Are there any advisors on this site?

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thethinker
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Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by thethinker »

I have a multi-part question:

1) are there any investment advisors that contribute on this site? (Who?)

2) if so, do you do it for fun (blog) or do you get paid? (Can you say which site you write on?)

3) how does someone get compensated for directing a person to use a low cost 3-fund portfolio and rebalance?
Last edited by thethinker on Fri Jan 16, 2015 4:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Gill
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by Gill »

thethinker wrote:1) are there any investors that contribute on this site? (Who?)
Most of us are investors.
Gill
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FelixTheCat
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by FelixTheCat »

thethinker wrote:1) are there any investors that contribute on this site? (Who?)
We are all investors that believe in indexing.
thethinker wrote:2) if so, do you do it for fun (blog) or do you get paid? (Can you say which site?)
Get paid in Karma points. Bogleheads helped me and I pay it forward.
thethinker wrote:3) how does someone get compensated for directing a person to use a low cost 3-fund portfolio and rebalance?
Become a fee-only Certified Financial Planner.
Felix is a wonderful, wonderful cat.
dad2000
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by dad2000 »

1.I'm guessing that you mean advisors. The answer is yes. Ferri, Swedroe, Roth, and Piper are a few that pop into my head.

2. I'm 99% sure that they don't get paid for contributing to this site, but will defer to the moderators.

3. There is a lot more to comprehensive financial planning than investment selection. Retirement planning, Asset allocation, tax planning, estate planning, insurance planning, etc.
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Toons
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by Toons »

thethinker wrote:I have a multi-part question:

1) are there any investors that contribute on this site? (Who?)

2) if so, do you do it for fun (blog) or do you get paid? (Can you say which site?)

3) how does someone get compensated for directing a person to use a low cost 3-fund portfolio and rebalance?

1.As has been mentioned,the majority of individuals on this site are investors who enjoy contributing(for free)
2.Well I will say investing is enjoyable ,but my primary objective when I started was to put my money to work for me so I could have access to some "gold" in my golden years.I feel like that goal has been attained,at least for foreseeable future.
3.Plenty of individuals on this site direct other individuals to a low cost 3-fund portfolio and rebalancing methodologies at No cost. :happy
"One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity" –Bruce Lee
lack_ey
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by lack_ey »

I don't think Mike Piper is an investment/financial advisor, just an author/blogger. The others recommend something more complicated than three funds to clients, I believe. That said, I don't want to speak for any of them, just pointing out my observations, which may be wrong.

As pointed out above, asset allocation is a small part of services provided and these days is kind of commoditized, what with the investment choices available, free information here and elsewhere, cheap robo advisor services, Vanguard's 0.3% service, Schwab's upcoming supposedly free robo advisor service, and so on.
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thethinker
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by thethinker »

Gill wrote:
thethinker wrote:1) are there any investors that contribute on this site? (Who?)
Most of us are investors.
Gill
Thanks for catching this error. I edited the OP. I meant to ask about advisors.
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in_reality
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by in_reality »

I've had two advisors. One (independant) I paid 1% AUM, and the other (Wells Fargo private bank) 1.5%.

Even if they had been free, and even if the funds they recommeded had been more cost effective, I still believe the AA I have arrived at after considering the ideas on this board is much better.
livesoft
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by livesoft »

There are numerous advisors who contribute to this site and I am sure many more lurkers. If you hang out here long enough, you will see who is who.

The Bogleheads wiki lists lots of them: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/News_and_blogs but there are many others.
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Derek Tinnin
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by Derek Tinnin »

1) Yes, I am an advisor, but I haven't contributed much of late. Just observe mostly.

2) Here for the same reason as everyone else, to tap the wisdom of the crowd and the Wiki.

3)flat fee? :wink:
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by cleosdad »

lack_ey wrote:I don't think Mike Piper is an investment/financial advisor, just an author/blogger. The others recommend something more complicated than three funds to clients, I believe. That said, I don't want to speak for any of them, just pointing out my observations, which may be wrong.

As pointed out above, asset allocation is a small part of services provided and these days is kind of commoditized, what with the investment choices available, free information here and elsewhere, cheap robo advisor services, Vanguard's 0.3% service, Schwab's upcoming supposedly free robo advisor service, and so on.
Mike Piper is a CPA,author,blogger, who has been very helpful with taxes and social security.
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thethinker
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by thethinker »

Derek Tinnin wrote:1) Yes, I am an advisor, but I haven't contributed much of late. Just observe mostly.

2) Here for the same reason as everyone else, to tap the wisdom of the crowd and the Wiki.

