Fisher Investments - anyone use?
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70's Rockfan
Rough N Ready
Interested also
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FrankieS
New Member
With some self-directed reading, particularly on well diversified passive ETF investments, you could avoid the high annual combined fees of retail investor consultants. Currently the stock market had historically exaggerated annual returns. Over very longterm 5 (to 7) annual % performance gains are more realistic. It is important to realize (because of the compounding effect) that already 1% (on the total investment) annual consultant fees are very high. Plus: the common actively managed mutual fund charges on average 1.4 to 1.6 % added annual fees; versus the large passive ETFs going around 0.07 to 0.10 % annual fee today. Be very careful with mainstream finance people ...
usedto
Lunatic Member
Here's an interesting read on Fisher:
stockanalysis.com
Personally, I handle all of my own finances - self-directed stocks, and real estate.
Fisher Investments Review 2025: Is It Worth the Fees?
Fisher Investments is a financial advisor firm. Here's an honest review of their services, including how to know if they're the right choice for you.
stockanalysis.com
Personally, I handle all of my own finances - self-directed stocks, and real estate.
FrankieS
New Member
as You can see here: https://www.fisherinvestments.com/e...nagement/how-we-help-you/portfolio-management
they favor an 'active' management approach. which says it all. many smart investors today know, that active management almost never
works (benchmarked long-term against 'passive' investing), particuarly not for retail investor funds.
Ask them about their annual fees. Everything above 0.5% annual managment fees would be bad. Usually they take 1 - 2% annually, add to that the intransparent/quite hidden mutual fund annual fees, these 'consultants' often use in investing.
FrankieS
New Member
the website is good. but they also 'sell' underperforming own mutual funds (or active ETFs).
FrankieS
New Member
some ChatGPT book recommendations:
A great book for a U.S. beginner that covers all key finance topics honestly and advocates self-directed passive ETF investing is "The Simple Path to Wealth" by JL Collins.
Why This Book?
- Honest and straightforward: Collins wrote it originally as a guide for his daughter, so it avoids financial jargon.
- Covers all important topics: Debt, saving, investing, tax-advantaged accounts (401(k), Roth IRA, etc.), financial independence, and handling market crashes.
- Strong focus on passive ETF investing: Advocates a low-cost, self-managed portfolio centered around broad-market index funds like Vanguard’s VTSAX (ETF equivalent: VTI).
- Skeptical of financial industry: Warns about high fees, active management pitfalls, and financial advisors with conflicts of interest.
Here are some more investing books that align with honest financial education and advocate self-directed passive ETF investing:
1. "The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing" – Taylor Larimore, Mel Lindauer, Michael LeBoeuf
- Based on John Bogle’s principles (founder of Vanguard).
- Covers all key finance topics: budgeting, debt, asset allocation, tax strategies.
- Emphasizes low-cost index fund investing and long-term discipline.
2. "Your Money and Your Brain" – Jason Zweig
- A mix of investing wisdom and behavioral finance.
- Explains why investors make irrational decisions and how to avoid them.
- Zweig is a long-time advocate of passive investing and index funds.
3. "The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need" – Andrew Tobias
- A mix of humor and practical financial advice for beginners.
- Covers saving, investing, insurance, and avoiding financial scams.
- Strong recommendation for passive investing with ETFs.
4. "The Little Book of Common Sense Investing" – John C. Bogle
- A concise, no-nonsense guide to index fund investing.
- Argues that trying to beat the market is a waste of time.
- Encourages keeping costs low and staying the course.
5. "If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly" – William J. Bernstein
- Very short (~50 pages) beginner-friendly book.
- Covers why financial literacy matters, the power of compound interest, and how to set up a simple ETF-based portfolio.
- Free PDF available online.
FrankieS
New Member
many free book downloads can be found here:
Anna’s Archive
The world’s largest open-source open-data library. Mirrors Sci-Hub, Library Genesis, Z-Library, and more.
annas-archive.org
Yeah, I go back & forth on that.
Pro - they must be doing something right, they're so big.
Con- WTF do they care, they're so big.
I know. We've always been told the best bet is focus around the S&P 500, set it and forget about it. Don't even look at it.
That's all well and good for long term growth. Problem is (like any other investment), the day before you want to convert any to some cash, it could drop in half. I'm 67 now. I want to be taking out returns from here forward.
