I have been putting in money steadily for 6 years but the growth seems to be only about 3-5 percent. I am doing a mutual fund with aigvalic and oppenheimer(my advisor is now working for oppenheirmer). He says patience but it seems weird that my portfolio is not growing well.
2006-07-10 14:45:58 · 8 answers · asked by daveilha 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Investing
Financial advisors are just bunch of liars. Why do you want to pay someone for financial advice? Just because they have a college degree?? Financial advisors only recommend you products they have and don't even bother researching other mutual funds. When you try to do business with another company, they going to make you stay away from it by making up stories. They really don't care about the client's needs and only care about themselves.
It is better that you research what companies you want to invest in. You have the time to do it. It may be stressful to do so, but the work is well worth the effort to make better returns on your investment.
2006-07-10 16:01:13 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Well, some financial advisors are con artists, but certainly not all. It sounds like you're dealing with a brokerage company, which means that they'll only sell you funds that have some sort of load charge (basically, a sales commission that is paid when you buy the fund).If you were dealing with a fee based planner, he/she would be advising you strictly on the basis of your financial goals. However, the hand holding stops after you leave the office.
That said, considering the way the market has been for the past 6 years, you're lucky you're up 5%! I guess if I were you, my concern would be the underlying expenses in both of those funds. Aside from paying the front end load for those funds (which I'm assuming you did pay), there are also inherent expenses in the fund. If you were to go to Morningstar.com, you'll see what the yearly expenses are for those funds. If you're paying over 1% in expenses for these funds, you're effectively dropping your return by that much. You might be better off in an index fund at Vanguard than a fund which has about the same yield with higher expenses.
Now, if you're going to be buying individual stocks and bonds, stay with a professional advisor unless you have the time to closely monitor your portfolio. No matter how much research you can get off of the internet, the financial advisors have access to even more. That's why those guys and gals are raking in the six figure plus incomes and have second and third homes in tropical paradises-they really do know how to pick 'em! (Trust me on this-I've done hundreds of tax returns and I've seen what these people earn).
By the way, congrats on putting away money steadily for so long. Regardless of mediocre gains, you're doing better than almost everyone in the country in terms of savings. Slow and steady wins the race!
2006-07-10 23:16:47 · answer #2 · answered by SuzeY 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, financial advisors are not con artists. Well, of course, there are a few con artists in any profession, but not all of us are, certainly.
I agree with most of what SuzeY said above. The past 6 years hasn't been a great period for a lot of investors, especially those who have been focused on lethargic mutual funds. I think you probably could have done better than that over this period - we certainly have - but that would also depend on your circumstances and your goals. He may have selected these funds based upon your own choices, and not just because of the higher commissions they pay him. Over the long term, though, I'd find 3-5 percent per year to be kinda depressing. I know we've done better than that over this period. But, again, your returns may reflect some decisions you made about risk, style, etc., that we won't see clearly.
You don't give many details, so it's difficult to provide any specific advice. If you want to email, we can talk in more detail. Meanwhile, there's never any harm in talking with more advisors. From what you've described, however, I don't think your advisor is stealing your money. Perhaps they're not finding you the best investments, but if they were stealing, you'd probably have nothing left by now.
2006-07-11 09:35:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Financial advisors always seemed like con artists to me because if they know so much about investing...then why are they working as financial advisors. They should know what to invest in, do it, and be rich and retired living the good life. So YES, in my opinion, they are con artists.
2006-07-10 21:50:21 · answer #4 · answered by Jenny A 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Don't rely on their word. Research your current investments yourself and inquire about other investment instruments you have learned about and are interested to invest in. Read the columnists' advice in finance.yahoo.com for more guidance (note Mr. Poor-Dad-Rich-Dad has a lot of bad things to say about mutual funds). Whatever you read, though, take them all with a grain of salt. Bear in mind that IT'S STILL YOUR MONEY and don't let others force you to do something you're not comfortable with.
2006-07-10 22:04:18 · answer #5 · answered by Chat 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You just have a bad advisor. You should change one.
2006-07-10 22:53:38 · answer #6 · answered by marketwizard 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Learn investing. It's not that hard. Then you can either make your own investments... or understand what an adviser is doing or not doing for you.
2006-07-10 23:18:59 · answer #7 · answered by Common Sense 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Every field has some con artists.
2006-07-10 22:14:11 · answer #8 · answered by arthur.krill@sbcglobal.net 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