Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Non-investing personal finance issues including insurance, credit, real estate, taxes, employment and legal issues such as trusts and wills.
fipt2030
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by fipt2030 »

Yes, I am sure

I interviewed one other Asset manager using DFA funds, wanted 1% AUM fees, said no thanks
Nowizard
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by Nowizard »

Nope. No need to mess up a good thing, even though brother-in-law is one. :happy
Broken Man 1999
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

There is nothing I think that a FA could do for us. We have a moderately simple portfolio all housed at Vanguard. Over the last few months I have made the portfolio even more simple. We have a handful of individual stocks, and a couple of sector ETFs (Vanguard Health and Vanguard REIT) and the balance is in Vanguard index funds.

I might consider using Vanguard's PAS in the future, though my current efforts should really make our portfolio so simple I might not need them at all.

Still wondering how best to set things up to protect legacy and at the same time ensure wife's health and well-being when I pass. I still have some time, I believe. But those efforts are estate planning, not portfolio activities, for the most part.

Although I don't use a FA, I strongly believe they can bring significant value to those unable or unwilling to manage their portfolios. This site represents a segment of do-it-yourselfers that I don't believe is a very large portion of the total investing population. As a member of this forum, I am grateful this site exists, with the abundant, selfless, quality help, but there are so many unschooled investors who need someone. Not all investors will find their way here, or even look for this site.

Hopefully if they do use a FA they might end up with a solid selection of appropriate investments with minimum expenses, perhaps a fee-only FA. Hey, it could happen!

You always pay for education. For many, their route for their financial education will be via FAs. Hopefully their tuition won't be horrendous.

Broken Man 1999
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Nearly A Moose
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by Nearly A Moose »

Probably depends on whether you feel the need to try to get really fancy with tax planning and such, but I have no intention of getting an FA when I hit that milestone. I'm already in a very high marginal bracket, so it's not like my total stock market account in my taxable account's dividends or capital gains are going to get more or less tax efficient. And I could do without a complicated set of annuities and whole life policies, thank you very much. Perhaps if you derive your income from a complicated source (maybe an international partnership? or a set of businesses you own?) you might benefit from a very good CPA who can help you manage the tax issues and save you some time during tax season, but I don't see the need for an FA.

Again, I'm not there yet, but I would suspect that good estate planning (that doesn't involve whole life...) would be more valuable once you get to a certain net worth.
Pardon typos, I'm probably using my fat thumbs on a tiny phone.
SRenaeP
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by SRenaeP »

The few times I've ever entertained using an FA, I always leave the meeting disgusted. I always know more than they do and they seem rather useless. However, I plan to meet with a fee-only CFP once the mortgage is paid off in order to get a sanity check as to if DH and I can semi-retire at that point.

-Steph
FRANK2009
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by FRANK2009 »

Not quite north of a million, but really close. I met with a planner ONCE. My curiosity was cured. All he wanted to do was put me in an annuity. When I declined, he wanted 2-4% to manage my portfolio. When I told him that I doubted that he could beat my index funds, he said that he know "when to get in and out of stocks". Meeting over. Mr. Bogle is my planner even if he doesn't know it.
freebeer
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by freebeer »

Broken Man 1999 wrote: Tue Oct 24, 2017 4:13 pm There is nothing I think that a FA could do for us. We have a moderately simple portfolio all housed at Vanguard. ...
Although I don't use a FA, I strongly believe they can bring significant value to those unable or unwilling to manage their portfolios. This site represents a segment of do-it-yourselfers that I don't believe is a very large portion of the total investing population. ...
I'm in the same boat. So many of my (super smart and successful) friends are clueless about managing their personal finances - I think this is more "unwilling" than "unable". The original reddit thread included a snide comment about no one needing to use a personal trainer that I think was apt. I don't use a FA but I do have a personal trainer. I am not unable to do workouts on my own and as a frugal person I somewhat deplore this as an unnecessary luxury... but when I haven't used a personal trainer my fitness results have been objectively worse. So given the importance of health the not unsubstantial cost seems worth it at this time. For several of my friends, I believe a FA would be in the same category of "unnecessary but nevertheless very worthwhile" given what's at stake and likely worse results, for them, if a FA is not utilized.
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artthomp
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by artthomp »

