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Who are you using for managed investments?

Jack Lord said:
Are you a client of Fidelity in that you have an adviser there who manages your accounts? Or is Fidelity where your 401K is or was and you keep it there?
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I use their managed program for my IRA and rolled-over 401K, and check in with my adviser quarterly or as needed. During the call today I had them Take things down a bit and went somewhat less aggressive than I was. We'll see if it makes a difference.
 
louisjames said:
I use their managed program for my IRA and rolled-over 401K, and check in with my adviser quarterly or as needed. During the call today I had them Take things down a bit and went somewhat less aggressive than I was. We'll see if it makes a difference.
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To repeat what someone else said, I would get an independent financial planner who has fiduciary duty to you. He or she can advise on all accounts and all other matters.

I studied finance and did ok managing on my own. But as things became more complex (mortgages, etc) I found that having a sober voice for advice has really helped.

Whatever you decide, good luck.
 
Jack Lord said:
To repeat what someone else said, I would get an independent financial planner who has fiduciary duty to you. He or she can advise on all accounts and all other matters.

I studied finance and did ok managing on my own. But as things became more complex (mortgages, etc) I found that having a sober voice for advice has really helped.

Whatever you decide, good luck.
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The problem is finding that person. I have spoken to a few but so far no dice. Will keep looking as another view into things would be helpful. Thanks!
 
Finding the person that is good and meshes well with you can be a big challenge. Several of the managed ones that take 1 to 1.5% go mostly off a computer model and the actual advisor makes small tweeks. For that kind of money I want them thinking about my investments daily. They do the 'we make money when you do' line but they still make plenty when I lose money. And some still make transaction fees on top of the percentage.

We talked to a flat fee person once but they didn't seem interested in what they did, every answer was 'I guess I can do that for you'. We had a person for awhile that wouldn't listen to what we wanted. She seemed to know what she was doing but I couldn't get her to change course once she locked into something we said.
We had a guy when we first started investing that was scum. I should have sued him as he purposely delayed selling when we told him to as the 2008 crash hit. And we just recently met with an Edward Jones guy that would circle back around and contradict what he said minutes ago. He'd go from saying cash is king right now to invest everything now, even if it goes down it will eventually go back up. And when we said we weren't interested in paying 1.5% on everything he laughed and said he hadn't suggested we put everything in that, even though he had, and by the end of the conversation he was back to 'If you put everything in that, I can do this for you'.
It just turns me off of the process.
 
I use Vanguard & Fidelity, of which it wasn't so much a choice on my part as it is simply what the company for whom I work selected, but I'm ok with that.

My investments have plateaued over the last year and a half or so as one would expect. Dumping money in but I'm just maintaining the balance, and I'm pushing 25K into the fund per year (over 50 years of age which I recall being the point where you're allowed to contribute more). Oh, and then on top of that is the matching from my employer.

I had access to a tech fund on Vanguard that provided excellent returns, but for whatever reason it was removed last year. I'd probably have reduced my position on that one anyway, but when things are good it had great returns, and historically they were consistent. I'm thinking of looking into finding a way of gaining access to it again when the economy improves. For now the more conservative general fund is fine.
 
I'd Wells Fargo for a short time but didn't like their deceptive ways . Now I use a local guy but limit the percentage of my investments to 30 percent of my portfolio. That 30 percent is my easy to access investments and WE make changes when needed. I mainly use him for research and always what's in it for him!
 
My stocks are with the company my late mother used, but I'm getting ready to switch to Merrill Edge - $0 self-trade fees, $29.50 broker assisted. Serviced under B of A, and we already have an account there. My current broker charges fees, plus a $150 yearly fee. Time to end that.
 
louisjames said:
When I was working I had my employee 401K managed by Fidelity and have stayed with them. I'm no longer that satisfied with how they are managing my "wealth" so wanted to see what other folks might be doing. A neighbor has recommended Fisher Investments (heavy radio ads) while others I've spoken with have said to say the course. Thoughts?
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When I retired Fidelity wanted to meet me in person. So the gal brings up all my wealth on the screen. I was pretty impressed and after she goes through her spiel I tell her "You guys did a pretty good job with that". And she goes "We didn't do anything". And I'm like "Oh. I thought YOU guys were watching it with a phone in each ear ... BUY! ... SELL! ... BUY! ... SELL!". I did lose about 30000 when GM went bankrupt. At any rate Fidelity now wants to "manage" my funds and I'm like "Hands off".
 