Bill S
Thread Killer
Consider looking for a small, private Wealth Management firm and avoid the corporations. My firm has 6 active fiduciary investment professionals and I work with 1 and have for 7 years. They are tied into our accountant so they do a lot of strategizing on lowering your tax exposure. I've saved in taxes what my fees are (less than 1%). It's personalized service with meetings and phone calls when needed. I did it because I didn't want to worry and stress about it and I didn't want to spend a lot of time doing it. Do what works for you.
Thanks Bill. That's what we're coming out of now, but I don't think they were a fiduciary. They did have a lower fee (1%) but they basically just sold packages/ products, and they're the only ones that ended up making any real money.
Maybe we'll look around for a local, smaller firm fiduciary.
Maybe we'll look around for a local, smaller firm fiduciary.
knotscott
Super Member
I try not to pay people to invest my money....many just pick a loaded mutual fund, get a commission off the top, and collect an ongoing management fee for something that is really pretty simple. Much of their focus is largely on getting new customers, not honing their investment prowess. With all the no load funds and ETFs available these days, it's not difficult to manage on your own with basic information. Fidelity and Vanguard are very user friendly sites if you wanted to consider managing your own funds....or at least part of them.
I do keep a portion with one finance guy who has expertise in overall investing, retirement, estate building, and general wealth management, which gives access to his wisdom, but I control the majority, and don't pay the fees for the majority.
I do keep a portion with one finance guy who has expertise in overall investing, retirement, estate building, and general wealth management, which gives access to his wisdom, but I control the majority, and don't pay the fees for the majority.
I subscribed to the Motley Fool website for a year and was unimpressed. I have been a subscriber to Kiplinger magazine for years and find the information much more useful. So useful I was able to retire at 62. YMMV.
Bill S
Thread Killer
Doesn't sound like yours was a fiduciary. We had 4 long meetings before signing on. Review of all assets, liabilities, investment strategy and risk tolerance, tax return reviews. Then a modeling of income and balances out to age 90. It was very thorough and we were very comfortable signing on. All trades are through Schwab. We've done NUA sales, IRA to Roth conversions, loss harvesting, etc and have our taxes extremely low until I need to take RMDs. Retired at 61 and I'm 66 now.
I have ZERO Dollars with any "Financial Planners". Anyone on here that is able to read can do a little bit of research/learning to be able to manage their own money. It ain't rocket science. No one will be more attentive to your investments than YOU. When I spoke to a FP about managing my money, he told me that he charged the "standard" 1% fee. This applies whether they make you money or lose you money. So, I decided I could do anything they can do. Investing in the S&P 500 is about as good as you can get. You cannot "Beat the Market" by investing in individual stocks. I keep 5 different ETF's. I do hold one individual "Blue Chip" stock that pays a great dividend. But I keep the majority in the S&P. My portfolio performance last year was 23.2%. The last 5 year average is 9.3%. I am 100% in Equities and stay clear of the Bond markets. I chose Vanguard because of their results, their size, their great customer service, and their low fees. I retired in 2020 and there is more money now than when I retired (and I am not drawing Social Security until I turn 70).
I also recommend Vanguard if you are looking at passive investing. Their fees are generally recognized as the lowest in the industry.
Also, maybe check out Betterment and Wealthfront (robo advisors). Fees are low and basically they put together a portfolio of index funds (mostly Vanguard) with a percentage of stocks/bonds that you choose depending on your risk tolerance and time horizon.
You also have to factor in things like estate planning and taxes. That's where a good local fiduciary may be the way to go.
I'm suspicious of Fisher Investments partially because of Ken Fisher's character issues (I won't go into it - easy to search), but mainly because ads on CNBC are not cheap and Fisher's high fees reflect that.
Also, maybe check out Betterment and Wealthfront (robo advisors). Fees are low and basically they put together a portfolio of index funds (mostly Vanguard) with a percentage of stocks/bonds that you choose depending on your risk tolerance and time horizon.
You also have to factor in things like estate planning and taxes. That's where a good local fiduciary may be the way to go.
I'm suspicious of Fisher Investments partially because of Ken Fisher's character issues (I won't go into it - easy to search), but mainly because ads on CNBC are not cheap and Fisher's high fees reflect that.
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Bill S
Thread Killer
Some stuff is easier than others. Wife and I each had IRAs, 401Ks, Roth's, equities, cash/CDs so there is work doing IRA to Roth conversions, NUA sales, with respect to trying to lower all tax implications as we sell positions to generate monthly income.
