Need a financial advisor?

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nedsaid
Posts: 19275
Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:33 am

Re: Need a financial advisor?

Post by nedsaid »

jacksprat wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 4:03 pm OP,

Visit more than one advisor/planner, but personally I found the garret planning network person I met with to more than meet our needs...
Vanguard PAS services are too limited - for us ...

Best wishes..
Jamesrs,

There are lots of threads where Bogleheads describe their actual experiences with Vanguard Personal Advisory service. The Vanguard website talks about comprehensive financial planning. You can read the threads to get an idea of what people really get from the service, it is more than just putting you into a few index funds. Not sure how Vanguard would compare with Garrett. Call Vanguard with your questions.

I also have heard good things here about Garrett Planning Network, there are threads here about them as well.

What you will find is that there are people happy with Garrett, people happy with Vanguard, people unhappy with Garrett, and people unhappy with Vanguard. You will see various stories about how good and how complete the financial plans are. Some advisors at Garrett and some advisors at Vanguard are better than others. You will hear people disappointed with their Vanguard advisor. Some people are happy with the plan they got from Vanguard and found it to be comprehensive, others think it was too limited.

Sort of like when you read reviews on Trip Advisor when you are trying to find a good hotel. You get the chronic complainers who no matter what will say the place is a dive. You see utterly glowing reviews that were probably written by management. You throw out the reviews that are too good to be true and the negative reviews from the complainers. Look at the broad middle, if you see lots of good comments from most of the people posting, then you have a good place to stay. If in the broad middle, you see lots of complaints, stay away.

I am not a Vanguard customer but I have read the numerous threads about their Personal Advisory Services. If it were a hotel, it looks like a good place to stay. Your experience will depend a lot upon the individual advisor you work with but you know there is a strong firm behind it all. I suspect with Garrett, it all depends upon the Advisor you work with.

What I try to tell people is that Advisors have to make a living, so many will want an Assets Under Management model, which typically runs 1% a year. The sad fact is that charging by the hour is a tough business model, one of the criticisms of Garrett is that some of their Advisors just can't make a go of it. What it boils down to is that if you want a long term personal relationship with an Advisor, and if you want somebody local, you will have to pay up for it. Bogleheads are a thrifty lot and this is something that people don't want to hear. Vanguard, though imperfect, offers about the best deal you are going to get if you want both financial planning and portfolio management.

So shop around, interview people, and you will learn a lot. What you will find is that everything has its drawbacks, nothing is perfect, and you will choose the best of imperfect solutions. The "perfect" solution doesn't stay perfect for too long. People move on. Companies change and often not for the better.
A fool and his money are good for business.
Topic Author
jamesrs
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 12:42 pm

Re: Need a financial advisor?

Post by jamesrs »

I really appreciate all that ideas and suggestions that have been tossed about. Many things to consider.

I am pretty frugal and careful with my assets as well. I also have a little trouble with control. So, completely letting go is real hard. That said I think paying 1% is out of the question. Even .3% is hard to swallow. I know, if that is the case why don't you do it yourself. I would like another pair of eyes on this. Somebody telling me I am making good choices.

The person I met with last week has good credentials and no blemishes on his record. He does seem flexible and willing to work per hour. But, he seems to be married to RightCapital. More importantly I didn't really get a sense of how many hours it would take to get to the point where I might be satisfied. I think I was clear on my objectives. I have listed them in this thread a couple times. I am still thinking of responding to him and saying "I have $1500 bucks + or -. What could you do for me for that amount?" Kind of like a package. If I see a need for more advice (and like what he's doing) it could easily be expanded. That might at least be a good starting point. I find having a personal relationship appealing.

Nevertheless I will look at the threads about Vanguards Services and probably talk to them as well.

I went to a tax pro the other day and did some projections. My wife will probably be on the ACA for another year and learned that has some big implications on income and taxes this year and next. I was really glad I did that cuz I almost made a huge mistake.
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nedsaid
Posts: 19275
Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:33 am

Re: Need a financial advisor?

