TIAA vs. Vanguard advisors - is TIAA better?
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TIAA vs. Vanguard advisors - is TIAA better?
I recently had a meeting with both a Vanguard representative and a TIAA advisor. I was surprised at the difference in the meetings. In both cases it was my first meting with the person. The TIAA one was in person, the Vanguard meeting was over the phone. I was not paying for either one. Given that I have substantially more assets with Vanguard than TIAA, I was expecting a higher level of service from them. However, the Vanguard person was late to the call, did not excuse the lateness, and proceeded to only answer 2 of my questions. (I had sent organizations a short list of 4 items that I wanted help with: do I have enough? when to take SS? Allocation advice? Withdrawal strategy?) On the other hand, the TIAA person, asked unrelated but useful questions (e.g., do you have a desire to leave a bequest? Do you have a will, a healthcare power of attorney? Are you setting aide any of your funds for a special non-retirement purpose?). On paper, the Vanguard person had excellent credentials; the TIAA person was very young and less credentialed. Yet, the Vanguard person just said call me in next few months if you have another question, while the TIAA person proceeded to set up a follow up meeting to assess my allocation. Does anyone have nay experience with either one of these 2 parties' advisory services? I'm considering using the free services from either organization. (For now,I'm not interested in the fee-paid higher level of service from either.)
Re: TIAA vs. Vanguard advisors - is TIAA better?
Since it is free, you may as well use both and compare notes. I have no experience with Vanguard but I have meet both TIAA advisors and Fidelity Advisors. The TIAA advisor answered all my questions and he asked me whether I understand the difference between liquid and illiquid TIAA Traditional. I would say my meeting with him was positive. There was no attempt in getting me to pay more for advisory service. My meeting with Fidelity was also good.
Re: TIAA vs. Vanguard advisors - is TIAA better?
I have occasionally talked with the CFPs at Vanguard about financial planning issues, not about investing. They were fine, but did not tell me anything I did not already know.
A while ago I got a call from someone at TIAA to "talk about your account". Since I have money there I called back, thinking there was some problem. It was a long frustrating conversation until I figured out he was trying to sign me up as an investment client. He started by saying he could help with retirement planning. So I asked about Roth conversion strategy, asset protection if transferring 401(k) money to an IRA, and maximizing inheritance for heirs', taking into account income taxes for us and them and estate taxes. He suggested I come in to talk. When I pointed out that we were talking just fine over the phone he launched into a sales pitch. After I had to repeat my questions several times he finally said that he and TIAA would have nothing to offer on any of these topics, since they involved legal and tax questions. But he then claimed he could help with retirement planning. I pointed out this was the help I need, what else did he have to offer?
I eventually gave up. I told him if he had something concrete to offer, please write it down and send it to me.
Looking him up on the TIAA site, I saw that he was not a CFP. He had spent decades as a stick broker then moved to TIAA. His job was signing up clients for active management.
If TIAA has CFPs, or people with that knowledge set, I have not encountered them.
A while ago I got a call from someone at TIAA to "talk about your account". Since I have money there I called back, thinking there was some problem. It was a long frustrating conversation until I figured out he was trying to sign me up as an investment client. He started by saying he could help with retirement planning. So I asked about Roth conversion strategy, asset protection if transferring 401(k) money to an IRA, and maximizing inheritance for heirs', taking into account income taxes for us and them and estate taxes. He suggested I come in to talk. When I pointed out that we were talking just fine over the phone he launched into a sales pitch. After I had to repeat my questions several times he finally said that he and TIAA would have nothing to offer on any of these topics, since they involved legal and tax questions. But he then claimed he could help with retirement planning. I pointed out this was the help I need, what else did he have to offer?
I eventually gave up. I told him if he had something concrete to offer, please write it down and send it to me.
Looking him up on the TIAA site, I saw that he was not a CFP. He had spent decades as a stick broker then moved to TIAA. His job was signing up clients for active management.
If TIAA has CFPs, or people with that knowledge set, I have not encountered them.
We don't know how to beat the market on a risk-adjusted basis, and we don't know anyone that does know either |
--Swedroe |
We assume that markets are efficient, that prices are right |
--Fama