NFT: Financial advisor question

berween you and your wife. It will make things easier.

And can you talk with them?

1. how do you get paid (flat rate, per transaction, percentage of assets managed).
2. ask about his investment philosophies -- index, managed funds, individual stocks and WHY.
3. re funds, why did he pick the family he tends to recommend


There are millions more questions I'd ask, but it's all very personal to your needs and goals. Are you in retirement, saving for retirement, saving for a working retirement, past just retirement and into just being wealthy, timetables etc.

could also be the absolute worst -- he gets paid by the person pushing the investment product.

Thanks for the info.
Wife is 61 and I'm 57. We both started late into 401k ( about 20 years ago.) my wife has up her contribution to 30%. I'm at 18. Other than pension and so that's it. My philosophy is rather not gamble, and just get a secure return. Both of our 401k are thru vanguard and a managed accounts.

Ask him what experience he has in dealing with people with your concerns. Ask him what his ideal client is, and see how close you are to what he is looking for. See how long he has been an advisor, if it is under 5 years, think about someone else. See if he has a fiduciary responsibility to do what is best for you, or if he will do something which is suitable.

The first meeting should be him asking about your particular situation, if he talks about any type of product, whether it be an annuity, mutual fund or stock pick, say thank you and walk away. He should not make any recommendation until he has time to review what you have told him.

Thank you very much.

As a financial advisor, to me the most important questions to have is how you can both be on the same page. This to me is the most important item.

How often will we meet in the future to make sure your goals are being met?

What is your risk tolerance? Make sure they are meeting your tolerance and not theirs.

Deej, depending on the company the days of pushing a product is over. Generally, we all have things that have worked well for our clients. Though future returns are not predicated on past ones our job is to make sure we manage your money to meet your short term thru long term goals.

ask what the fees are.
The difference between 0.5% and 1% can be substantial over time.

I really appreciate it.

In comment 12165939 The 12th Man said:

Quote:

As a financial advisor, to me the most important questions to have is how you can both be on the same page.

We're talking about frog protection.
Fraud protection.
Frog
Fraud
I think we're on the same page.
We're totally on the same page.

that was the biggest eye opener for me when we met with a financial planner for the first time. My oldest were 5 and my youngest was just born and the financial planner said based on our goals we were under-funding the kids 529 plans but like 2,000%.

I never thought about it, how much of college do we plan to outright pay for, how much do we need to save to achieve that, etc.

that's in addition to maintaining your current lifestyle, planning for your own retirement, and other life goals (2nd home, world travel, boat, etc.) the planner should interview you, understand your goals and help you understand how your earnings, current savings levels, and current/long-term assets match up with your plans.

What are you talking about?

and after giving her all of my personal data and hearing everything she had to say, I told her that I decided to invest in real estate instead.

She essentially said I was an idiot.

Since that time, I invested in deals (I was not personally managing the buildings. Just a minority investor) and have batted 1000%. Made more $$ than what I possibly could have done investing in mutual funds or any other thing she was recommending.

So, my point is that there are other options other than what the adviser may recommend.

You have the same info available to you as any financial advisor. Do your own research.

They will make money whether their advice to you is good or bad. Their agenda is to put money in their own pockets.

Do not buy into this B.S.

most financial advisor stuff is like sales. In most cases you can pick some model portfolios based on your goals and just save yourself some money and risk. No offense to the professional advisors on here.