Financial advisors without high fees..

[Cindy B]

I'm just looking for some advice on what company or financial advisors we can use that doesn' t charge high fees.

I'm a little overwhelmed by the amount of companies and advertising and I don't want to have my money eaten up by fees.

I'd like one company (starts with an F) but the hours are only 8-5 which isnt conducive with our work schedule

Who do you use or are willing to recommend?

 

[DisneyNutMic]

What are you looking to do?? That might be the first question.

 

[Cindy B]

Well.. lets see we came into a fair amt of money. Looking to start two college funds, two IRA and invest some. Quite frankly, we a bit clueless on what to do with this check..

 

[LisaNJ25]

Have you tried Met Life?

 

[ambgoph]

Look into Ameriprise - I highly recommend our financial planner from Ameriprise to family and friends. Everyone we have recommended him to has been extremely satisfied with him and the company.

 

[Janet Hill]

My advise is to find an independent fee based advisor. ie not an advisor tied to Fidelity, MetLife, Ameriprise, etc A frim kind of like the one below.



http://www.ricedelman.com/

 

[garydeb]

Our local credit union and bank has free financial advisors for their customers. Check with yours.

Good Luck,
Debbie

 

[dvcgirl]

I'm just looking for some advice on what company or financial advisors we can use that doesn' t charge high fees.

I'm a little overwhelmed by the amount of companies and advertising and I don't want to have my money eaten up by fees.

I'd like one company (starts with an F) but the hours are only 8-5 which isnt conducive with our work schedule

Who do you use or are willing to recommend?

I'm guessing that you mean Fidelity? If you know how you'd like to invest your funds, then you don't need to meet with an advisor from Fidelity. You can simply open an account with them online and go from there. They won't provide much guidance to you on that front, unless you have a lot of money invested with them. However, the fees are low and that's the key.

The other two companies that I would look at, and prefer over Fidelity are T. Rowe Price and Vanguard. Vanguard has an awesome reputation and the lowest fees in the industry.... and over time, fees are a huge deal.

Vanguard has everything you're looking for, college saving plans, IRAs and lots of great mutual funds to choose from for those two goals. If you're thinking of opening 529 plans (college savings) for your kids, check out clarkhoward.com as he has a great guide that rates the best plans in the country. Keep in mind that you don't have to purchase the plan from your state.

Hope this helps....

 

[crisi]

State level tax benefits are only guarenteed in the plan from your state. Minnesota could choose to charge me income tax on Virginia's plan. They don't, but they could and given the revenue shortage, I expect they will before my kids are in college.

 

[dvcgirl]

State level tax benefits are only guarenteed in the plan from your state. Minnesota could choose to charge me income tax on Virginia's plan. They don't, but they could and given the revenue shortage, I expect they will before my kids are in college.

Good point, but some of the fees on some of the State funds are so high that it makes more sense to skip the tax benefit you may get by purchasing your own state's fund. Plus, aren't there pretty low income restrictions on the tax benes?

 

[DisneyNutMic]

I would start with your bank. They should have Financial Advisors who will be more than willing to meet with you for free. The charges come with the investments so "interview" several until you are comfortable with someone.

 

[dvcgirl]

I would start with your bank. They should have Financial Advisors who will be more than willing to meet with you for free. The charges come with the investments so "interview" several until you are comfortable with someone.

This is actually the last place that I would go. Banks are for checking accounts and possibly savings/money market funds (for emergency fund), but not for investing. Those "free" advisors at banks are in place to sell you financial products that are awful in many cases.

OP, if you really feel like you need to speak to someone, to help you lay out a plan for your financial future, look for a "fee-only" certified financial planner. This is someone who will look at your entire financial picture and help you lay out a plan without trying to *sell* you something. You will pay them a fee for their time, and that's the extent of it.

You can find a fee-only planner in your area here...

http://www.napfa.org/

 

[NJ2Boardwalk]

Try Edward Jones. My Dad passed away in January and I called the local office in my mothers town. The man was wonderful and didnt charge one dollar.

 

[rockandrollmomma]

I have to second NJ2Boardwalk. My husband is an Edward Jones Financial Advisor and I definitely recommend them. They are very different from most financial companies as they want to "know" their customers and build a relationship.