Post by nedsaid »

jamesrs wrote: Wed Sep 29, 2021 9:39 am I really appreciate all that ideas and suggestions that have been tossed about. Many things to consider.

I am pretty frugal and careful with my assets as well. I also have a little trouble with control. So, completely letting go is real hard. That said I think paying 1% is out of the question. Even .3% is hard to swallow. I know, if that is the case why don't you do it yourself. I would like another pair of eyes on this. Somebody telling me I am making good choices.

The person I met with last week has good credentials and no blemishes on his record. He does seem flexible and willing to work per hour. But, he seems to be married to RightCapital. More importantly I didn't really get a sense of how many hours it would take to get to the point where I might be satisfied. I think I was clear on my objectives. I have listed them in this thread a couple times. I am still thinking of responding to him and saying "I have $1500 bucks + or -. What could you do for me for that amount?" Kind of like a package. If I see a need for more advice (and like what he's doing) it could easily be expanded. That might at least be a good starting point. I find having a personal relationship appealing.

Nevertheless I will look at the threads about Vanguards Services and probably talk to them as well.

I went to a tax pro the other day and did some projections. My wife will probably be on the ACA for another year and learned that has some big implications on income and taxes this year and next. I was really glad I did that cuz I almost made a huge mistake.
You have to understand that Financial Planning software takes a lot of time to learn and the Advisor pays a hefty subscription fee for the service. So of course he is "married" to it. He wants to do a financial plan because the more he knows about you, the better advice he can give. But this is all up to you. It sounds like you have done a good job managing your affairs, you should congratulate yourself on what you have accomplished. You could probably give us some good advice. I know what you are saying, I am also pretty frugal.

Good job on getting tax projections done, one piece of advice can save thousands of dollars. You are doing great things here, keep going.
A fool and his money are good for business.
Topic Author
jamesrs
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 12:42 pm

Re: Need a financial advisor?

Post by jamesrs »

nedsaid wrote: Wed Sep 29, 2021 11:19 am
jamesrs wrote: Wed Sep 29, 2021 9:39 am I really appreciate all that ideas and suggestions that have been tossed about. Many things to consider.

I am pretty frugal and careful with my assets as well. I also have a little trouble with control. So, completely letting go is real hard. That said I think paying 1% is out of the question. Even .3% is hard to swallow. I know, if that is the case why don't you do it yourself. I would like another pair of eyes on this. Somebody telling me I am making good choices.

The person I met with last week has good credentials and no blemishes on his record. He does seem flexible and willing to work per hour. But, he seems to be married to RightCapital. More importantly I didn't really get a sense of how many hours it would take to get to the point where I might be satisfied. I think I was clear on my objectives. I have listed them in this thread a couple times. I am still thinking of responding to him and saying "I have $1500 bucks + or -. What could you do for me for that amount?" Kind of like a package. If I see a need for more advice (and like what he's doing) it could easily be expanded. That might at least be a good starting point. I find having a personal relationship appealing.

Nevertheless I will look at the threads about Vanguards Services and probably talk to them as well.

I went to a tax pro the other day and did some projections. My wife will probably be on the ACA for another year and learned that has some big implications on income and taxes this year and next. I was really glad I did that cuz I almost made a huge mistake.
You have to understand that Financial Planning software takes a lot of time to learn and the Advisor pays a hefty subscription fee for the service. So of course he is "married" to it. He wants to do a financial plan because the more he knows about you, the better advice he can give. But this is all up to you. It sounds like you have done a good job managing your affairs, you should congratulate yourself on what you have accomplished. You could probably give us some good advice. I know what you are saying, I am also pretty frugal.

Good job on getting tax projections done, one piece of advice can save thousands of dollars. You are doing great things here, keep going.
Tax pro saved me potentially 5 figures!
Soon2BXProgrammer
Posts: 3289
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2014 10:30 pm

Re: Need a financial advisor?

