Need to find a new investment firm

[RuntheMouse]

We used to use a financial advisor but found Bogleheads and then I realized I was paying a lot in Assest Under Management (AUM) fees for something I could do myself.

I called Vanguard and rolled all of my accounts over from a lot of little funds that our advisor had us in to a few low fee vanguard funds.

We have our kids college funds in our state's 529. We get a state tax deduction and it has performed well.

Another vote for Vanguard. Moved everything over over 10 years ago, very happy.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Please spend some time reading on Bogleheads. They are NOT fans of Edward Jones for many reasons--lots of fees and lots of churning. Type "Edward Jones" into their search bar.

If you need the money in the relative short term (3-5 years), it shouldn't be in stocks. Too volatile! (says the woman who just sold stocks to pay 3 college tuitions--we inherited the stocks, though, and made out okay). FTR, we met with our financial planner last week, and he said that growth stocks have been doing great, but value stocks haven't been, so much.

Vanguard is an excellent choice for a DIY-er. But please, educate yourself.

 

[cvjw]

We have all our money in Charles Schwab. Our financial advisor merged his business with Mercer Advisors. They charge 1% per year for managing our investments. We have been happy with them.

 

[Buzzsgramma]

I know people have Schwab..so if a office in close you have face to face..the market has been down for awhile..some 401K have lost 20%....
Call Vanguard or Fidelity....if you cash in the kids funds you will pay a hefty tax.....just have those others i mentioned move the investments..
...

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I'm going thru something similar with my investment guy and tax advisor. I inherited some money from my parents. My cousin who set up some things for my parents (retired now) pointed us to a friend of his who many years ago stayed at my parents house to go fishing at the shore. Not to go into things too much, it just hasn't been a good experience. Tax lady no help either, waiting since May for some answers from her. My sister is having same problem, she used my cousin's friend too. Her tax guy won't answer most of her questions unless she signs up with him because he does investing too. My parents didn't make a lot of money, had no investment advisor (minus one annuity my cousin set up) and did very well with their retirement all on their own. Going forward, I (and my husband) will make our own decisions and going down the roads my parents took. A couple of months ago we opened 2 CD's. One was over 5%.

 

[2TxAgs]

Yeah, taxes can be tricky. I looked at rolling my traditional IRA into a Roth and it made absolutely no sense because of the huge tax bite. Been retired two years now, drawing IRA money only, no Social Security yet, and won't ever have a pension. My retirement planning assumed that I would be in a lower tax bracket, and so far that has been true. In 2022 my tax bracket was the lowest it has been in 45 years.

@tvguy If you're in the lowest bracket you've ever been in, you should consider converting a portion of your traditional ira to Roth, at least up to the limit of your low tax bracket. There is no need to roll over the entire IRA, but a portion at a time, while you're in that low bracket, protects that investment from potential higher brackets when you have to take RMDs, or if either you or your spouse would pass away. Then the other would be paying the higher taxes as a single filer. This is a good youtube explanation (even if your numbers don't match what's shown..)

 

[tvguy]

@tvguy If you're in the lowest bracket you've ever been in, you should consider converting a portion of your traditional ira to Roth, at least up to the limit of your low tax bracket. There is no need to roll over the entire IRA, but a portion at a time, while you're in that low bracket, protects that investment from potential higher brackets when you have to take RMDs, or if either you or your spouse would pass away. Then the other would be paying the higher taxes as a single filer. This is a good youtube explanation (even if your numbers don't match what's shown..)

Nope. Ran the numbers. Makes zero sense. Money I pay taxes on now if I roll into a Roth will never again will be able to provide income, and so far, they income they provide exceeds any future tax liability.

 

[EACarlson]

If you were otherwise happy with your Edward Jones rep, consider talking to another one. You may be able to find another rep to just take the portfolio over and not have to deal with changing everything. Personally I'm with Schwab but that's a small self directed account. My 401k and PSP are professionally managed through my employer.

 

[MillauFr]

If you don't need a ton of handholding, Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard are going to be the best for you. And before you say you need hand holding remember that managing your personal investments doesn't need to be hard. It is actually simpler than planning a trip to Walt Disney World.

 

[Anthony1971]

Seems like you need the funds now and more next year. I would look into CD’s by figuring out what you need and when. You can also leave a good amount in an online account as the interest is very high as well and further ladder the funds in CD’s in case interest rates start going down. I do have stocks but the are all growth and kept for dividends only which pay of nicely or a nice extra income. As far as funds I moved 90% of my IRA last year at a high and have been earring a much larger return in a straight interest bearing fund then the straight S and P 500 fund. long ago in college when I took corporate finance the teacher was retired investment banker and I have followed his advice and done well but everyone is different “why would anyone invest in anything but an S and P 500 fund the fees are low and you will come out ahead of the best managed funds with huge fees“ Always look at “load” for any fund and if you use a financial adviser from a bank or firm the % that person is paid. A private financial advisor is different as you will pay them a $ fee flat or by the hour but their advice is not based on an investment offered by the bank or firm you have your money with. My personal opinion is the stock market will make a correction. Having high interest rates and a High stock market is a huge economic issue and one has to give, with the recent interest rate hike there is only one left.

