Hourly fee-based advisor?

[Eliza]

Hi there,

Can anyone recommend a hourly fee-based advisor? I am reading The Boglehead's Guide to Investing. Before that, The Simple Path to Wealth. I like these ideas, just have some questions about how to get started.

I have money in a Roth IRA with brokerage firm with about 14K worth of gains in American Funds. Also, inherited various single stocks about 15 years ago with another brokerage firm also with sizable gains. Wondering what to do about those and how to get started.

I'm 43 and new to this type of investing.

Thank you!

[Thecallofduty]

Assuming you are looking for a certified financial advisor who is a fudiciary, maybe start here:

https://www.napfa.org/find-an-advisor


Also if you have specific questions feel free to ask here with all details. You will likely receive great advice.

[Ketawa]

Longtime Bogleheads contributor The Finance Buff has a service offering to help people find advice-only advisors. However, it looks like new requests are on a waiting list.

https://thefinancebuff.com/
https://adviceonlyfinancial.com/

[HJG0989]

I went to an advisor who charged by the hour so my spouse could hear a second opinion as to whether we were on track to retire. This was through NAPFA.org. The advisor was easy to talk to, but the plan we got back was so filled with errors that we actually received a refund. The person was an attorney who switched careers and had passed the CFP exam on the first attempt. I don't know what the problem was, but the bottom line is that you really need to understand this stuff yourself to know if the advice you receive is valid.

[ExitStageLeft]

Welcome to the forum! I discovered Bogleheads a couple years ago when I was going through the same process. I kept reading here and never did book an appointment with an advisor.

The simple truth is that you don't need an advisor, unless it's to help you out of an entangled mess that another advisor may have led you into.

The IRA you can transfer over to any custodian of your choosing. Popular choices on the forum include Vanguard, Fidelity and Schwab for their lineup of low cost indexed funds. Because it's an IRA there are no tax consequences to worry about.

For the stocks, you can transfer in kind to your preferred brokerage. You'll need to know the gains for each. You could seek an hourly fee advisor, and/or you could get some feedback from the Bogleheads on what your options are.

[venkman]

Garrett Planning Network is all hourly fee-based advisors.

https://www.garrettplanningnetwork.com/

[tj]

Garrett Planning Network is all hourly fee-based advisors.

https://www.garrettplanningnetwork.com/

I don't believe this is accurate.

[Silk McCue]

Garrett Planning Network is all hourly fee-based advisors.

https://www.garrettplanningnetwork.com/

I don't believe this is accurate.

That is an insufficient response. Please provide specific information regarding your belief and cite the source of your belief. That will provide value to the conversation.

Cheers

[DecumulatorDoc]

Keep reading and learning. But for now you may benefit from assistance by someone like Mark Zoril of Planvision. I've read he charges $96/yr. Apparently he's a fan of low cost index fund investing and Vanguard, like many of us here. He may be perfect for someone getting started or looking for a low cost 2nd opninion.

Here's his website: https://planvisionmn.com
If you do end up there, please review your experience with us later.

Also in the next couple of months Rick Ferri, who is well respected here, will be starting up a low cost hourly fee advisory firm. https://core-4.com/advice/

[Silk McCue]

Welcome to Bogleheads!

You can receive quality feedback if you will post in the following format which will facilitate a superior response.

Asking Portfolio Questions

Cheers

[desiderium]

One thought would be to call Vanguard and ask them to walk you through transferring all of your assets in kind to a collection of Vanguard accounts, where everything will be consolidated in one location. You could also do the same with Fidelity or Schwab and even take advantage of their retail locations, if suitable.

If you post your entire situation here, you will get some good advice on specific actions you can take

[tj]

Garrett Planning Network is all hourly fee-based advisors.

https://www.garrettplanningnetwork.com/

I don't believe this is accurate.

That is an insufficient response. Please provide specific information regarding your belief and cite the source of your belief. That will provide value to the conversation.

Cheers

Well, search their website and click on links and look at their adv 2 brochures.. I am 99.9% sure that it isn't a requirement to bill exclusively by the hour to be listed there.

[Silk McCue]

Well, search their website and click on links and look at their adv 2 brochures.. I am 99.9% sure that it isn't a requirement to bill exclusively by the hour to be listed there.

This level of information is useful.

Cheers

[elainet7]

PLAN VISION looks like it might be a fine start
Great website
ONLINE ADVISORS might be the FUTURE

[jyoung]

+1 for PlanVision. I had the initial consultation about a week ago, and will have the in-depth analysis/followup next week. So far I haven't been disappointed and the eMoney program looks nice. Kind of like Mint/Personal Capital but with a lot more analysis, projections, etc if you like that kind of stuff. No need to google around and try to come up with the correct numbers to plug into all the calculators you can find online.