A couple of years ago I wrote the Boglehead bond expert, Mel Lindauer, a question about my allocations and he suggested I look at the Vanguard Retirement Income Mutual Fund. I did that and liked what I saw so I decided to put in place a slightly modified version. I'm 77 years old and have to take IRS Required Distributions from my IRA once a year and use the cash for living expenses and reinvest any extra in Vanguard equities.
My target allocations are:
MM - 2%
Total Bond Index - 37%
Short Term Inflation Protected - 16%
Total International Bond - 15%
Total Fixed Income - 70%
Total Stock Index - 20%
Total International Stock Index - 10%
Total Equities - 30%
Art
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Earl Lemongrab
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by Earl Lemongrab »

Mine is getting to be close to twice that, but I don't know of anything an adviser would do for me. Tax-efficient investing for index-based portfolios isn't that hard. The information is readily available. Probably the Reddit person is hinting at whole life or annuities or other stuff most of us wouldn't use.
tesuzuki2002
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by tesuzuki2002 »

czeckers wrote: Sat Oct 21, 2017 7:00 am Not I. Investing is quite simple: Set a reasonable asset allocation, make regular contributions, rebalance every once in a while back to your original AA if things get too far out of whack.

However, it is not easy: the emotional responses of greed and fear can be quite strong and will push you to do the wrong things at the wrong times.

The more you mess with the basic formula, the more likely you are to hurt your portfolio.
No Need for a FA. It's a money drag and fruitless from what I hear.
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WestUniversity
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by WestUniversity »

RadAudit wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 5:21 pm My FA is Bogleheads.org, the books, the wiki ... Their charge for AUM seems reasonable.

Many thanks to all.
Amen! :mrgreen:
TRC
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by TRC »

Negative tackelberry.
Cruise
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by Cruise »

My wife and I had dinner with another couple the other night. Talk turned to investing, and their use of a high-end firm known for their analytics. The husband, a former banker, touted their research skills. The wife kept on saying “I don’t understand why we don’t match or better the benchmarks.”

I just listened and nodded my head :).

They never asked how we invest, but did express some envy of our vacation travel. Had they asked, I would have told them we travel on the money we avoid paying on AUM fees.
scrabbler1
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by scrabbler1 »

Cruise wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 3:49 am My wife and I had dinner with another couple the other night. Talk turned to investing, and their use of a high-end firm known for their analytics. The husband, a former banker, touted their research skills. The wife kept on saying “I don’t understand why we don’t match or better the benchmarks.”

I just listened and nodded my head :).

They never asked how we invest, but did express some envy of our vacation travel. Had they asked, I would have told them we travel on the money we avoid paying on AUM fees.
LOL that was a terrific would-be response. And from your screen name, let me guess how you like to travel?
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by sschullo »

khh wrote: Sat Oct 21, 2017 5:44 amJack Bogle.
+1

I used to refer friends to National Association of Personal Financial Advisers, but their AUM of 1.0% plus the cost of the investments gives me pause. I will never use one and so I try and encourage friends and relatives to go ahead and hire a NAPFA or Garrett pro for a couple of years to learn how to do it yourself. It just doesn't make sense to have a Vanguard Wellington or Wellesley which manages itself and pay some adviser 1.0%! Even if they are fiduciaries, it's not worth it.
Never in the history of market day-traders’ has the obsession with so much massive, sophisticated, & powerful statistical machinery used by the brightest people on earth with such useless results.
socraticbogler
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by socraticbogler »

Me neither. I've definitely interviewed a lot, thinking one day I'll find the right one, but I don't trust anyone to gamble with my money, and I don't believe it's necessary to establish responsible portfolio allocations.
jimishooch
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by jimishooch »

nope,
cpa is all i need.
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NateH
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by NateH »

We pay a fee-only FA for non-investment advice. The fee is <$1k.

