DON'T USE FINANCIAL PLANNERS. LEARN HOW TO MANAGE YOUR MONEY YOURSELF.
I am an investor and I help other investors for free.
Some years back I 'retired' from a large corporation with considerable money in my 401k. I had been lucky - had put my money into company stock for 25+ years and had done really well. When I left the company, I moved my 401k dollars out of stock and into a money market. Soon after that, the stock took a nosedive (nothing to do with my leaving, I'm sure!!). It scared the heck out of me and I realized what a risk I had been taking.
I also realized that I needed someone to take care of my money. I had no experience, investing is difficult (so I thought - really, I's very simple) and I needed a professional. I wanted my money to last so I would never HAVE to work again and could travel the world...and I was in my 40's.
I started meeting with financial advisors and I also started learning a bit about investing so I wouldn't be completely igorant. What I learned made me very concerned about the things the financial advisors were telling me. They all talked big - about beating the market, buying these great VULs and VAs, funds that had great returns - but all these things were what I had read you should not do. But I wasn't sure, nothing made sense and I kept reading and interviewing.
Things got much worse. I knew I needed to reinvest my money, none of the fiancial advisors were saying the things I thought I should hear, I wasn't really integrating what I was learning and when I learned about fees and tried to find out what fees I would be paying (almost impossible to find out) the fees seemed really high. I was totally freaked out. I couldn't sleep, I had interviewed about 15 'advisors' of all shapes and sizes and I just wanted someone to make the whole mess go away. I was paralyzed.
Slowly, something wonderful started to happen. I started to 'get' investing. I had been making it far too complicated. I read a couple great books and a few great articles and it all clicked - I CAN DO THIS!!!!
And I did. I rolled my 401k over into an IRA at Vanguard (I researched several firms and liked Vanguard best), I set myself up with a well-diversified, low-cost portfolio of mostly index funds and life was great. I weathered the bear market very well, am stress-free, have gotten very nice returns, have gained a lot of self-confidence, my fees are less than .2% and I never have to worry that I have no idea what is happening to my money. I know the person investing it really does have my best interest at heart! Me!!
Part 2 - I kept researching the investing industry and started wondering how other people using brokers (calling themselves financial advisors) were doing. I asked a couple of my good friends from where I had worked and they spoke glowingly about their 'advisors' but could not tell me about fees or returns or really anything about what was happening to their money. But they sure liked their financial advisors!
So, I looked at the costs of their funds and showed them what they were paying. I showed them their returns. Several were invested with Ameriprise and that was the worst! No index funds, high loads, poor performance, 12b-1 fees, revenue sharing. Not good. They were shocked at what I told them. They asked how I did my own invesing and I gave them resources. I talked them through the rough spots. They went through pretty much what I did, but I was there to show them the evidence...the reality. I hated it when they had to confront their advisors, who became really nasty. I loved seeing them take charge of their own financial future....and loving it like I did.
They told other people about me and pretty soon, I was helping quite a few people learn about their investments. I was doing what their 'financial advisor' should have done, but didn't.
I do not charge anyone and I do not tell people which funds to invest in or set up an asset allocation for them. They do that themselves. I give them tools and truth. I have no agenda except telling people the truth. If they want to stay with their advisor, I'm fine with that, as long as they know what they are paying and what is really happening to their investments. None ever know before I tell them and, so far, none have stayed.
This is why I am so frustrated to see financialjoe present such misleading ratings, and how I know that the ratings ARE misleading.
Over the years, I have spent a LOT of time in discussions with financial advisors. They hate me. I have been called every filthy name in the book. They hate that I know what they are up to. Even the ones with good intentions seem to know that they are not providing true value. How could they when a client is paying 2 or 3% in overall investing costs for returns that are far below what I get with a simple, low-cost portfolio of index funds? (refer to the BCT study for details)
There are exceptions. I have met some fee-ONLY advisors that love what I am doing and have helped me. They charge a one time, flat fee, or by the hour and put people into very low-cost portfolios with index funds, like mine. But fee-only isn't a guarantee of ability.
I was really hopeful when I found the financialjoe website, but I now know that he's one more 'financial advisor' that does not want to expose what is really happening. If he did, he would have known about the BCT study and would be very interested in exposing what fees mean over time and how actively managed funds usually underperform index funds. But he gives the same kinds of responses I have gotten from all the other brokers, sans the filthy names!
Perhaps he's after advertising and maybe looking to sell the site down the road, and that's why 'participation' means so much to him.
Anyways, that's how it is and I am very proud of what I do and I love helping people. Sorry to go on for so long!!