Post by Soon2BXProgrammer »

jamesrs wrote: Wed Sep 29, 2021 12:54 pm
nedsaid wrote: Wed Sep 29, 2021 11:19 am
jamesrs wrote: Wed Sep 29, 2021 9:39 am I really appreciate all that ideas and suggestions that have been tossed about. Many things to consider.

I am pretty frugal and careful with my assets as well. I also have a little trouble with control. So, completely letting go is real hard. That said I think paying 1% is out of the question. Even .3% is hard to swallow. I know, if that is the case why don't you do it yourself. I would like another pair of eyes on this. Somebody telling me I am making good choices.

The person I met with last week has good credentials and no blemishes on his record. He does seem flexible and willing to work per hour. But, he seems to be married to RightCapital. More importantly I didn't really get a sense of how many hours it would take to get to the point where I might be satisfied. I think I was clear on my objectives. I have listed them in this thread a couple times. I am still thinking of responding to him and saying "I have $1500 bucks + or -. What could you do for me for that amount?" Kind of like a package. If I see a need for more advice (and like what he's doing) it could easily be expanded. That might at least be a good starting point. I find having a personal relationship appealing.

Nevertheless I will look at the threads about Vanguards Services and probably talk to them as well.

I went to a tax pro the other day and did some projections. My wife will probably be on the ACA for another year and learned that has some big implications on income and taxes this year and next. I was really glad I did that cuz I almost made a huge mistake.
You have to understand that Financial Planning software takes a lot of time to learn and the Advisor pays a hefty subscription fee for the service. So of course he is "married" to it. He wants to do a financial plan because the more he knows about you, the better advice he can give. But this is all up to you. It sounds like you have done a good job managing your affairs, you should congratulate yourself on what you have accomplished. You could probably give us some good advice. I know what you are saying, I am also pretty frugal.

Good job on getting tax projections done, one piece of advice can save thousands of dollars. You are doing great things here, keep going.
Tax pro saved me potentially 5 figures!
A competent financial advisor should have as well.. they should optimize your life time residual wealth after taxes, deciding when and if to do Roth conversions taking into account ACA subsidy, or Medicare IRMAA charges, etc.

Simple example of rightcapital: https://blog.rightcapital.com/bridge-bu ... trategies/

The harder question is... Is it worth paying 5 figures now, because it fixes a problem later? Only with financial planning software, or some other complex model/tool, can one start to answer that question.

"transactional" questions one doesn't need a planning tool for... "what is my tax burden if i do a Roth conversion this year?" is a transactional question. "strategy" questions need planning tools "is that tax burden for that sized Roth conversion, a good idea?" is a much harder question to answer.
Earned 43 (and counting) credit hours of financial planning related education from a regionally accredited university, but I am not your advisor.
User avatar
nedsaid
Posts: 19275
Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:33 am

Re: Need a financial advisor?

Post by nedsaid »

Jamesrs,

Just want to make it clear that I am just offering suggestions. You have to do what is good for you and what best fits your circumstances. It is your life and your money after all.

What I will say is that the financial planning process can be very eye opening, you might find that you have options for your future that you didn't even know existed. For example, I have had my portfolio reviewed several times by different providers and I have gone through the financial planning process. Each time I went through the portfolio review, I learned something even if I disagreed with their recommendations. If each time you meet with an Advisor you learn one or two things that you can apply in your life, each meeting will be successful. It isn't like everything in your life has to be transformed when you meet with someone. Just one thing can be helpful as you learned with your tax person.

As much as I love the Bogleheads, you can't run your life by what anonymous avatars tell you on the internet. Whatever advice we give is only as good as the information provided, it is hard to do a comprehensive financial plan over the internet. But we can make sure that if and when you meet with someone that you will be better prepared. If you decide to do this by yourself, you are better equipped to make your own decisions.

Best of luck, I know you will make the right decisions for you.
A fool and his money are good for business.
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