Partly because it makes my wife feel more comfortable.
Also have gotten good advice on saving for college, major home remodel, life insurance, planning for early retirement, etc...
4X top-twenty S&P 500 prognosticator. I'd start a newsletter, but it would only have one issue per year. | dumb investor during 1999 tech bubble, current slice & dicer.
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beyou
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by beyou »

Do not use an FA, never have.

A very bright friend with a large portfolio does use an FA for part of his portfolio, indicating that he does not trust himself enough to do the right
thing. Can't stomach buying in a down market to re-balance. To each his own.
kalrocmk
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by kalrocmk »

no. We haven't used a FA. Prefer to go it alone and consult with BH when need some guidance.
Just trying to make a living
jackholloway
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by jackholloway »

I do not

As someone upthread mentioned, many of us have this as a hobby. We would no more pay an ongoing fee than someone whose hobby is auto restoration would pay a body shop to buff out a dent. They might, though, pay a body shop to use an expensive tool, or to provide one-off expert advice on a new area.

As long as the FA fee provides a worthy service, paying it makes sense, but many charge percentages that do not provide more value as the portfolio grows. I do not like watching the market drop, so I might pay a pro for TLH, but I do know my risk tolerance under drops of up to 50%, so I do not pay for that kind of portfolio management.
FraggleRock
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Nope

Post by FraggleRock »

AUM of 1% would be >1 trip to Europe ecomony class flight .
<1 in business class.
But, that is topic for another thread.
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gasdoc
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by gasdoc »

No.

gasdoc
wandering_aimlessly
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by wandering_aimlessly »

I'll start by saying I don't use anyone, but I notice most folks equate this request to an asset manager...there are (I would like to think) plenty of FA's who believe in a Bogle approach to asset management. Also not sure exactly what constitutes an "FA" in this instance so I will use it in the broadest sense of the word.
I can see two times when an "FA" could be worth it - Extremely high wealth - hard to define what this is but this exposes an investor to a different class of investments than most of us have access to...I have been on the buying side of enough acquisitions to see PE firms buy a business for single $M and sell in a few years for $10s of M (or add a zero to each). You can pay a pretty good retainer if someone could get you into that...My measly investable $5M or so doesn't open that door...
the other time a financial advisor could be worth it is as a broad based, fee only advisor...someone with specialized know how you can have a conversation with on almost any aspect of finances (not just where to invest), discussions on estate planning, college funding, implications of tax changes, planning for large purchases (without specific recommendations of products that kick money back) - just a different (knowledgeable) opinion for those of us who believe that exposure to that is actually intellectually stimulating and worthwhile. Interestingly I am actually planning to do something similar to this as a "retirement" job...sometime in the next 5-7 years I'll leave my finance job in the rat race and transition into being a true finance advisor, or maybe finance counselor is better. I am still figuring out exactly what that path is (started working toward a CFP - though that is more of a signal than for the learning - I find what I learn informally to be more appropriate to this next career) maybe most importantly, making money really isn't going to matter - this is a retirement job) so I can do this because I really love it and want to share 30 years of study with folks who just don't have the time or inclination. I have begun practicing on some of my co-workers and seem to be generating some interest - but getting them off the FA = Asset manager train is pretty hard too - I have no interest in selling stuff...

Luckily I don't plan on Bogleheads being a large portion of my customer base - many of us are way too (over??) sure of ourselves to accept such advise, but I will keep using this website for learning and thought exercises...
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by LadyGeek »

I posted this earlier, but it bears repeating.

Be sure to understand the difference between an Investment adviser and a Financial planner.

Managing your investments only falls under the category of "investment adviser". Doing more than that is a "financial planner".

Robo-advisers manage investments.
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Life Is Good
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by Life Is Good »

Never. Not a chance.

