Fixed-Fee Advisor in Texas

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TXinvestor
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2014 10:56 pm

Fixed-Fee Advisor in Texas

Post by TXinvestor »

I am new to the Bogleheads forum, but I've been able to read several of the posts and find them informative with sound investment advice. I am hoping some of you can provide recommendations on fixed-fee advisors in Texas. I am flexible on the location as I travel throughout Texas. Appreciate you taking the time to provide me your thoughts, and hopefully I can provide guidance to others in the future.

Thanks.
erikbloom1
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2014 10:35 am

Re: Fixed-Fee Advisor in Texas

Post by erikbloom1 »

First, define a fixed-fee advisor. Generally there are either commission based advisors or Fee-only advisors. I will assume for this post that the fixed-fee and fee-only advisor are the same. The differences are quite simple and self explanatory. However, how this affects you is the main issue.

A Fee only advisor is a fiduciary (which means he/she must advise what is in your best interest only) and does not make a living through transactions, so you won't be getting recommendations based on how the advisors sales are going that particular month. The limitations of a fee only advisor is that he may not have as many investment offerings as the commission based advisor. This is generally not a big issue, but it could be - you will just have to ask a lot of questions about the advisors portfolio of offerings.

A commission based advisor is not a fiduciary, but is held to a "suitability" standard, which means he can recommend any investment which is suitable and pays the highest commission. You can guess the recommendations you will likely get.
Topic Author
TXinvestor
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2014 10:56 pm

Re: Fixed Fee-Only Advisor in Texas

Post by TXinvestor »

Erikbloom1,

Sorry I didn't clarify the request, but I am looking for a fee-only advisor with a fixed or flat fee schedule. Any recommendations for advisors in Texas would be appreciated.
Thanks.
JD
Posts: 226
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:19 pm
Location: TN

Re: Fixed-Fee Advisor in Texas

Post by JD »

The link below is probably a good start; you can search by Zip Code, Address, or last name.
Good Luck,
http://www.napfa.org
pkcrafter
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Location: CA
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Re: Fixed-Fee Advisor in Texas

Post by pkcrafter »

NAPFA is a good start, and also Garrett Planning Network.

http://garrettplanningnetwork.com/


And this link leads to a post on a Bogleheads group in TX. You might PM a few of the members for some suggestions.

http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... 9&t=137511
When times are good, investors tend to forget about risk and focus on opportunity. When times are bad, investors tend to forget about opportunity and focus on risk.
Allan
Posts: 966
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 8:15 pm
Location: Houston

Re: Fixed-Fee Advisor in Texas

Post by Allan »

Rick Ferri, a contributor to this forum is a financial adviser in Texas, I believe near San Antonio. Not sure if he is fixed fee.

Allan
2retire
Posts: 400
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2012 9:00 am

Re: Fixed-Fee Advisor in Texas

Post by 2retire »

Here is one based out of Fort Worth:

http://www.hullfinancialplanning.com/about

I don't use him, but he has a blog I stumbled across and read on a regular basis now.
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mlewis
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Re: Fixed-Fee Advisor in Texas

Post by mlewis »

Here are two you might look into:

http://www.ndwealth.com/

http://www.talisadvisors.com/

malcolm
nonnie
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Re: Fixed-Fee Advisor in Texas

Post by nonnie »

Allan wrote:Rick Ferri, a contributor to this forum is a financial adviser in Texas, I believe near San Antonio. Not sure if he is fixed fee.

Allan
Rick Ferri's firm is Portfolio Solutions and they are based in Troy, Michigan. Rick lives in Texas and according to the firm's website "is responsible for research and education at Portfolio Solutions®, and is also a member of the firm’s investment committee." I do not believe he is active in day-to-day financial planning or advising with clients.

http://portfoliosolutions.com/
rj49
Posts: 630
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2011 11:22 pm

Re: Fixed-Fee Advisor in Texas

Post by rj49 »

Scott Burns has a company in Plano, TX, called AssetBuilder. He was a personal finance columnist in a Dallas newspaper for some time and originated the Couch Potato Portfolio of 50/50 stocks/bonds. He also wrote a lot about downsizing in retirement (he even tried living in an Airstream trailer for a while), and had a lot of sensible investing advice. I believe he promotes DFA funds through his new company and charges a fee based on assets, but you can at least count on them to steer you to index fund portfolios, instead of the sharks at Edward Jones, Fidelity, and other places who will try to get you into high-expense active funds and annuities.

assetbuilder.com
Laura
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Re: Fixed-Fee Advisor in Texas

Post by Laura »

I would not limit your search to Texas. Vanguard has a financial planning service, for example. Given today's technology, you don't need someone near you. Skype works wonders for having discussions.

