mortgage, having solid transportation (newish, reliable car), would give me flexibility if I decided to take a less-well-paying job or if my husband or I got sick and couldn’t work. JMHO! ;)</p>
<p>I used to read Money and Fortune and other financial planning magazines, but lawdy, there are only 24 hrs in a day.</p>
<p>I also know someone for years through volunteer work with an unconnected organization, ( who is a financial planner for his day job) who is also highly ethical and is one most intelligent people I have ever met. But I imagine to make best use out of any planning time, it would be wise to have a better idea of what questions to ask.</p>
<p>I appreciate the help & I know I have asked stuff about this before- I will have to go back and check.</p>
<p>I would read Money Magazine for a year (but don’t invest your money in certain stocks, etc. based on what you read :)). In a year’s time, you’ll see most issues that come up when it comes to investing your money–including how to find a financial planner. You can read what financial planners say about how to handle certain real life situations. You get a feel for what makes a lot of sense. [I see you’ve already done this.]</p>
<p>With your knowledge base, you’ll be able to use your own financial planner more effectively and hopefully be able to see those who are smoke and mirrors.</p>
<p>anxiousmom, you may be right about paying off the mortgage but it would depend on what the real estate market is like where EK lives…If you pay off the mortgage in a terrible real estate market you may not be making the best investment with your money.
Unless of course, you want to stay in that particular home for the rest of your life.
We have always used one of the Smith Barney, Merrill Lynch, Edward Jones type outfits…invest very conservatively. They get paid when you buy something so you have to watch them and ask Theresa says, ask around people you already trust.
We are invested in mutual funds that are low fee based, American and Van Kampen have done very well for us over a long period of time. Back a while I pulled a bunch of money and went to cash. Now cash is not a good bet with interest rates so low, etc. With the mutual funds almost everyone is now recommending international stuff.
EK, one other thing you might consider. If you are a costco member you can go online and open a Capital One account. The interest rate is 1.4% and the money is totally liquid. You can write checks to make withdrawls. This would give you some interest on your money, let you do the home repairs first and give you some time to make other decisions. The financial people who are decent always say you shouldn’t make decisions when you are still grieving.<br>
The Capital One rate is so good that my Smith Barney guy told me to move a bunch of my cash from Smith Barney to Capital One.</p>
<p>I would advise you to take your time in making decisions. Not forever, but enough time to be comfortable. Ask for referrals, talk to the person you know. Some of the questions are based on what you want to do with the money–do you want to keep it as separate funds? Do you want to spend some on the house and keep some separate? It might be best to put the money in a secure, but liquid investment until you have thought it all through and are ready to make decisions.</p>
<p>This is longer term advice, but listen to Marketplace Money (used to be called Sound Money) on NPR every week. You can download the podcasts. I have been listening for years, and realized recently that 90% of what I know about managing money I have learned from listening to them (or occasionally learned the hard way, then found out when listening to them that if I had just listened more closely or regularly that I might have avoided my mistakes!).</p>
<p>Well, I’m not sure I’d take any advice from people on an internet forum :D</p>
<p>Even though we’re pretty investment savvy, about 10 years ago we hired a fee-based Certified Financial Planner. The spouse in particular has a bad habit of collecting interesting-looking mutual funds. The CFP looked at our investments, talked to us about our life goals, and then made suggestions about fine-tuning our investment strategy. It was absolutely worth it, but it wasn’t cheap. If I’m remembering right, it was around $2-3k. That’s the price you pay for getting unbiased advice without paying any kind of sales commission or percentage of your assets. </p>
<p>The first question you should be asking a CFP is if they will take on someone like you, with your specific issues (concerned about retirement and home repairs, recent inheritance of $X). Do they have experience working with people with similar issues and income/net worth? How much will they charge, and what will that get you?</p>
<p>I’d recommend starting by reading one of Ric Edelman’s books. The Truth about Money is the first and he explains the concepts with easy to understand terms and examples.
Barrons recommends him.
[Home</a> | Ric Edelman](<a href=“http://www.ricedelman.com/]Home”>http://www.ricedelman.com/)</p>
<p>A guy that I met on a trading forum got me out of a 100% tech
portfolio in 2000 avoiding the internet crash with gains intact from
the 1990s. I signed up for his trading newsletter ($200 for the year I
think) and learned a lot of things (he provided picks and education)
about trading to the point where I didn’t need his services any
longer. I have used a few other services that provided picks or
detailed and specialized market information over the years but have
determined that the best picks and advice are free. Now there are a
lot of sources of free information but the trick is in weeding out the
free sources that aren’t useful (99%). One thing about free sources is
that it is important to contribute back.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Customized professional services cost money. The other person has to
run his own business and pay for education and training to keep up in
his field. I think that you can get a lot of this information for free
but it requires some work. For some people, that work is actually fun.</p>
<p>I would run, not walk, away from anyone associated with a company ranging from the biggies (or former biggies) like Merrill, Lynch, Prudential, HBS, et al through the small franchises. There are good, ethical, small independent fee-based advisors everywhere, and they are not forced to take only clients with huge accounts and gain nothing from “churn-em-and-burn-em” trading. One of the most important things is to find someone who understands the degree of risk you feel comfortable with. There are plenty of guys out there who get a big charge out of viewing themselves as “players.” That probably isn’t you.</p>