My mother has a Financial Advisor at one of the well known firms and has a net worth ~$5M. She always complains about the insane fees she pays and recently asked if I could look over her portfolio.

Sure.

It was such a mess of funds, stocks, individual bonds, etc - nearly 100 of them in each account - that I couldn't make sense of it, nor would I even know where to start to "fix" it. I can't imagine the mess of reporting capital gains/losses that she pays yet another person to calculate and file for her.

The Bogleheads have helped me keep it simple. No FA, thank you.
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randomizer
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by randomizer »

We didn't on the way to $1m net worth and aren't planning on starting now. Between good books and the advice on this forum, I don't think the expense is justified in any sense.
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DorothyB
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by DorothyB »

My house is worth a bit over $300K and is paid for, but I only count "money" in calculating my "worth". For a small amount of time in Q4 2014 and then again starting this month, my net cash balance is over $1 million so I qualify to answer this question now :) Checking, cash, savings, IRA, I-bonds, etc less credit card balance = over $1M!!

I pay a very small nominal sum to a "financial advisor" who does not have access to invest or otherwise touch my funds / money. He has been very, very helpful as I transitioned into retirement, helping me figure out that I could afford to be retired, giving me investment advise, being a sounding board, figuring out my asset allocation and investment plan, etc. While I now feel that I am almost to the point of running very smoothly, it wouldn't have gone nearly as well without his input.

I also believe that he will be able to help me "stay the course" and not worry as much when the next market downturn happens. :) When I wasn't in "pre-retirement" phase, it was easy for me to just not look, keep investing on auto-pilot and not sell when the market was down. Now that I'm retired (age 60, retired at age 56 3/4), I can't "not look" since I need to do periodic withdrawals to fund my retirement, etc.

He has been more literally an "advisor" than many are referring to in this post.
Dottie57
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by Dottie57 »

Not since becoming a Boglehead.

I've had 4.

The first one was a family friend. Used front load funds. The tira was rolled over from 401k. He helped me get the money out of 401k. After he left , I had a woman from the same institution. She was worse. I didn't do too well.

The second one was at my bank. They also helped me into front loaded american funds. After the load the funds did fairly well.

The third was from the same bank and replaced advisor #2. Kept on with american funds. Left this advisor after finding bogleheads and realizing I had done well with 401k index funds.

So transfered tira, roth and taxable accounts to fidelity. The fidelity FA was great in getting my money transferred. Not so wonderful in suggesting an expensive annuity. Also suggested moving money from 401k to tira. Assume he gets more for an account with much larger balance.

So no, i don't use an FA. Doing much better with plain jane funds. I would have more if I had just found this site earlier.
schachtw
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by schachtw »

smitcat wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:58 pm We did in the past but it was costing us a lot of money for middle of the road advice.
So .... currently and for the future no.
+1
Likewise, we were VPAS clients for approximately 15 months. Ultimately we decided the benefit wasn’t commensurate with the fee structure.
trueson1
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by trueson1 »

Nope.

Not since I found BHs which gave me the confidence that I could do it on my own. Now tackling retirement in 3 years and best strategies for withdrawal. You can do it.

Depending on how things go with my reasoning abilities as I get much older - might consider other options.
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by CedarWaxWing »

FrugalInvestor wrote: Sat Oct 21, 2017 5:31 am
Sandtrap wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 5:19 pm However, I have played golf with and befriended many a businessman that were better off paying the AUM, or fee only fee for their financial advisors. Not everyone has the sense or constitution, or interest, in doing it themselves. In fact, at times, it can be a significant bragging ritual when comparing "my financial advisor" (as if someone is wealthy enough not to have to bother with the dirty business of handling finances).
I've made the same observation. There are those who wear their financial advisor like a badge of honor. It's a status symbol and the advisor knows how to take advantage of this by massaging the client's ego with little perks like golf, dinners or flowers. But if the person has no interest in obtaining the bit of knowledge necessary to handle their own investments or the self confidence to make their own decisions then the fees are the price they will inevitably pay. I sometimes wonder if these people have ever bothered to translate their AUMs into dollars per year, but then circle back to the realization that emotions and the desire for status are powerful things and that some people just have enough money that it is valued less and their time valued more as compared to mine.
In my experience, the folks who "brag" about their FA or their great investments... often do not have a clue as to whether or not they did well during any given time period... because they do not understand what "market returns" means or how they have comparatively done in relation to the market returns, or if they have a reasonable asset allocation. The same folks often have no idea what they are paying for the "services" of their "FA".
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PinotGris
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by PinotGris »

