<p>If you have gone to a financial planner, did you find the advice worthwhile?<br>
Did you find that they were knowledgeable about both college and retirement planning? How did you find a FP who you felt you could trust to give you good advice?<br>
Should a FP be able to give specific advice on where/how to invest, or just general advice?</p>
<p>We are working on getting our ducks in a row before college decision time, and trying to decide if we should go to a FP. I wonder if I would trust the advice I’d just paid for!</p>
<p>We ssked friends for recommendations. The one we use asked us what are goals were- retirement, college financing, etc. He gave us specifics on how to invest an dhow to pay for college. He also gave us peace of mind regarding our retirement outlook.</p>
<p>There are many different types of planners out there, so be sure you read the fine print.</p>
<p>We started working with our first financial planner about the time we got married. He was an alum of our college and we went to college with his kids. He retired several years ago and passed us along to someone else in his office. He found us through a recommendation from friends. He was a great guy. </p>
<p>We have had invaluable advice from our planners over the years. It is worth every penny we have paid.</p>
<p>Yes we started working with a certified financial planner when we got married. The first one came as a perk from my job but when I left that job we found one we have worked with for decades. They have been very valuable as a sounding board and to help us set goals. We put a plan in place in 1987 to take us to retirement (including how many kids we wanted, etc.) and we’ve I teasing call him “dad” as in…dad I need some money, especially since the college tuition bills started. We meet with him once a year and alter and adjust the plans going out as far as we want. I believe that it is important to work with someone that is a certified financial planner. Word of mouth is a good start, but I would also advise identifying a few you are interested in and meeting with them. Sometimes you click and sometimes you don’t.</p>
<p>We have worked with a financial planner for many years. BUT not for college funding purposes. We use our financial planner for retirement planning and investment advice. </p>
<p>We found that we could manage our own financial plans with regard to paying for college once the REST of our ducks were lined up. We did discuss college things at one point with some friends in terms of using a financial planner. NO ONE we know did this. They found the financial planners were very willing to sell them products or recommend products to buy when discussing college costs.</p>
<p>As an FYI…the financial planner we use does NOT sell any products…he helps folk plan. I would suggest that if you use a financial planner, it NOT be the same person who sells annuities, etc…although you might want to have that info as well.</p>
<p>We need to get with a financial planner to make sure we are on track for retirement. I am interested in finding a planner like thumper has … one that does not sell products. What can I expect in terms of cost?</p>
<p>We have a fee only planning group (and CFP). They charge 1 to 1.25% of our savings portfolio. They do not give specific stock advice, but rather manage mutual funds based on our risk tolerance and goals. We use them more for planning and tax coordination. For example, we have asked them to analyze choices for us (such as deciding if a Roth conversion is wise for our situation, or when is the best time to consider long term care insurance, etc.). They typically do a major review every other year, to make sure we are still on track to meet our goals. It forces us to re-evaluate goals. I know we will appreciate their input when it comes time to withdraw savings from IRA’s and other retirement accounts. They also manage all the coordination with our accountant. I’m confident we could do it all ourselves and save their fee, but frankly would rather spend our time doing other things. They claimed to be college planning advisors as well, but frankly, we knew more than they did for college planning.</p>
<p>Even though they are fee only, they sometimes still seem to have a slight conflict of interest. For example, when we wanted to pay off our remaining mortgage ( approx. 7% at the time), they preferred to have us keep the money invested with them. We like having a substantial emergency fund in bank CD’s. Granted the interest rate is now terrible, but they cannot do much better in “safe” investments" either, plus would charge their percentage, which would make it a negative return. They, obviously need to manage more money to make money. We feel that if our portfolio does well, so will they. We have interviewed several other advisors, but have yet to find anyone better, so are staying for now. They have also typically been very responsive, and answer most questions quickly.</p>
<p>I’ve heard rumors that there are some excellent financial planners out there. My experience to day has been uniformly bad … which probably says more about me than them. What you probably need is a planner whose outlook resonates with your needs. For example, capital growth requires a different approach than capital preservation. My MIL keeps ALL of her assets in bank savings accounts, in some cases in excess of the FDIC deposit insurance maximum. I find this appalling … she thinks I’m reckless for holding some stocks and mutual funds. Different stokes.</p>
<p>As I am financially challenged, I have fidelity manage my funds. Same fee as kjo mentioned. The more you have, the less the fee. I am assigned an adviser and can call or meet with him whenever. When paying college tuition, my adviser would help select where to withdraw. Money went directly from Fidelity to the college.</p>
<p>Other funds at Vanguard. I do not not have enough there to pay, but every so often they set up phone appointment to go over rebalancing and shifting.</p>
