Do you trust financial advisors with your investment choices or feel YOU need to monitor your investments?

Question

It seems like many of the fees associated with advisors aren't worth the money.. and if they are, then shouldn't YOU be able to put it into their hands? After all, isn't that why they are hired?...so you don't need to be as involved? What's your personal experience? If I wanted to be in finance...then I'd do it for a living. What about you?

Answer 1

There are many knowledgeable/honest financial advisers. Just not enough.

With the correct "Asset Allocation" and a decent selection of ETF's and some Mutual Funds you can you can meet or beat the averages without the high cost of Time and a counselor.

Once you choose a good "asset allocation" that you're easy with.... you just check it twice a year for re-balancing. Low cost index funds (Mutuals and ETF's) are easy choices with little monitoring. A Managed Mutual Fund should be checked to see that they're performing at least with their peers.

None of what I've suggested takes much time except for the initial set up. It will still save you 10's of thousands over a lifetime from using a counselor.

PS: Stay away from variable annuities. 97% of the people that buy them shouldn't have them. It is one of the highest commissioned products for the Financial Counselors out there.

Answer 2

You need to monitor all of your accounts even if you have a Financial Advisor. Financial Advisors are basically marketing and sales people who happen to have knowledge of the financial markets. They are Not Investment Guru's as most people think.

When you invest in the Stock Market, you may lose money.......period!

" Past performance is not a guarantee of future results"

If you think it's the right time to invest in equities and yet you still do Not want to take the RISK or you want to do it in a LOW RISK way........Then Fixed Index Annuities may be for you, with the added condition that these Dollars are for the long-term age 59 1/2 or older. They are Perfect for your growth Dollars in Retirement.

Fixed Index Annuities ------Where your account value does NOT Decline in Value. -----Where the Credited Interest to your account does NOT Decline in Value. -------Where the interest you earn each year is based ONLY on the Upside of a Stock Index (You would accept a Cap on the Upside of say 8% in exchange for not having your account decline in value, wouldn't you???? I know I would!!!!) The Cap varies by company & annuity and is usually guaranteed for 1 year. Other crediting methods are also available. To Learn more Visit: http://www.jdsannuities.com/index_annuities

By the way, the way the insurance company is able to vary the interest you earn which is based on a stock index is by the use of a derivative for the interest part only.

Answer 3

The problem I have with "financial advisors" is that not all of them are financial PLANNERS. If you look at job prerequisites for some companies, a high school diploma will suffice as long as they can pass the securities licensure exam.

If you want to seriously trust a financial advisor, find one that provides his service for a fee and is not affiliated with any commission based sales. They will merely review your financial condition, find out what you want to do, give recommendations, allow you to accept one or more of them, and put the plan in action. This is usually done for a fee based on the amount of assets you have.

You can find one of these types of advisors at NAPFA.com.

PS - Annuities aren't for everyone!! Research the fees involved in annuities as you would research the fees in mutual funds. Sometimes annuities are more pricey than mutual funds.

Answer 4

I personally relied on many Merrill Lynch brokers in the past. They actually screwed up my finances. In fact, 6 years ago I lost $ 23,000.00 in cash in matter of 4 days. I cried for a day, but snapped out of it and decided to manage my own money online. I have been happy since.