Laura
The views presented are my own and not necessarily those of the Department of State or the U.S. Government.
nonnie
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Re: Fixed-Fee Advisor in Texas

Post by nonnie »

TXinvestor wrote:I am new to the Bogleheads forum, but I've been able to read several of the posts and find them informative with sound investment advice. I am hoping some of you can provide recommendations on fixed-fee advisors in Texas. I am flexible on the location as I travel throughout Texas. Appreciate you taking the time to provide me your thoughts, and hopefully I can provide guidance to others in the future.

Thanks.
I second-- or third--the idea that it really isn't that important for one to live in close proximity to one's advisor. We've been clients of John Gorlow at Cardiff Park Advisors for more than four years. We've been able to meet all our needs with phone calls, email and especially with GoToMeeting. Strange as it might seem, I find GTM even more helpful than an in-person meeting, sitting across a desk. With GTM, while we're on the phone with John, we're able to see his desktop where he brings up extensive spreadsheets with all our account data and we're then able to discuss the reports and follow along as he highlights the information with his cursor. It's much easier to focus than looking at a hard copy in an office while listening to a verbal report.

John also provides monthly reports (most advisors only provide quarterly reports) and a good deal of the information about our accounts is presented this way. Close proximity is irrelevant for this data presentation and we're always able to follow up with questions by email or phone. It's easier, less time consuming and it happens more often than your normal "in-person" client meeting.


Coincidentally, on a recent trip through San Diego, we met John for the first time. We were extremely pleased to find him even more passionate about his vision, purpose, fixed fee structure, index funds and passive investing than we'd previously experienced. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Nonnie
target2030
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Joined: Sun May 04, 2014 11:55 am

Re: Fixed-Fee Advisor in Texas

Post by target2030 »

Nonnie,

I agree with you 100%. We live in Texas and have been using Cardiff Park Advisors for several years and he has put us in a slice-and-dice DFA portfolio that is appropriate to our goals. He has also dispensed advice on allocations to our company retirement plan (non-DFA).
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Bogle_Feet
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Re: Fixed-Fee Advisor in Texas

Post by Bogle_Feet »

JD wrote:The link below is probably a good start; you can search by Zip Code, Address, or last name.
Good Luck,
http://www.napfa.org
BUMP!
Yes. This is the site he needs. Fee only. Everyone else has a conflict of interest.
nonnie
Posts: 3014
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2008 8:05 pm

Re: Fixed-Fee Advisor in Texas

Post by nonnie »

Bogle_Feet wrote:
JD wrote:The link below is probably a good start; you can search by Zip Code, Address, or last name.
Good Luck,
http://www.napfa.org
BUMP!
Yes. This is the site he needs. Fee only. Everyone else has a conflict of interest.
Good link and website. However, you go too far when you say "everyone else has a conflict of interest." Just because an advisor is not an NAPFA member does not mean they do or do not have a conflict of interest or are not a "true" fee-only advisor. Read here about how NAPFA *sells* marketing to their members.

http://napfa.org/faq/index.asp#AREA5

"Two of the most influential organizations in the world of independent planners, the CFP Board and NAPFA, [previously did not] agree on the definition of one of the most hot-button terms in the profession: fee-only." Try to figure that one out.
http://www.financial-planning.com/news/ ... 250-1.html
http://www.investmentnews.com/article/2 ... y-advisers

What about all the services and research provided by DFA (and other MFs) to advisors-- is that a conflict of interest? How about the services including software, research, cash, etc. provided by Schwab, Fidelity, TD, etc.-- is that a conflict ? From the NAPFA oath, "The advisor, or any party in which the advisor has a financial interest, does not receive any compensation or other remuneration that is contingent on any client's purchase or sale of a financial product."

http://www.napfa.org/about/FiduciaryOath.asp



The industry is very competitve and fraught with controversy.
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