Bump for an old thread:

In April of 2023 I switched my account to Merrill Edge. Self-directed, linked to B of A. and offering perks and decent interest (4.1% to 5.1%) on certain deposits, and no fees.

Made a few marginal stock trades, but happy overall. A few days lag in some cash transfers, but manageable if you know about it. Overall, very happy.

In the meantime, a distant family member works for my old firm, and has advised me that my old broker (second one) is no longer with the company.

Glad I made the move when I did.

Forgot to mention - most brokerage companies who charge an annual fee will waive the account transfer fee. Mine did not. Good riddance.
 
I have been with a private small Fiduciary for over 25 years. He recently sold the business and is preparing to retire. We are not really happy with the situation but will give it a little time. We just have to be totally proactive. I have a 401k at work managed by Fidelity but I use my guy to tell me what to invest in and how to allocate and balance. I am almost done converting everything to the Roth side except the company match which has to stay on the taxable side for now. I already converted everything else to Roth. 7 years ago we bought Cash for Life Annuities also with Roth money. In 3 years when I plan to retire, the payments kick in tax free. I also keep a pile of cash in the safe just in case.
 
I'm of the opinion that you don't need an actively managed fund. Not many people manage to systematically outperform the stock market. If you have an advisor, they generally don't give you the best advice since they have to make some money too.
I buy a global portfolio of index funds with some balancing left and right, and some accents of my own. This is very low cost (TER far below 1% and very cheap to buy via my online broker).

The works of John C. Bogle should enable to help you along quite a bit.

With stock, you should accept that your portfolio might take a dive of up to 40% when it goes really bad. Some years you have nothing, some years you lose (2022 f.e.) and some years you make great profit. Luckily, the years with nice profit are a lot more common than other years.
 
I waffled back and forth on this.

I started just picking my own mutual funds fresh out of college for both a brokerage/after tax portfolio and IRA (in the days before 401ks and ETFs).

Then for awhile I used Fidelity Strategic Advisors for my 401k when they started to become a 'thing' for company retirement options. They were about 1.5% per year. I used them for several years but was never really impressed with them.

I became a Bogle fan, learned a bit more about basic investing and stopped worrying about trying to beat the market and stopped using a managed service. I've been doing my own for about 15 years and sleep quite well at night.
 
peerson said:
Do not pay an "advisor" to manage your money! Most charge 1%. And, that's whether they make you money or LOSE you money. On a $1 million portfolio, that's 10 THOUSAND DOLLARS per year for something that is really pretty simple to learn. In my opinion, financial advice is just a scam. Annuities with insurance companies are even worse.
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all very true
 
We use a large local firm that are fiduciaries, we are pleased with the returns we get, we feel it's worth the 1% fee. We were with a much smaller advisor for a decade, I wish we could get that time back, the advice given was in the end quite average to poor, and our portfolio did not grow as quickly as it could have.

I do have a small 401(k) chunk still with Fidelity account that was employer-based, last couple of years of that investment with company matching before retirement. I keep that smaller piece apart from our main advisors for now as it's doing fine for now, is tech-and-NASDAQ heavy.
 
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With the direction I see the economy heading I'm very close to closing my Roth and moving it to a 5% savings account.
 
I manage my own finances and use Boldin software to analyze tax implications of different strategies for Roth conversions, etc. I watched a lot of youtube videos by CFPs and they sound great, but using the software, which is similar to what they use, I have found that if you change any assumptions, the plan results vary wildly. The software has taught me that my guess is as good as theirs.

As far as asset mixes go, I see all sorts of recommendations about diversification. Most appear to me to be "diworsification". They'll say I should have 40% in bonds and 60% in stocks. Bonds are a piss-poor investment unless you need that money in relatively short term. With the King slapping tariffs on every other country, we're heading into high inflation. You don't want to be invested in fixed, low-yield bonds (10 year treasuries are at 4.5%- they aren't going to keep up with inflation) or CDs when inflation is going nuts. I own just a few stocks (BRK.B) and a few index funds. They've done very well for me. I keep a little money in cash for living expenses for the next year or two. I was planning on starting SS when I turn 70, but the King and President Musk may have something to say about that.

I'm considering moving out of the US, but with the recent attacks on our friends and allies, there aren't many places left to go where Americans are going to be welcome. Maybe Russia... ugh.
 
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