Comments on: Advice from a pro?

By: Linkin Park

Linkin Park — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 11:45:03 +0000

Combien il coûte, pour to développer drapeau South ton blog?

By: mandy edgar bebo

mandy edgar bebo — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 13:25:41 +0000

Wellcome to Bebo online сommunity, allowing you to share photos and blogs

By: sew bedspread

sew bedspread — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 06:56:33 +0000

Where I see gallery?

By: Mr.Dean

Mr.Dean — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 10:55:57 +0000

Where I read new articles?

By: Saffron Emerson

Saffron Emerson — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 14:03:52 +0000

My husband and I have used Karen Palm in Mpls a few times and now refer to her exclusively. She is a CPA and has other financial credentials. Does not sell us product but gives us advice on our big picture and what the best options are. We like her no nonsense approach.

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 19:07:17 +0000

I totally disagree with N Thompson’s easy solution of merely buying a $5 magazine in leu of professional advice.

True, there are many here among us who can hold the fort down as their own ‘financial advisor’. However, not everyone shares our interest on this topic, or has the background or experience to make smart decisions. The fact is most people can’t or won’t spend the time necessary to do the proper research to put themselves in the position they want to be in the future. Most people know the value of professional advice.

For the majority of the population hiring a Financial Advisor is a very smart decision. Simply relying on the media (a newspaper, magazine or TV show) is not a suitable substitute to an experienced and knowlegable professional. Delegate these important decisions to a trusted professional who is in your corner is never a bad idea.

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:17:26 +0000

I agree N Thompson’s approach is well grounded and will work for most. I do think there are (at least) two reasons to use a financial advisor in addition to the self help approach. First -Many individuals do not understand their financial biases and cannot see blind spots or gaps in their own plans. A financial planner can add value and/or validation. My experience with a brokerage planner was good in identifying gaps, but recommended solutions were all fee based fund recommendations. I was able to follow the advice and choose my own mix of investments. The brokerage planner also did not look at insurance, wills, or other aspects of financial planning. Second - My wife and I are now going to “hire” a fee based planner as we transition from the asset acummulation our of lives to retirement. I believe that this important transition is a time when an independent set of eyes will be worth the expense.

By: tony

tony — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 16:39:39 +0000

I have met with two seperate “financial advisors”. Both of these gentlemen, although with different companies, gave my wife and I almost the exact same presentaion. The recommendation from both of them was the same, we need to buy some “whole life” life insurance to start saving for the middle term (not short term, or long term).

I really just do not belive in the benefits of a whole life policy so we ended up purchasing some a couple of term policies from one of the gentlemen. The funny part is that when I started to ask some hard qustions about why we should by a whloe life policy, both of thier answers were essentially that we should trust them and it would pay off in the end.

Needless to say, my experience of working with a “financial advisor” (aka insurance salesman) has been very poor. I really do think it is just about as simple as N Thompson said above, follow those rules and for 99% of people out there, things will work out well.

By: Jim

Jim — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 15:20:17 +0000

Recently, I have parted ways with my (now) former financial advisory. I found having someone in the role of “advisor” allowed me to be lazy and ignorant about my investments. I did not know or understand where my money was being invested.

I’ve decided that the greatest financial risk is in not understanding. I now do all my own financial planning, and only invest in products I understand.

It’s too early to tell if this is a fiscally sound idea…but, I do know more about my investments that I ever have before.

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 14:28:05 +0000

The key to any good financial planner is to allow the clients themselves to dictate where the relationship is going to go. My wife and I use one that we are very comfortable with and have a long standing relationship with. They have discretion over our accounts to some degree but we make recommendations as well. I too sell mutual funds, insurance(life/health) (home/auto), but not individual stocks. I don’t work on a fee or a percentage of asssets, I work on commission. My belief is that if you do a good job, do what is the best interest of the client, even if it means less money, etc now. The long-term benefits far outweigh the short-term financial gains of “pushing” a product that doesn’t meet the needs the person, or family across from you.

When working with someone it is important to ask “them” what they want from the relationship before helping “them” determine the appropriate course of action. Nothing is done in one meeting and then set in stone, it has to evolve over time as the clients and your needs change. Your future, your plans are just that, YOURS! Advisors or Reps should be there to guide you and give you all the information necessary to make the right decisions. My advice, always attempt to find someone who puts your intrests ahead of theirs from the first conversation. If you figure out that they are just trying to “SELL” you something that is, “IN YOUR BEST INTREST”, move on!

Interesting comments that people including the author don’t feel as though you have “enough” resources or are “ready” yet to contact someone who might be able to guide you. Don’t worry about how much you have or how little you have. Think about this, Long-time Advisors/Planners/Registered Reps. got a start with someone, didn’t they?