Question about PM's on this forum

[investment guy]

Hi. I think very highly of the opinions of several individuals on this forum. Is it ok to send them a very brief PM asking if they will review and assess my portfolio? If I receive a positive reply, then (and only then) will I send them info on my portfolio with questions. Is that acceptable/best approach? Thanks.

[Stinky]

Hi. I think very highly of the opinions of several individuals on this forum. Is it ok to send them a very brief PM asking if they will review and assess my portfolio? If I receive a positive reply, then (and only then) will I send them info on my portfolio with questions. Is that acceptable/best approach? Thanks.

You could do that.

Alternatively, you could post your portfolio on the Forum along with your questions. You could then PM those individuals you have in mind, point them to your "public" post, and ask them if they would be so kind as to comment. That would (a) possibly give you a broader range of folks who comment on your portfolio, and (b) give everyone on the Forum the benefit of all comments on your portfolio.

Upon reflection, I'd probably suggest the latter route - post publicly, then privately ask for comments from a few folks if you choose to do so.

[investment guy]

Good idea. Thank you.

[grabiner]

Hi. I think very highly of the opinions of several individuals on this forum. Is it ok to send them a very brief PM asking if they will review and assess my portfolio? If I receive a positive reply, then (and only then) will I send them info on my portfolio with questions. Is that acceptable/best approach? Thanks.

I get asked to do this occasionally, and my usual reply is that the collective wisdom of the forum is much greater than that of any one individual. I may sometimes answer specific questions, but I really shouldn't be the only person to review a portfolio.

It is more useful if someone PM's me with a link to an existing topic; this can be the original investor or someone else who believes I have something to contribute. This allows me to check out the topic, avoid duplicated advice, and comment on things other people have posted.

[AnnetteLouisan]

I think comments should be voluntary. Few people are here to do unpaid weekend or evening work. Plus there is the issue of liability. If you develop a friendship first and they offer, fine. There’s a funny Curb Your Enthusiasm segment where Larry asks a dermatologist at his golf club to have “just a quick look” at a skin condition. Things proceed downhill from there, as ever.

OP, If you post your issue and then say -“I’d particularly appreciate comments from Bogleheads X, Y and Z, feel free to PM me” perhaps that is a way to handle.

[Soon2BXProgrammer]

Paging!

The approach I take to invite people to a conversation is: (Note this is not including the post_id= time= variables on purpose, that are part of a normal quote, because they give the "arrow" back to the previous topic, etc.)

Code: Select all

[quote=AnnetteLouisan user_id=178907]
Paging!
[/quote]

Of course you have to edit to have the right name and user_id.. This works for people who have their PM's full, but depending on their notification settings they might or might not get an email. It will show up in their "notifications" after they log in.