No. We got free advice in the form of general suggestion from the company's employee financial advice forums. When we did go to interview FA to consider hiring them, we were not impressed and did not believe in handing over the control of our assets to someone else.
But I have received priceless advice on this forum, from AA to review of our messy portfolio which is now in much better shape in tax efficiency, thanks to all the advice. After my husband retired we moved all our investments to Vanguard.
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StevieG72
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by StevieG72 »

My friend does, I bought him The Bogleheads Guide to Investing, he never finished the book.

He is on his 3rd financial advisor in as many years. The 2nd one managed to lose $40k on Linn Energy & get him invested in some illiquid REIT funds.

The current one held too much cash last year, and continues to do so this year.

I am happy with my Vangaurd investments with a total expense ratio of .06, YMMV.

The good news is I have given up trying to convert him to Bogleheadism. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink...
Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.
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FrugalYankee
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by FrugalYankee »

Never trusted anyone to handle my money. I use Bogleheads.org as my FA.
tranquility
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by tranquility »

I cringe at the fees even if it’s .20%! Besides self educating another option would be to consult an advisor who charges hourly
TonyDAntonio
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by TonyDAntonio »

Net worth well north of $1,000,000 and I still cut my own hair. You think I'm going to trust someone with my finances when I don't trust anyone else with something as valuable as my hair?
SamB
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by SamB »

I will pay an attorney (legal issues), CPA (tax questions), or some kind of insurance expert, which is rarely a salesman. But asset allocation - what to own and when? You must be kidding, right?
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by HJG0989 »

I went to a fee only FA from Garrett. I wanted my spouse to have another opinion that we were financially secure before we retired at age 56. There were so many errors in the plan that we received a refund.

We currently have about $4 million in investable assets and I don't see it as any more work than managing $500k or $1 million.

We recently moved some accounts from Vanguard to Fidelity. We met with a customer rep to have him do the transfer paperwork and to get the $2,500 transfer bonus. We are leaving for overseas and won't be back until late Spring so he suggested we met again once we return. He did mention he thinks it would be a good idea for us to have at least some of our money managed by Fidelity. He will will have some explaining to do as to why that would be good for us. :beer There is no way that is going to happen.
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JaneyLH
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by JaneyLH »

radiowave wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 5:25 pm
RadAudit wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 5:21 pm My FA is Bogleheads.org, the books, the wiki ... Their charge for AUM seems reasonable.

Many thanks to all.
+1 :)
+2

$50k more to play with every year. Just bought a beautiful brand new travel trailer with the money we used to pay our FA for 8 months’ (poor) advice. And much more confident about our financial security going forward.
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JaneyLH
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by JaneyLH »

radiowave wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 5:25 pm
RadAudit wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 5:21 pm My FA is Bogleheads.org, the books, the wiki ... Their charge for AUM seems reasonable.

Many thanks to all.
+1 :)
They never asked how we invest, but did express some envy of our vacation travel. Had they asked, I would have told them we travel on the money we avoid paying on AUM fees.