Financial Planners and Used car salesmen
DON'T USE FINANCIAL PLANNERS. LEARN HOW TO MANAGE YOUR MONEY YOURSELF.
I am an investor and I help other investors for free.
Some years back I 'retired' from a large corporation with considerable money in my 401k. I had been lucky - had put my money into company stock for 25+ years and had done really well. When I left the company, I moved my 401k dollars out of stock and into a money market. Soon after that, the stock took a nosedive (nothing to do with my leaving, I'm sure!!). It scared the heck out of me and I realized what a risk I had been taking.
I also realized that I needed someone to take care of my money. I had no experience, investing is difficult (so I thought - really, I's very simple) and I needed a professional. I wanted my money to last so I would never HAVE to work again and could travel the world...and I was in my 40's.
I started meeting with financial advisors and I also started learning a bit about investing so I wouldn't be completely igorant. What I learned made me very concerned about the things the financial advisors were telling me. They all talked big - about beating the market, buying these great VULs and VAs, funds that had great returns - but all these things were what I had read you should not do. But I wasn't sure, nothing made sense and I kept reading and interviewing.
Things got much worse. I knew I needed to reinvest my money, none of the fiancial advisors were saying the things I thought I should hear, I wasn't really integrating what I was learning and when I learned about fees and tried to find out what fees I would be paying (almost impossible to find out) the fees seemed really high. I was totally freaked out. I couldn't sleep, I had interviewed about 15 'advisors' of all shapes and sizes and I just wanted someone to make the whole mess go away. I was paralyzed.
Slowly, something wonderful started to happen. I started to 'get' investing. I had been making it far too complicated. I read a couple great books and a few great articles and it all clicked - I CAN DO THIS!!!!
And I did. I rolled my 401k over into an IRA at Vanguard (I researched several firms and liked Vanguard best), I set myself up with a well-diversified, low-cost portfolio of mostly index funds and life was great. I weathered the bear market very well, am stress-free, have gotten very nice returns, have gained a lot of self-confidence, my fees are less than .2% and I never have to worry that I have no idea what is happening to my money. I know the person investing it really does have my best interest at heart! Me!!
Part 2 - I kept researching the investing industry and started wondering how other people using brokers (calling themselves financial advisors) were doing. I asked a couple of my good friends from where I had worked and they spoke glowingly about their 'advisors' but could not tell me about fees or returns or really anything about what was happening to their money. But they sure liked their financial advisors!
So, I looked at the costs of their funds and showed them what they were paying. I showed them their returns. Several were invested with Ameriprise and that was the worst! No index funds, high loads, poor performance, 12b-1 fees, revenue sharing. Not good. They were shocked at what I told them. They asked how I did my own invesing and I gave them resources. I talked them through the rough spots. They went through pretty much what I did, but I was there to show them the evidence...the reality. I hated it when they had to confront their advisors, who became really nasty. I loved seeing them take charge of their own financial future....and loving it like I did.
They told other people about me and pretty soon, I was helping quite a few people learn about their investments. I was doing what their 'financial advisor' should have done, but didn't.
I do not charge anyone and I do not tell people which funds to invest in or set up an asset allocation for them. They do that themselves. I give them tools and truth. I have no agenda except telling people the truth. If they want to stay with their advisor, I'm fine with that, as long as they know what they are paying and what is really happening to their investments. None ever know before I tell them and, so far, none have stayed.
This is why I am so frustrated to see financialjoe present such misleading ratings, and how I know that the ratings ARE misleading.
Over the years, I have spent a LOT of time in discussions with financial advisors. They hate me. I have been called every filthy name in the book. They hate that I know what they are up to. Even the ones with good intentions seem to know that they are not providing true value. How could they when a client is paying 2 or 3% in overall investing costs for returns that are far below what I get with a simple, low-cost portfolio of index funds? (refer to the BCT study for details)
There are exceptions. I have met some fee-ONLY advisors that love what I am doing and have helped me. They charge a one time, flat fee, or by the hour and put people into very low-cost portfolios with index funds, like mine. But fee-only isn't a guarantee of ability.
I was really hopeful when I found the financialjoe website, but I now know that he's one more 'financial advisor' that does not want to expose what is really happening. If he did, he would have known about the BCT study and would be very interested in exposing what fees mean over time and how actively managed funds usually underperform index funds. But he gives the same kinds of responses I have gotten from all the other brokers, sans the filthy names!
Perhaps he's after advertising and maybe looking to sell the site down the road, and that's why 'participation' means so much to him.
Anyways, that's how it is and I am very proud of what I do and I love helping people. Sorry to go on for so long!!