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"Fee" Financial Advisor


Lion EA

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Anyone have a for-fee financial advisor you love and trust and recommend?

My favorite FA works for Morgan Stanley and isn't right for this particular client. Looking for one of those consultants who helps design a financial plan. Probably one-off.

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As a retired fee only CFP, I wish I could recommend someone locally, but your client can go to the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards website to find someone in the area and then research their qualifications/reviews/ disciplinary record/ and any other recommendations.  I think your client would do best sitting down with someone in person.   For my own needs I use someone at Fidelity locally as a point person, and he can draw on the expertise of others in his office.  In my case, just like your client, they have to know exactly what are their goals, needs, and most importantly, risk tolerance.  The advisor will do a good job if he listens to the client and not try to just do what is best for the advisor.  Strictly fee only, no commissions is a good way to go in my opinion.

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I prefer someone who charges based on a percentage of portfolio value.  That way they prosper if you prosper, and suffer if you suffer.  The sure-fire way for rewards to follow performance.  Generally a percentage over 2% is too much.

I have seen so many statements showing $1500 as dividend income, and custodial fees of $1800.  Customer is being duped.

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We do what Frog does. Been with our gal a very long time, and she's seen us through the ups and downs of the market with our retirement monies and with our investment accounts, and now with our RMDs, too.

This client has little to nothing in cash/securities. She buys a house, lives in it with her fiancé, perhaps does some fix up (fiancé's in construction), mostly profit by buying in improving markets, and sell in a couple years. Both high income from day jobs. My client works for a company with a great defined-benefit pension building for her.  (Not familiar with fiancé's finances, because he was my client for only one year when he started a side gig at the very beginning of Covid. His construction biz rebounded quickly with outdoor projects in FL during Covid.) They've lived in FL for years, but want to sell that house and move to SC in an area they've identified for their needs. This time both will purchase house together. High earning years for both, but starting to look to how things will change in retirement, or how things could change if the one in construction has an injury/illness. The houses they purchase are not expensive compared to Greenwich, CT, where she lived when she first became my client (NYC commuter back then). So they do have disposable cash, over and above the house purchased for cash and her building pension and whatever her fiancé has. They want to be more diversified and intentional than just their house buy/sell method. Or, they might expand their RE holdings. They want some guidance in their long-term planning, but it might not lead to traditional portfolio of financial investments at a brokerage. Therefore, their request for a FA who has no profit motive in their next steps, just charges for planning services. 

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I thought brokers might go back to collecting commissions on transactions when the Schedule A deduction disappeared.  Nope, they like collecting that % of assets (regardless of whether you had a good year or not).

I think the most egregious commission I ever ran into was an elderly lady whose bank had her 100% in municipal bonds and charged 5% of her holdings (annually).

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On 2/29/2024 at 11:33 AM, Lion EA said:

Hey, Frog, don't you love it when the statement shows custodial fees of $7,500 but the client whines about your $750 fee?!

I'm amazed at the "Here to Help You" with our expertise.  "We are experts in the field and are able to advise ignorant people like you to help you."

Bankers are experts in banking and "help" their customers by talking them into a $100,000 CD paying less that 1/2 of one per cent.

Stockbrokers are experts in investing and "help" their customers by investing their money in mutual funds, where $$$ is skimmed off the top for the brokerage company and their cronies.  To speak nothing of their fees.

Online colleges are experts in "help" training people for the variety of professions in their curriculum.  I worked with an Accountant with a Masters Degree from University of Phoenix who couldn't even reconcile a bank account.

Big-box Tax Preparation firms and TurboTax will "help" customers to get the "Maximum" Refund.  Better than going to people on this message board.  In fact, Turbo Tax wants to help customers so badly that they will perform their service "Free."

I could go on-and-on-and-on., but Lion knows what I'm talking about.

 

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