If you have read everything available on the wikis and recommended books; and are pretty comfortable with doing it yourself, then I think PlanVision at $96/year (not auto renewed) is great. I haven't gotten the final analysis yet, but at $96 I don't think I will be unhappy. Or you can just keep reading more and looking for advice here (both you should do regardless) and I'm sure you will do just fine.

[bloom2708]

Ask your questions here. $0/fee. 0% commissions. Free unlimited follow up questions.

Answers are archived to revisit over and over.

[elainet7]

for $96 you cannot go wrong even if it just reinforces you are on track
with vanguard you can speak to an advisor gratis

[GmanJeff]

I went to an advisor who charged by the hour so my spouse could hear a second opinion as to whether we were on track to retire. This was through NAPFA.org. The advisor was easy to talk to, but the plan we got back was so filled with errors that we actually received a refund. The person was an attorney who switched careers and had passed the CFP exam on the first attempt. I don't know what the problem was, but the bottom line is that you really need to understand this stuff yourself to know if the advice you receive is valid.

This cautionary tale applies equally to all the glib responses that you will receive competent advice here from anonymous strangers on the Internet. As you found, advice may be worth less than you pay for it, so doing your due diligence with respect the to qualifications, skill, experience, and objectivity of an advisor, no matter how compensated or whether compensated at all, is crucial.

[munemaker]

I went to an advisor who charged by the hour ...

Curious what the hourly rate was?

[HJG0989]

It's been a while but it seems like the total bill was $2,700.

[Rob5TCP]

I did consider Garnett for a second opinion. The rates in the NY area tended to be
in the $200-$250 per hour. I ended up not using their services.

[elainet7]

if you are not educated you have no idea if the advisor is worth the effort, but not at an AUM fee of 1%

[Eliza]

Thank you all so much!

I will give you my specifics and ask for your advice here. I also wrote down every recommendation and will check them out. THANK YOU! I plan to call Vanguard in the next few days (or as soon as I send this.)

My Scenario
The Simple Path to Wealth recommends a very big percentage in Vanguards Total Stock Index Fund and the rest in their total bond fund. The Boglehead's Guide says your bond percentage should be your age. I am 43. Also, that they should be in tax-advantaged account.

I have 24K in a Roth, as well as 100K inherited single stocks in a brokerage (with large gains over many years). I am not sure what my allocations should be based on my age. I am a teacher in the northeast, so I should have a stable retirement; but, I'm also interested in having future options and not just being held to the state's age/years requirements.

My Questions
1. How do I separate out what is tax-advantaged and what is not in Vanguard?
2. Can their Life Strategy or Target Retirement accounts be held in Roths?
3. Should I put the bonds only in a Roth?

I guess I need to call Vanguard...

Thank you!

[1210sda]

Also in the next couple of months Rick Ferri, who is well respected here, will be starting up a low cost hourly fee advisory firm. https://core-4.com/advice/

You should definitely consider Rick. I believe he will be "live" in April of this year.

1210

[bloom2708]

Age -10 to Age -15 seem to hold up pretty well. That would mean 70/30 could be a starting point.

If you inherited the taxable/individual stocks, you would receive a "stepped up basis". Meaning that you pay tax on the gain between when you inherited the stocks and when you sell. That could be a gain or loss. When you inherit a batch of individual stocks, that is a good time to sell/exchange and get to total market index funds. Find out what your cost basis is and what the long/short term gains/losses look like on each stock.

Do you have a 403b/457 plan to go along with your teacher's pension? Tax advantaged accounts are Roth, 401k/403b/457/Thrift Savings and Traditional/Rollover IRAs. The inherited taxable account would be post-tax/not tax advantaged. HSA is another type of tax-advantaged account.

Life Strategy and Target Date funds work in a Roth account. LifeStrategy Moderate Growth 60/40 is the closest to your possible asset mix. Target Date funds would be selected based on the mix of stocks/bonds. Vanguard Target 2030 is about 70/30 currently.

If you intend on keeping your individual stocks, then Roth would have to be bonds (Total US Bond or similar) to get somewhere close to your mix of stocks and bonds.

With your pension, that gives you options for deviating from typical. You could keep a higher percentage of stocks or you could go 50/50 and be more conservative as you don't rely on the funds to grow to pay for your expenses.

Hopefully others give ideas.

[CRTR]

Alan Roth
https://daretobedull.com/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/baldwin/20 ... 2efe563e1d

He's ONLY ever been hourly. Very Boglehead-like in his approach.

[GmanJeff]

Thank you all so much!

I will give you my specifics and ask for your advice here. I also wrote down every recommendation and will check them out. THANK YOU! I plan to call Vanguard in the next few days (or as soon as I send this.)