3)flat fee? :wink:
If I may ask, do you charge a fee to set up an investor with a 3 Fund portfilio and annual rebalance?
Hank Moody
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by Hank Moody »

Yes, I'm an investment advisor.

I contribute for fun but I actually learn a great deal from this website. In most cases, the discussions are very high level.

I don't direct people for buying a 3-fund portfolio. I develop and manage asset allocation strategies myself using mostly DFA funds.
thethinker wrote:I have a multi-part question:

1) are there any investment advisors that contribute on this site? (Who?)

2) if so, do you do it for fun (blog) or do you get paid? (Can you say which site you write on?)

3) how does someone get compensated for directing a person to use a low cost 3-fund portfolio and rebalance?
-HM
cherijoh
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by cherijoh »

FelixTheCat wrote:
thethinker wrote:2) if so, do you do it for fun (blog) or do you get paid? (Can you say which site?)
Get paid in Karma points. Bogleheads helped me and I pay it forward.
+1
I am not a paid advisor, but in addition to Karma points, it is frustration-relief valve for me. I have plenty of friends who talk about consulting their "financial advisor" or having individual stock portfolios. I also have coworkers who obsessively track the company stock price, which makes me think they have a big chunk of their 401k in company stock. I have to bite my tongue not to give them unsolicited advice on how they could do much better on their own with a 3-fund portfolio of index funds or in a target retirement index fund. So it's fun to give solicited advice and have someone actually listen to it. :D

There was the coworker who mentioned he had stopped investing in the company 401k when the stock market made a huge correction :oops: I couldn't bite my tongue on that one and did try and explain dollar cost averaging and buy low/sell high and to convince him to at least invest for the company match (1:1 up to 5% employee contribution). I'm not sure I changed his mind, but at least he didn't get mad.
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thethinker
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by thethinker »

cleosdad wrote:
lack_ey wrote:I don't think Mike Piper is an investment/financial advisor, just an author/blogger. The others recommend something more complicated than three funds to clients, I believe. That said, I don't want to speak for any of them, just pointing out my observations, which may be wrong.

As pointed out above, asset allocation is a small part of services provided and these days is kind of commoditized, what with the investment choices available, free information here and elsewhere, cheap robo advisor services, Vanguard's 0.3% service, Schwab's upcoming supposedly free robo advisor service, and so on.
Mike Piper is a CPA,author,blogger, who has been very helpful with taxes and social security.
Great, thank you. What user name does Mr Piper use?
dbr
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by dbr »

thethinker wrote:
Derek Tinnin wrote:1) Yes, I am an advisor, but I haven't contributed much of late. Just observe mostly.

2) Here for the same reason as everyone else, to tap the wisdom of the crowd and the Wiki.

3)flat fee? :wink:
If I may ask, do you charge a fee to set up an investor with a 3 Fund portfilio and annual rebalance?
Derek can answer for himself, but it might be worth mentioning that investment management, which is what you want, is different from financial planning or advising and can often be done at a very low cost. Derek may supply such a service and Rick Ferri is an example of someone who also does. I believe I am correct that Rick provides investment management to clients but not financial planning or advising. He does write books and articles that do address planning and advising. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong. It is important to be specific as to exactly what services are wanted. Also, I am leary of people mainly expert in investing getting involved in tax advice or estate legal advice.
cleosdad
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by cleosdad »

thethinker wrote:
cleosdad wrote:
lack_ey wrote:I don't think Mike Piper is an investment/financial advisor, just an author/blogger. The others recommend something more complicated than three funds to clients, I believe. That said, I don't want to speak for any of them, just pointing out my observations, which may be wrong.

As pointed out above, asset allocation is a small part of services provided and these days is kind of commoditized, what with the investment choices available, free information here and elsewhere, cheap robo advisor services, Vanguard's 0.3% service, Schwab's upcoming supposedly free robo advisor service, and so on.
Mike Piper is a CPA,author,blogger, who has been very helpful with taxes and social security.
Great, thank you. What user name does Mr Piper use?
Oblivious Investor.
Pizzasteve510
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by Pizzasteve510 »

cherijoh wrote:
+1
I am not a paid advisor, but in addition to Karma points, it is frustration-relief valve for me. I have plenty of friends who talk about consulting their "financial advisor" or having individual stock portfolios. I also have coworkers who obsessively track the company stock price, which makes me think they have a big chunk of their 401k in company stock. I have to bite my tongue not to give them unsolicited advice on how they could do much better on their own with a 3-fund portfolio of index funds or in a target retirement index fund. So it's fun to give solicited advice and have someone actually listen to it. :D

There was the coworker who mentioned he had stopped investing in the company 401k when the stock market made a huge correction :oops: I couldn't bite my tongue on that one and did try and explain dollar cost averaging and buy low/sell high and to convince him to at least invest for the company match (1:1 up to 5% employee contribution). I'm not sure I changed his mind, but at least he didn't get mad.
I also enjoy discussing topics for which I feel my experience adds a perspective. Many posting members have worked in companies or as professionals with a wide variety of expertise. For example, I had long stints in corporate management, management strategy consulting with a top firm, and with a big 4 audit firm. One learns a lot from efforts to shape strategy, manage risks and run a company that is relevant to investing. I have also seen knowledgeable accountants, legal council, economists, and government professionals post interesting and relevant views to this community.

