Do you tell your financial advisor everything?

[Grumpy's Gal]

yes, this is an odd question.

Our advisor retired and transferred us to another advisor. I’m not a fan of the new advisor but we have been with him for about a year. We are on good track for retirement so no concerns there. He says we are on good track with our retirement accounts.

But I didn’t tell him about some money we have. And I don’t think he needs to know. It’s in a savings account and it will stay there. I’m not investing it elsewhere which is what he will want to do.

So I’m curious, do you tell your financial advisor everything?

 

[QueenIsabella]

Yes, we do. Especially after MIL died, we had $$ spread out over multiple accounts with multiple institutions. Our adviser never batted an eye about not having all of our money with him. We still don't. I actually considered it a good test--if he'd been bugging us to transfer all of our money to his control, that would have been a red flag to me.

If you feel that your adviser doesn't have your best interests at heart, you can always change. You don't even have to change up your investments. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with saying, "We have $X in a savings account." You don't even have to explain to him why you choose this.

 

[Sandeep1]

yes, this is an odd question.

Our advisor retired and transferred us to another advisor. I’m not a fan of the new advisor but we have been with him for about a year. We are on good track for retirement so no concerns there. He says we are on good track with our retirement accounts.

But I didn’t tell him about some money we have. And I don’t think he needs to know. It’s in a savings account and it will stay there. I’m not investing it elsewhere which is what he will want to do.

So I’m curious, do you tell your financial advisor everything?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with not telling your advisor about this other account. You're the customer, the advisor works for YOU.

 

[tvguy]

For them do do an effective job, they need to know everything.
He/she can't evaluate your financial situation if he/she doesn't know your financial situation

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Yes, we do. Especially after MIL died, we had $$ spread out over multiple accounts with multiple institutions. Our adviser never batted an eye about not having all of our money with him. We still don't. I actually considered it a good test--if he'd been bugging us to transfer all of our money to his control, that would have been a red flag to me.

If you feel that your adviser doesn't have your best interests at heart, you can always change. You don't even have to change up your investments. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with saying, "We have $X in a savings account." You don't even have to explain to him why you choose this.

I especially like the part about it being a good test. It’s a busy time of year but I think when things settle down a bit, we really need to explore finding someone else. I can’t quite put my finger on one specific thing but I just don’t feel right about him. I know part of it is that I loved our original advisor and I trusted him completely.

 

[mnrose]

Yes. We have substantial assets outside the fund where our advisor works. And, he knows it. And, he has NEVER suggested or even hinted that we move assets under his control. If he did, I'd simply say no and move on. I think it's important for your advisor to know what's going on, both in terms of spend and assets.

We switched advisors about two years ago because our old advisor started to aggressively hound us to do different things with our money, beyond where we were comfortable. We KNOW we are conservative investors, and I need an advisor who's going to work with that. Our current one does. He has always said that any investor has to work within their own comfort level, which is going to vary. But, in order for him to do HIS job, he needs to know the complete picture.

 

[Searc]

Yes, of course we tell our financial advisor everything about our financials. We have substantial money in other accounts not with him and he can't give us accurate advice if he doesn't know what he's dealing with. He has never once asked us to move money to his firm.

 

[Searc]

Yes. We have substantial assets outside the fund where our advisor works. And, he knows it. And, he has NEVER suggested or even hinted that we move assets under his control. If he did, I'd simply say no and move on. I think it's important for your advisor to know what's going on, both in terms of spend and assets.

We switched advisors about two years ago because our old advisor started to aggressively hound us to do different things with our money, beyond where we were comfortable. We KNOW we are conservative investors, and I need an advisor who's going to work with that. Our current one does. He has always said that any investor has to work within their own comfort level, which is going to vary. But, in order for him to do HIS job, he needs to know the complete picture.