My Scenario
The Simple Path to Wealth recommends a very big percentage in Vanguards Total Stock Index Fund and the rest in their total bond fund. The Boglehead's Guide says your bond percentage should be your age. I am 43. Also, that they should be in tax-advantaged account.

I have 24K in a Roth, as well as 100K inherited single stocks in a brokerage (with large gains over many years). I am not sure what my allocations should be based on my age. I am a teacher in the northeast, so I should have a stable retirement; but, I'm also interested in having future options and not just being held to the state's age/years requirements.

My Questions
1. How do I separate out what is tax-advantaged and what is not in Vanguard?
2. Can their Life Strategy or Target Retirement accounts be held in Roths?
3. Should I put the bonds only in a Roth?

I guess I need to call Vanguard...

Thank you!

Be cautious with advice like this. It's generic and simplistic, and while it might happen to be suitable for some investors, it likely is far from ideal for others. The totality of your circumstances, current and anticipated requirements, risk tolerance, and other factors all enter into carefully considered asset allocation decisions. Advisors and advisory services usually make those decisions with the help of proprietary econometric models, which may (or may not) improve your chances of achieving your desired outcomes.

[venkman]

Well, search their website and click on links and look at their adv 2 brochures.. I am 99.9% sure that it isn't a requirement to bill exclusively by the hour to be listed there.

I don't know their business enough to say definitively, but I did find this on their website:

What’s so different about Garrett advisors?

Members of the Garrett Planning Network provide their advisory services on an hourly, Fee-Only basis. Members do not accept sales commissions or any compensation other than directly from their clients. Clients pay only for the time an advisor works with or for them. Some Garrett advisors also may offer their services on a retainer basis.

https://www.garrettplanningnetwork.com/about/faqs

[Misenplace]

I encourage you to look at the “Getting Started” page that is linked to this forum. In addition to the text, the videos are entertaining, informative and chock full of information. To really absorb the content, it is helpful to read some of the suggested references, ESPECIALLY the Bogleheads Guide to Investing.
https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Getting_started

I also recommend taking the time to post your full portfolio view. It is the only way that we can give you solid advice on your particular situation. However, the greatest advantage of posting your portfolio is that it forces you to really analyze it and fully understand your own situation.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6212

That’s the first step in taking ownership of your financial life.

You are a teacher- you already know that learning takes effort. This will be effort that will pay handsomely, both monetarily and in peace of mind.

[Misenplace]

I will also add that not only is Boglehead advice free, it is also rigorously peer reviewed.

[Misenplace]

Garret planning requires that their network advisors offer fee-only. When you drill down to the profiles of individual advisors, you will see that while some offer hourly only, most many offer both hourly and assets under management, and some are opaque whether an hourly is available for more than an initial consultation but they may be primarily AUM. I can give you examples by PM, I wouldn’t care to post these examples since that would be unfair to whomever was randomly picked, and anyone can easily drill down yourself. I think tj was correct in pointing out the misperception. Bottom line is that you need to do your own diligence. Especially when it comes to your life savings.

[catchinup]

Over the past few months I've interviewed every Garrett network advisor in my area. It happened that they were all hourly fee based. Going rate here in LA is $200/hour. Financial plan quoted costs were $2100 - $3500.

Last year I hired a non-Garret CFP to do what he called a "streamlined retirement plan" or analysis for $750. He put my cash flow and investment portfolio info into a program that spit out an analysis and gave me some predictions and recommendations. Some additional things he said were useful.

But then this year I decided I needed to get more attentive and do more full blown financial planning. Went back to the $750 guy ... he turned out to be a fee based portfolio manager. I did not want that. Hence the reason I spoke to all those Garrett people.

I picked up some things by talking to them. But I also realized that they were all going to crunch my numbers through some type of program. And as I mentioned before in another thread the impression I got is that their planning templates were customizable but only within the parameters of the analysis tool they were using. I think about it like buying a sandwich. If I buy it at Subway, I'm restricted to picking off the menu of sandwich meat options and I only get to customize the toppings and the type of bread. A sandwich template. But if I go to a deli back east, I can select any combination of meats, and how thickly the meat is sliced, etc. Etc. Fully custom.

I want the deli sandwich.

I'm inquisitive and I like learning. I found this board and I am learning more and more every day. I've decided I can figure this out on my own with the help of this board.

Throughout my life I've always gained a sense of self-satisfaction by learning how to do things myself. No one is going to do as detailed of a job and think about as much as I am. I hope I'm making the right choice!

[Eliza]

Thank you again!

It will take me some time to look through these posts. So appreciate the kind and thoughtful responses.

I was on hold with Vanguard for 53 minutes before I gave up and hung up. Discouraging for trying to get started myself.