Finally, even with seemingly no-brainer advice like accepting a 401k match, one should remain careful with advice. I gave the same advice to a colleague and later had this large employer go bust due to hidden accounting issues (and they lost all their investment in company stock). While I also lost high 5 figures I felt really bad because the investor was relatively young and could less afford the losses.
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by Derek Tinnin »

thethinker wrote:
Derek Tinnin wrote:1) Yes, I am an advisor, but I haven't contributed much of late. Just observe mostly.

2) Here for the same reason as everyone else, to tap the wisdom of the crowd and the Wiki.

3)flat fee? :wink:
If I may ask, do you charge a fee to set up an investor with a 3 Fund portfilio and annual rebalance?
Why not 2 funds? Or even 1 fund and then forgetaboutit?
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thethinker
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by thethinker »

Hank Moody wrote: I don't direct people for buying a 3-fund portfolio. I develop and manage asset allocation strategies myself using mostly DFA funds.
If I may ask a personal question. Once you direct people to buy multiple DFA funds - do they continue to pay you just to hold the funds and occasionally rebalance? I'm wondering why people can't just pay for your information year 1 and do the rest on their own in future years ?!
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thethinker
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by thethinker »

Derek Tinnin wrote:
thethinker wrote:
Derek Tinnin wrote:1) Yes, I am an advisor, but I haven't contributed much of late. Just observe mostly.

2) Here for the same reason as everyone else, to tap the wisdom of the crowd and the Wiki.

3)flat fee? :wink:
If I may ask, do you charge a fee to set up an investor with a 3 Fund portfilio and annual rebalance?
Why not 2 funds? Or even 1 fund and then forgetaboutit?
Very true.
Again though, the question is: how do you charge after helping someone purchase that fund in year 1?
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thethinker
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by thethinker »

dbr wrote:
thethinker wrote: investment management, which is what you want, is different from financial planning or advising and can often be done at a very low cost.

....Rick Ferri is an example of someone who also does. I believe I am correct that Rick provides investment management to clients but not financial planning or advising.

....It is important to be specific as to exactly what services are wanted. Also, I am leary of people mainly expert in investing getting involved in tax advice or estate legal advice.

Thank you.
Is an investment manager someone who only discusses short/long term investments with his client, but no other financial advice?
tibbitts
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by tibbitts »

thethinker wrote:I have a multi-part question:

1) are there any investment advisors that contribute on this site? (Who?)

2) if so, do you do it for fun (blog) or do you get paid? (Can you say which site you write on?)

3) how does someone get compensated for directing a person to use a low cost 3-fund portfolio and rebalance?
Investment managers aren't doing the static allocation, three-fund thing. They have timing strategies for changing asset allocations, and different investment managers have different strategies, so what each manager is selling is having a better strategy than the other guys. Plus, they have access to strategies (individual bonds, DFA, etc.) that would be difficult for an investor to implement on his/her own.
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by Derek Tinnin »

thethinker wrote:
Derek Tinnin wrote:
thethinker wrote:
Derek Tinnin wrote:1) Yes, I am an advisor, but I haven't contributed much of late. Just observe mostly.

2) Here for the same reason as everyone else, to tap the wisdom of the crowd and the Wiki.

3)flat fee? :wink:
If I may ask, do you charge a fee to set up an investor with a 3 Fund portfilio and annual rebalance?
Why not 2 funds? Or even 1 fund and then forgetaboutit?
Very true.
Again though, the question is: how do you charge after helping someone purchase that fund in year 1?
Since you are asking, flat fee not tied to AUM. The question is what are they paying for or why? If not tied to AUM, then it's for some combination of advice/service. Some people need/value that, some don't. Believe it or not, most people looking for help have a valid reason for doing so, and it usually has nothing to do with the mechanics of holding a collection of funds. That's the easy part right?
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Kevin M
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by Kevin M »

livesoft wrote: The Bogleheads wiki lists lots of them: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/News_and_blogs but there are many others.
Just to clarify, these are Boglehead bloggers. Some are advisors, some are not.