<p>What does FP do? I thought about getting one but I didn’t know how they could help. I came up with the allocation for our situation between equity and fixed income. I came up with what we need with the retirement. I informed our investment officer our tax liablity and they work that in with the investment strategy. I don’t see where FP is needed.</p>
<p>Be warned of the heavy fees on the products they recommend. Here’s my advice, dont carry cc debt, keep 6 to 12 months savings in cash, max out any matching 401k from employer, then a Roth if you qualify, then go back and max 401k, then run online calculator for college savings, then start researching your risk tolerance for other investments and do it on your own. The fp have no more insight than anyone else and you need to always understand what fees you are paying and where your money is.</p>
<p>I’m married to one! Most reputable financial planners will meet with you and talk about what they can offer you (they will not charge you for this meeting). It doesn’t hurt to validate whether or not you’re doing this well on your own. In my opinion, the best planners are those who charge a fee (annual or whatever) for their services, and rely less on commissions from products they sell you. For my husband, no matter your income and/or assets, figuring out your personal financial puzzle, and help you to plan for the various stages of your life–children, a house, college, retirement–is fun and rewarding. Word-of-mouth is your friend. Like anything, chemistry is important, so meet with someone, and if it doesn’t feel like a “fit,” find someone else.</p>
<p>Our accountant recommended our FP. He has also helped with investments that lower our taxes and has helped diversify our assets. He used to be fee only, but has changed to commission-based. My husband is more of the expert, but it seems as though the numbers consistently head in the right direction.</p>
<p>The links above are the best place to start in finding a financial planner. Financial columnists advise to always choose a fee only planner and one who is registered as a certified financial planner. The difference between a fee only planner and, say, a brokerage, is that the planner has a fiduciary duty to you as a client whereas the broker does not. </p>
<p>The problem I encountered was that very few references were listed through the links provided above. Many firms listed were “wealth management” companies with steep minimums for the account value. Although the percentage they charge decreases with increasing assets, it is still quite high. Passive, diversified investing (index funds/REITS/TIPS) have served us well over the years, and I can’t justify spending tens of thousands a year for someone else to watch over our funds. I found someone who is willing to give a one time evaluation, though I don’t know what the fee will be.</p>
<p>Historically, financial planners have sold investments that: 1. are not “traded” and thus have no current market price. and 2. carry rather high commissions compared to what it costs to buy a stock or bond through fidelity or vanguard.</p>
<p>The non-traded aspect of things helps deter questions that normal brokers get about whether to sell the investment. Those discussions take up a lot of time and don’t produce revenues. Plus, if a traded investment declines in price, it raises questions about the broker’s recommendations. Financial planners don’t face this problem. When their recommended investment declines in value, no one knows it. </p>
<p>Most of what you need to know about finance you can learn yourself. Its never been easier with the internet, and plenty of very inexpensively managed mutual funds…not to mention low commission brokerages run buy the Fidelity and Vanguard types.</p>
<p>We are on our third FP and finally found one we like. He’s fee-only and costs about $1500 whenever we meet (once every 12 - 18 months). Typically, he’ll assess our progress against goals, make recommendations, etc. For example, when I changed jobs in 2011, he advised me what to do with my substantial 401k. He has also guided us in our college savings and withdrawing strategy. </p>
<p>Our overall plan from him very comprehensive. In addition to retirement and college stuff described above, it includes everything from strategic risk management for our small S-corp to the best way we can afford a kitchen remodel and when we should replace our vehicles. That’s what I like about him. It’s not just “buy this annuity” and “here’s a mutual fund I like.” It’s a total picture. He’s even said that pretty soon we should start talking about how we’ll approach the kids’ weddings. :eek: (They’re not even going steady right now.)</p>
<p>Coincidentally, all 3 of our planners attended West Point. They were there at diffenent times and never knew each other. We never sought former cadets. It’s purely a coincidence that that’s where our guys attended college.</p>
<p>^ I know people with good planners who have gotten better CD rates and access to bonds that aren’t easily available to the amateur investor. Also tax planning can get a bit complicated, a good financial planner might help with decisions about managing IRA’s, 401Ks and social security. Especially with long term health care and potential assisted care looming large, I want to be prepared for different scenarios and that’s hard to do without good software and the knowledge to use it. </p>
<p>However I’ve been generally disappointed with the lackluster credentials of people calling themselves financial planners. Most have no 4 year college degree, with the exception of one who touts himself as a former dentist who enjoyed managing his money so much that he decided to become a financial planner. Just not the people I trust to do a better job than me. Wish we had more West Point graduates out here in the West!</p>
<p>Hey, DougBetsy, those West Pointers live by an honor code for the most part (meaning most West Pointers, not most of the time), which is a good thing.</p>