<p>Tooo funny!!!</p>
<p>Even before Bernie Madoff, I was leery of managed accounts.</p>
<p>Correct me if I am wrong, HImom, but wasnt your DH in the military? USAA investments and mutual funds can be a good resource. Individual financial advisors/managers are, as LMNOP said, harder to be comfortable with. Haven’t heard too many stories of churning lately (buying/selling for the fees) but perhaps thats a reflection of the market.</p>
<p>No, my DAD was in the military. H works with many military folks but has never been in the military. I’m pretty ambivalent about advisors/managers.</p>
<p>I recommend a self-managed simple portfolio consisting of Vanguard index ETF’s bought directly from Vanguard (no transaction fees). Just be sure to have enough exposure to international stocks. Vanguard has some cheap international index ETFs, like VEU, VSS. VT is a good no-brainer blend of domestic and international. </p>
<p>I guess you need some bonds funds too. A few other asset classes.</p>
<p>If your dad was in the military then you can open a USAA account. You should look into it. Wonderful organization for lots of things. We have our insurance with them, the kids have checking accounts with them (no ATM fees, makes deposits by taking a picture of the ck with their phone) etc.</p>
<p>Another good fund besides Vanguard is T Rowe Price. Fidelity too.</p>
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<p>Dad II, you gave some advice to invest “start small at $25K-$50K”. To be honest, unless you have personal experience investing that kind of money, I would have trouble understanding how you could hand out such advice. Just my opinion.</p>
<p>I’m a senior in high school, and I’ve been investing my money since the crash in 2008.</p>
<p>I started with a mere $100 out of my wallet and bought a single share of AAPL at $90 using firstrade.com</p>
<p>It’s been a couple of years now, and I currently hold around $3000 in that account. How I managed to do that is beyond me. I know it’s not much, but to a high school kid like me, it’s pretty cool. </p>
<p>It takes some research and a kind of intuition. I enjoy having control over what stocks I buy and I attribute my small success to that control. However, you can’t let greed get to you, or it may prove to undermine all that you have worked for!</p>
<p>I wish you success in your investments.</p>