Kevin
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staythecourse
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by staythecourse »

dad2000 wrote: There is a lot more to comprehensive financial planning than investment selection. Retirement planning, Asset allocation, tax planning, estate planning, insurance planning, etc.
I have NEVER understood why the financial advising industry has not adapted to the times. Any intelligent person who does a bit of investigating quickly realizes active management is a loser's game yet the majority of FA seem to keep tapping this aspect as a reason to use them.

I, personally, believe there is MANY advantages of FA in the fact they can add value as the above quote indicates, but will be up to them to market themselves in this light and NOT having a better crystal ball then the next guy to have relevance in the next 50 yrs.

Good luck.
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Derek Tinnin
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by Derek Tinnin »

staythecourse wrote:
dad2000 wrote: There is a lot more to comprehensive financial planning than investment selection. Retirement planning, Asset allocation, tax planning, estate planning, insurance planning, etc.
I have NEVER understood why the financial advising industry has not adapted to the times. Any intelligent person who does a bit of investigating quickly realizes active management is a loser's game yet the majority of FA seem to keep tapping this aspect as a reason to use them.

I, personally, believe there is MANY advantages of FA in the fact they can add value as the above quote indicates, but will be up to them to market themselves in this light and NOT having a better crystal ball then the next guy to have relevance in the next 50 yrs.

Good luck.
The industry is definitely adapting, just slowly. There was the initial migration from broker to independent, then from commission to fee-only, then in recent years from active to passive. The final shoe to drop is from AUM percentage fees to flat fixed fees (at least to be philosophically consistent if promoting passive). That's still a tiny percentage of the industry because it's still all about asset gathering. The robo-advisor is accelerating the process by giving human advisors the incentive to turn the fee model upside down by driving the cost of the investment implementation piece lower and then put value adds (tax, planning, etc.) on top (if actually needed/valued by the buyer...). A much more transparent, unbundled world that seems logical, but it will still probably take a long time for it to be mainstream. In the meantime, most will just try to swim further upstream to the larger AUM client, but that's just making them even more vulnerable to the flat fee model IMHO.
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by dbr »

Derek (or anyone) what fraction or to what degree does the traditional investment advisor base have the knowledge, experience, and competence to do tax and estate planning, or even personal financial planning? I would think the last person one would consult for tax and estate planning would be someone coming out of an investment sales background. I would also be dubious that most people focused in investing would really understand the whole package as "general contractors" as it were.
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by Derek Tinnin »

dbr wrote:Derek (or anyone) what fraction or to what degree does the traditional investment advisor base have the knowledge, experience, and competence to do tax and estate planning, or even personal financial planning? I would think the last person one would consult for tax and estate planning would be someone coming out of an investment sales background. I would also be dubious that most people focused in investing would really understand the whole package as "general contractors" as it were.
Depends on where you find them. If they "grew up" in an independent wealth management environment, the competence is higher, but it's still compromised by the quest for AUM. The best course IMO is to purchase those services separately for not only competence, but for transparency/objectivity. Whether that's under one roof or different roofs, the key is to eliminate as many conflicts of interest as you can while trying to keep it relatively seamless so things don't get lost in translation across the CPA, CFP, CFA, etc.
HIinvestor
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by HIinvestor »

We hired an estate attorney to help us with estate planning and draw up appropriate legal documents and get them registered, as well as clearing real estate title. We have our CPA help us with our tax issues and will be having them help us with some financial and retirement planning in 2015.

For the rest, I would recommend hiring a fee only qualified Certified Financial Planner, who gives you an advanced estimate as to what he/she will provide and what it will cost. I would mostly want someone who is index fund inclined and not a stock picker or managed fund advocate.

As was said, it is POSSIBLE to have one person or one firm that does everything but in practice, for us we find it best to find the firm or individual that does what we want best and for a reasonable price. The CPA we use does all our annual taxes, including giving us estimated tax info, so we rarely get a refund or have to make much of a tax payment in April. Our CPA doesn't dabble in CFP, which we are happy with.
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Re: Are there any advisors on this site?

Post by Hank Moody »

They pay me throughout. If they wanted the type of arrangement you describe, I would require a load such as 5% to handle it that way.

Clients want actual management, not just access to a particular investment option. I give it to them.
thethinker wrote:
Hank Moody wrote: I don't direct people for buying a 3-fund portfolio. I develop and manage asset allocation strategies myself using mostly DFA funds.
If I may ask a personal question. Once you direct people to buy multiple DFA funds - do they continue to pay you just to hold the funds and occasionally rebalance? I'm wondering why people can't just pay for your information year 1 and do the rest on their own in future years ?!
-HM
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