I have been looking into around the world cruises... and I realized my husband and I could do one every 2 years with just the fees we saved when we fired our investment advisor.
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by limeyx »

smitcat wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:58 pm We did in the past but it was costing us a lot of money for middle of the road advice.
So .... currently and for the future no.
Same here and I feel so much better being in control of my own affairs. Plus since our FA was through Schwab, he was inherently swayed to their investments and simply unable/unwilling to buy certain funds ... now I have total flexibility here
TheAncientOne
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by TheAncientOne »

My only dealing with a FA was when I took control of my mother's account at Fidelity when she was in her mid 80s. As i recall they charged something like 1% and would also on a regular basis move money from one Fidelity mutual fund to another. Between paying the AUM fee, paying for active management mutual funds, and having tax events occur every time money was moved from one account to another, the cost of their help added up. It could have been a lot worse if she had a stock broker trading away but I discourage others from doing anything but putting money into a couple of index funds at most and just keep putting new savings into them. Tax loss harvesting would be nice too, but I want family and friends to first focus on the basics.
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by SQRT »

I don’t use any investment advisors or tax accountants, never have. It does help to be a CPA and CFA holder. 8 figure portfolio.
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Sandtrap
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Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by Sandtrap »

Given the question, at 194 posts, that means that so far 194 folks (minus responses to responses) are in the 2 comma club.. . . so far.
I suspect that the majority are not using AUM FI.

An inaccurate observation.
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miamivice
Posts: 2973
Joined: Tue Jun 11, 2013 11:46 am

Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by miamivice »

I have a portfolio north of $1 million and pay little to no taxes on it each year.

I am a buy and hold type of person when it comes to investing, and since taxes are deferred until the sale is made, I pay little taxes.

The future tax liability keeps growing as the market gets strong and someday the tax man will come, but not today.

(Side comment - there really isn't much I could do to minimize tax liability anyway. All stock market investments are subject to tax. While muni bonds are not, they don't pay much in the way of returns, so they aren't a great investment. The only option I have to minimize taxes is to pour more money into tax advantaged accounts, but I don't need a financial advisor to do that.)
sj1961
Posts: 51
Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2018 6:01 pm

Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by sj1961 »

Wow, I find this fascinating. We have been really negligent with diligence as far as financial planning. Luckily about 5 years I did allow fidelity to manage some money for me, which has done really well even after the fees. I am excited to be here and learn how to take charge over our financial future.

What I find fascinating is the experience so many here have also had with professionals who are really not up to par. I can relate so much to the phrase above that someone realized they were educating the 'expert' instead of visa versa. So frustrating!

How does one find someone reliable? I have tried word of mouth and referrals from friends but have been disappointed.
delamer
Posts: 17458
Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2011 5:13 pm

Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by delamer »

sj1961 wrote: Mon Jan 22, 2018 6:51 pm Wow, I find this fascinating. We have been really negligent with diligence as far as financial planning. Luckily about 5 years I did allow fidelity to manage some money for me, which has done really well even after the fees. I am excited to be here and learn how to take charge over our financial future.

What I find fascinating is the experience so many here have also had with professionals who are really not up to par. I can relate so much to the phrase above that someone realized they were educating the 'expert' instead of visa versa. So frustrating!

How does one find someone reliable? I have tried word of mouth and referrals from friends but have been disappointed.

Why do you feel the need to find someone?
One thing that humbles me deeply is to see that human genius has its limits while human stupidity does not. - Alexandre Dumas, fils
Golfalot
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:06 am

Re: Does anyone here with net worths north of $1 mil use financial advisors?

Post by Golfalot »

My wife & I are 48 & 47. We have an investment portfolio north of $4MM and we do not use any financial advisors. The incredibly useful information on this site is all that we need.

When we had our Will & Living Trusts created about 6 or 7 years ago, the attorney had a financial planner friend who was trying to sell us his services, but he quickly realized we knew what we were doing. I think he may have been scared away by the detailed family financial statements that I brought to our meeting with him :happy . I brought about 5 years worth of P/Ls, Balance Sheets & Investment performance to the meeting (compliments of Quicken & my former CPA in me). Once I shared our strategy of having well diversified portfolio of low-cost index funds, he knew he wasn't getting a piece of our Pie.

I think as we get closer to Retirement, I may re-think this, but for now, I don't see the need.
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