 

[smwisc]

With your kids' ages, I'd put what you need in the next year in a high yield savings account then build a CD ladder with the rest.

 

[_19disnA]

If your financial advisor 'fired' you as a client then the first step should be to talk to his boss at that company. If you and your advisor have different goals/expectations then asking to be moved to someone else in that company to handle your account might make sense. I have never heard of an advisor 'firing' one of their clients but perhaps anything is possible. I doubt that companies want to lose clients just because one of their advisors is making those types of decisions.

If you decide to move to a different company, I would talk with friends/relatives/co-workers to see who they are using successfully and are happy with. Regardless of who your investment advisor is, you both need to be on the same page regarding expectations/goals/risk tolerance/time horizons for your portfolio.

 

[Jack Kerouac]

.

 

[danceintherain]

I've never used a FA. My parents' FA actually has a chart that shows them that he's not really earning them any extra money, he just saves them time.

All of my investment accounts are set it and forget it. The kids college funds are spread out in various different state 529 accounts depending on what the incentive was when I put the money in. I actually opened Alaska 529s for all of them this year, because Alaska was offering matching incentives for new accounts and contributions. They also will give anyone with an Alaska 529 in-state tuition. The latter is probably not something we'll end up taking advantage of, but if one of my kids decides all they want is to be far away from home, then so be it.

Most of the college funds are in age-based funds, so the 13 year old's has transitioned to lower risk over time. The fees are slightly higher that way, but it's still not subject to the whims of someone getting a commission.

Eventually, we'll hire a fee only fiduciary financial advisor to help us slide into retirement. They'll give us a plan for what to withdraw when and possibly point out investments that could help us achieve our goals. Fiduciary means they have to look out for our interests.

 

[Eastern]

www.bogleheads.org for advice. I do not use a financial planner.

 

[mjkacmom]

I’m married to a financial advisor, he recommends a fee based advisor over a commission based advisors. When my parents passed, extricating their money was a job for him?

 

[heatherandnick]

https://breakwaterwm.net/

This guy is amazing. He loves to help people and has a true passion for wealth management. He’s so honest that he left a big firm and went off on his own because he didn’t approve of some dishonest things other advisors were doing.

 

[platamama]

Stay away from anybody who charges you an AUM (Assets Under Management) fee which typically runs 1%. What's it to the AUM advisor if your account doesn't go up? They still make 1% for pretty much doing nothing. Even if your account goes down, they're still making 1% while you lose money. Go with a fee based financial advisor for advice that doesn't have built in conflicts of interest.

Definitely head over to Bogleheads to read and learn how to handle your money. A simple three index fund approach is much lauded over there but there are also others who do things in a more complex way. Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard allow you to manage your own money without paying an advisor (unless you want to pay for an advisor).

With the ages of your kids in relation to college expenses, you really should stick that college money into safe cash or cash-like vehicles, and there are savings accounts offer 4.5% and higher. If you are comfortable moving money around, it might be worth doing some bank bonuses for the extra cash. It'd be another thing if your kids were 10+ years away from needing it, but with that short of a horizon you want to preserve capital.

If your state's 529 plan gives tax deductions for contributions, that would be one avenue to look at closely.

 

[_19disnA]

www.bogleheads.org for advice. I do not use a financial planner.

I looked around on that site it mostly seems like a forum where random people can offer investment opinions. Not sure I would consider the random opinions of strangers to decide how to invest. Some may have ulterior motives to hype some stock in a modern day version of the age-old pump/dump scheme. Think you will also find a lot who are out there talking up the next big thing. Those pushing bitcoin have largely seen the air go out of that balloon and have probably moved over to hyping up things like AI as the next big thing.

Part of what your pay a financial advisor is to do the research for you and provide sound investment approaches that work for the long term. Chasing the latest hot new thing isn't the way to achieve long-term success with your portfolio.

 

[Eastern]

I looked around on that site it mostly seems like a forum where random people can offer investment opinions. Not sure I would consider the random opinions of strangers to decide how to invest. Some may have ulterior motives to hype some stock in a modern day version of the age-old pump/dump scheme. Think you will also find a lot who are out there talking up the next big thing. Those pushing bitcoin have largely seen the air go out of that balloon and have probably moved over to hyping up things like AI as the next big thing.

Part of what your pay a financial advisor is to do the research for you and provide sound investment approaches that work for the long term. Chasing the latest hot new thing isn't the way to achieve long-term success with your portfolio.

You need to spend more time on those forums. There are a lot of long-term posters who are professionals in various financial fields. And many are non-professional, but are long term, experienced investors. You can review their posts before you make a decision on their reputation. Moderation is strict and swift. I trust the forum at bogleheads.

I think you have formed the opposite opinion of what bogleheads is actually about.