I am much more risk averse than DH and our advisor does a great job of walking the fine line between the two. lol

 

[tvguy]

I am much more risk averse than DH and our advisor does a great job of walking the fine line between the two. lol

My wife too. 7 years ago when our financial adviser ran the numbers and determined her 401K and IRA investment balance were enough to pay the bills for the rest of her life she shifted everything to Money Market funds in both. Has she lost out on stock gains yes? Has she lost a penny? No. And having enough money to live on is a bigger priority that getting rich.

 

[longboard55]

We tried one, it was mediocre mutual funds with high fees. I go solo. I am convinced the safest place for your money is long term blue chip holdings.

 

[QueenIsabella]

We tried one, it was mediocre mutual funds with high fees. I go solo. I am convinced the safest place for your money is long term blue chip holdings.

This is only a good plan if you actively follow the stock market. Not necessarily on daily basis, but you have to be willing to keep on eye on things.

Now, my MIL was very financially savvy, and she picked her own stocks until the day she died. We inherited maybe 30 different stocks, various amounts of shares. DH and I are more hands-off--give us a good mutual fund or three, we're happy. Our plan is to keep most of the stocks, then sell off the less-good ones to pay for future expenses (we have 2 college educations on the horizon). The only shares we won't sell for now are from the company FIL used to work for (for sentimental reasons--DH isn't ready to sell those at this time). Neither DH nor I has the time nor the inclination to track stocks regularly. On the good side, DS13 has been showing quite an interest in the stock market, so we've been using MIL's portfolio as a teaching tool with him--what stocks she picked and why, what we're likely to sell and why (cough, cough! GE cough!)

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

My wife too. 7 years ago when our financial adviser ran the numbers and determined her 401K and IRA investment balance were enough to pay the bills for the rest of her life she shifted everything to Money Market funds in both. Has she lost out on stock gains yes? Has she lost a penny? No. And having enough money to live on is a bigger priority that getting rich.

Pretty sure I would like your wife. Maybe we are sisters separated at birth.

 

[_19disnA]

Your financial advisor can make better recommendations if they know your total picture. However, you should never feel pushed into letting them manage other assets you already have elsewhere. If you have significant assets in other accounts, you should let them know. Honestly, no financial advisor has any better/special insight into how markets will perform in the future. It needs to be someone you are comfortable working with. There is also nothing wrong with asking for a different advisor if don't to agree on the recommendations they are providing.

 

[Floridaman999]

When I told him I had $3.50 that I needed some help with he hung up.

 

[tex1989]

I tell myself every single thing I need to know so, yes I tell my financial advisor everything.

 

[Sandeep1]

For them do do an effective job, they need to know everything.
He/she can't evaluate your financial situation if he/she doesn't know your financial situation

Nah, don't buy this at all. If a client has money that an FA doesn't know about, all it means is that said client is in better shape.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We have had the same firm for years. And we meet quarterly and he has all our funds shown. It’s the only way to do a true accounting of where we stand. But our firm is fee for service meaning they don’t make money off our investments. We pay them an annual fee for investment advice, rebalancing ideas, whether or not to do charitable deductions and when and tax advice and tax return preparation. He gives us ideas and we decide whether or not to do it. the firm gets 1% of the value of our portfolio up to a certain amount and .5 over that. . So as our money grows so does their fee. And he doesn’t care what funds we use Plus every quarter he gives us a detailed analysis of where we stand against retirement goals and from a tax perspective.

 

[tvguy]

Nah, don't buy this at all. If a client has money that an FA doesn't know about, all it means is that said client is in better shape.

In my case, it is a pretty big piece of the puzzle. The money he isn't managing is the money I will be living on from 63 to 66 1/2 when I start drawing social security. So I can't understand not disclosing it.

 

[Sandeep1]

In my case, it is a pretty big piece of the puzzle. The money he isn't managing is the money I will be living on from 63 to 66 1/2 when I start drawing social security. So I can't understand not disclosing it.

A social security benefit is very different from some money a client has in a savings account. That's what I was replying to.

 

[tvguy]

A social security benefit is very different from some money a client has in a savings account. That's what I was replying to.

Yes. And in IMHO your Financial needs to know both.