Edward Jones FA's are usually available to meet with the client at their convenience even if it is outside of the office and outside of posted business hours. My husband is always meeting with clients in the evenings, at their homes or our home or the local coffee shop etc.

Also, they NEVER charge for advice or a consult. The only fees come when you make an investment and those fees are passed from the company invested with (i.e. mutual funds, etc.) thru Jones. These fees are charged on a % basis and the more you invest, the less the fees are..........

Good luck!

 

[dvcgirl]

Try Edward Jones. My Dad passed away in January and I called the local office in my mothers town. The man was wonderful and didnt charge one dollar.

Edward Jones is "full-service" brokerage firm, and so their fees are derived from the products that they sell to you. They work on a commission basis.

I'm not saying that these firms are necessarily bad, just pointing out that they aren't necessarily giving you an objective viewpoint.

For the average investor, going with a low fee mutual fund company like Vanguard, T. Rowe or Fidelity is the way to go in my opinion.

 

[DisneyNutMic]

I've worked in the brokerage industry for 17 years now and I haven't seen one yet that wasn't commission based. They can all offer basically the same services (aside from funds owned by that individual company) so it comes down to who you are comfortable dealing with.

 

[DisneyLover83]

I would avoid a financial advisor that you can find in your bank's lobby and go with an independent advisor that is not directly affiliated with Edward Jones, Ameriprise, etc. Also make sure they are a CFP.... you can go the the CFP website and check their name to make sure thay are an active member and have passed the CFP exam, you can also go to FINRA's broker check and make sure they do not have any negative disclosures. I would not base your decision only on "fee's" make sure to check out your broker whenever you pick one using the above sites... it could save you $$$ in the future!

 

[shanasbananas]

While all firms are commission based in one form or another, it really all depends on how actively you plan to trade. My firm offers accounts with flat quarterly fees that are based on the account value, you can trade as much as you like. We also offer commission based accounts with a low annual fee for less frequent traders. You can also select a managed account, where a money manager handles all of the investments. The possibilities are vast!

The most important thing to you is to feel comfortable with your advisor. I would recommend calling around to several different firms and see what they have to offer and compare fees. Keep in mind, that sometimes the firm with the lowest fees may not offer the level of service you require, so you'll need to take all aspects into consideration. If you are not investment saavy, it might behoove you to go with a reputable firm with an advisor who can guide you. I would never recommend someone just put there money into a company without knowing as much as possible, which is where a trusted advisor would come in.

Everyone has commercials on tv and different advertisements, but those ads aren't going to show you the full picture.

For 529 plans, we always suggest American Funds College America Virginia. You can diversify into several different asset classes and they perform very well. You might want to give them a call or visit their website.

If you want some more detailed advice, feel free to PM me. I could set you up with an advisor in my firm if you wanted some free advice. The phone call is free and you aren't bound to anything, but he could give you some ideas on how to proceed. Trust me, my team is NOT about rambling, high pressure selling tactics; if you want to deal with us, you will, if not, no biggy.

 

[crisi]

Good point, but some of the fees on some of the State funds are so high that it makes more sense to skip the tax benefit you may get by purchasing your own state's fund. Plus, aren't there pretty low income restrictions on the tax benes?

Each situation needs to be looked at individually. We invest in Minnesota's because we live here. It isn't the best program, but our tax rate here is so high and the fees reasonable enough that if Minnesota starts taxing out of state 529s (and I really think they will), we will do much better. And I didn't bother at all to look at low income restrictions on the tax bene's - it wasn't a useful analysis for us.

I've considered balance risk and throwing half the money into a better out of state program (Virginia is supposed to be good, so is Utah), but haven't bothered to yet.

To the OP, self directed financial planning isn't hard. You need to define what your goals are and what the priority of those goals are. You need to make sure you create a balance you are comfortable with. There are really a few simple rules (like don't invest in individual stocks starting out and KEEP GOOD RECORDS - which has gotten less important as now most trading sites keep good records for you). I'd go with a fee based advisor, but be prepared for some shock. Some won't work with you if you don't have $1M in assets, some have pretty high hourly fees - be prepared to make a few phone calls and interview a few advisors.