Comments on: Save on Investment Expenses and Losses: Fire Your Financial Planner

By: My Journey

My Journey — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:30:58 +0000

I couldn’t agree with Andrea more…insightful comments and well thought out points.

The problem with these blogs (including mine) and the comments relating thereto, are the fact that by reading the post already puts you 100x (made up stat) above most of the country in terms of LOOKING for education.

So while I could change my oil, I don’t because I feel that a professional could do better…it is the same with financial professionals, they usually will know more than the AVERAGE person out there; and like all people, there may be some bad seeds.

By: MasterPo

MasterPo — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 02:06:29 +0000

Andrea – That may be so. But I have yet to meet one.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:57:05 +0000

Master – I think comments that planners are no better than Vegas are harmful. Good planners are not idiots.

Doc – For you, “this is how much you need to invest” may have been too basic. For some, it might be more than they’ve ever learned – and of course your internal seminars for employees are going to focus on your funds, you say it as if it’s some kind of scam.

By: doctor S

doctor S — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:13:51 +0000

I work on theIT side at a large Financial Services company and they offer internally free financial planning workshops. I attended one and I sat w/ a financial advisor and it was pretty much pointless. It lacked personal attention, all the planner provided me with was a template of “This is how much you need to invest if you want to have X amount of dollars by Y age”. There are calculators online that can figure that out for me. They also reccomended every single fund that we offer, our funds are good, but I want some personalized advice, not generic advice given to every client!

I have read enough through periodicals and blogs (Like this one) to have a good understanding of what I should invest. A small goal for 2009 is to develope a better understanding of investing, as it is still a weak point.

I too would never go to an advisor.

By: MasterPo

MasterPo — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:21:34 +0000

I’ve worked in the financial field. I was Series 7, 63 and 65 licensed for a time. I still have my CLU and ChFC designations.

While there maybe some good planners out there it has been my sad experience that most barely know more than they read that morning in Money or Kipplingers. If you go to them needing sage advise you may as well go to Vegas.

I would never go to an advisor.

By: Mr. ToughMoneyLove

Mr. ToughMoneyLove — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:15:40 +0000

Andrea – I agree with you 100%. You must trust your planner with all of your financial information, not just a piece of it. Only then can he/she provide the correct advice for you.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:49:00 +0000

Speaking as someone who works in this industry (though not as a planner, I don’t care for the sales portion of the business), I just want to say that if people go to a financial planner solely looking for the next great investment, then I agree, it’s a waste of money.

A good financial planner is someone you should be able to turn to for holistic planning – that planner should know more about you than perhaps even most of your friends and family. He or she should have an ACCURATE picture of all of your assets and liabilities, your risk tolerance, your goals for retirement or college educations for your kids, your concerns (including any family histories of serious illness), your special loves for travel or collecting. That person should be a coach, not just a salesperson, and it should be someone that you truly connect with on a personal level.

If you can find a planner like that, they’re well worth the money. If you choose a planner because your neighbor you don’t even like made a killing in oil last year, well … it might not go well, even if that planner is a perfect match for the neighbor.

Make sense?