[Bonnevie]

Originally Posted by Chi-Town

The polo matches, wine tastings, dinner dances, drive-in movies, golf get togethers, etc. are all part of networking. All successful companies do it. The question you should be asking is if you ever heard of a Fross and Fross disgruntled client?

yes, me. I did better managing my own.

[KayakerNC]

Dana Anspach;
"It still amazes me that so many people thing a stock broker or investment adviser has some stock-picking prowess, market knowledge, or timing insight that the rest of the world doesn�t have.
Think about it; if you truly had superior skill to time the market or pick stocks, you would trade your own account on a full time basis."

3 Reasons You May Be Focusing on the Wrong Retirement Goal

[Chi-Town]

Originally Posted by Bonnevie

yes, me. I did better managing my own.

Bonnevie, good for you. I'm glad it has worked so well. I don't use Fross and Fross myself, but the OP's question concerned advisors in The Villages. I know a number of people who use them and are pleased with their choice.

[rhsgypsylady]

Has anyone used Blackston Financial on 466? What are your thoughts?

[Bonnevie]

Originally Posted by Chi-Town

Bonnevie, good for you. I'm glad it has worked so well. I don't use Fross and Fross myself, but the OP's question concerned advisors in The Villages. I know a number of people who use them and are pleased with their choice.

I don't entirely do it on my own now. I am using Fidelity which gives me the option of having them manage it for a fee, or to give free advice and I make the trades. I am doing a mix. If I can perform better using index funds then I will take over all my investments.

It wasn't until I went there that I fully discovered the mess that some of money was tied up in that I can not get it out of for years....

[Chi-Town]

Originally Posted by Bonnevie

I don't entirely do it on my own now. I am using Fidelity which gives me the option of having them manage it for a fee, or to give free advice and I make the trades. I am doing a mix. If I can perform better using index funds then I will take over all my investments.

It wasn't until I went there that I fully discovered the mess that some of money was tied up in that I can not get it out of for years....

Fidelity Freedom Funds which are target date funds are good choices also. I have one in a 401k that I haven't moved into an IRA.

[MoeVonB61]

Been with Fidelity a long time...TRUST them whole heartedly and the "advice" rather than "sales pitch". Nick Langler at Lake Sumter Landing....ALSO, their computer software programs to self analyze your portfolio against stock and bond indexes are OUTSTANDING....they "advise" and you can go home and easily do a reality check with their tools online AND implement yourself for free....LOVE their "NTF" no transaction fee queries.....I left Merill Lynch for them....!!

[kstew43]

Raymond James in Brownwood......so far so good....

[rjm1cc]

Originally Posted by Kennekuk

We are new in town looking for good advisor who will keep our best interest at heart.

Might consider keeping your old advisor. Use Skype and you can talk face to face.

[manaboutown]

I continue to use the advisors I have used since I was in my twenties and thirties who have done well for me plus myself. IMHO things have worked out very, very well!

[petsetc]

Another resource that I find to be good is Paul Merriman. If you goggle his name, his site will come up. He is a retired financial adviser (his credentials on his site), and he offers opinions and recommendations aimed at DIY. He also has 3 free e-books that might be enlightening to some, they were to me.

Hope this helps.

[Maxman]

Originally Posted by Todd @IntegrityIA

There are lots of financial Advisors/ sales representatives in TV that are looking to sell retirees products that they may or may not need. Sometimes these commissions are 5% for A shares and above 10% for some insurance products.

I have mentioned this many times in the TOTV forum. If you hire an advisor, please make sure that they are a low cost, fee only advisor and a fiduciary for you 100% of the time.

Fee based is NOT the same as Fee Only! Please get your advisor to sign the below pledge.

The Pledge Most Advisors Won’t Sign!

Sadly, you will find that most of the Advisors mentioned in this thread will NOT sign this pledge. They will give you all sorts of excuses but they won't sign it. For those of you who love your advisors at the local bank, Edward Jones, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Fross, Parady, Baum and others, please let the forum know if your advisor will be a fiduciary for you 100% of the time and sign the pledge.

Typically when we do a free 2nd opinion for clients above $500k in portfolio value, we find that there are many hidden fees and total investing expenses are much more than clients realize. If you need help, give us a call.

TOTV - Understand how you pay for financial services

PS: For all of the Vanguard "do-it-yourself" fans, I like Vanguard. They are cheap and offer great exposure to market beta. That being said, building a market cap weighted 60/40% bond portfolio may not be your best strategy. Over the last 15 years (2000 to 2014), Vanguard LifeStrategy Moderate 60/40 (VSMGX) has returned 4.88% per year. Vanguard LifeStrategy Conservative 40/60 (VSCGX) has returned 4.94% per year. These returns are much lower than many investors expect. The major problem today is that future expected returns for both stocks and bonds are lower than historical averages. By targeting other asset classes, value companies, small cap companies, companies with high profit, companies with high investment and companies with momentum, you can potentially increase returns. If you want to learn more, check out our Why DFA page. Watch some of the DFA videos at the bottom of the page.

It is easy to be a good investor in a raging bull market. As of 8/5/15, the SP500 has been up 15.66% per year (5 year compound rate of return). We have also had a 33 year bull market in bonds. The next 5 and 10 years will surprise many investors. A competent, low cost, fee only, fiduciary Advisor can add value to your portfolio. Most people need a coach.

Click here to subscribe to my blog

Good luck,
Todd Moerman
We are a low-cost, fee-only fiduciary for our clients, no commissions
352-205-4377
CLICK HERE FOR WEBSITE

---------------------------------------------------------------------

To my Advisor,

Given the current volatility of stock and bond markets, I wanted to make sure that I understand the foundation of our relationship. I have worked hard for my retirement savings and I want to make sure that my investments are aligned with my best interests and my goals.

Please answer the following:
Are you currently a fiduciary for me 100% of the time?
How do you and your firm get paid for my account? Please list all sources.
What were my total fees for 2014 & 2013 for my accounts? Please break out by Advisor fees, mutual fund expenses, 12b-1 fees, commissions, other fees.
What percent of my portfolio has commission products and 12b-1 fees? Mutual funds with A, B or C shares, UIT’s, closed-end funds, non-traded REITs, insurance?

Will you sign and agree to the following?
• I will be a fiduciary for you 100% of the time.
• I shall always act in good faith and with candor.
• I shall always put the client’s best interest first.
• I shall be proactive in my disclosure of any conflicts of interest that may impact you.
• I will provide to each client full and fair disclosure of all important facts, including full transparency of how we are paid by the client or other financial companies.
• I shall not accept any referral fees or compensation that is contingent upon the purchase or sale of a financial product.
• I shall disclose my advisor fee, any commissions, all operating expenses and any trailing advisor fees or 12b-1 fees.

FIDUCIARY \DEFINITION\: A person legally appointed and authorized to hold assets in trust for another person. The fiduciary manages the assets for the benefit of the other person, rather than for his or her own profit. (source: Investopedia.com) \USAGE\: A registered investment advisor, who is held to a “fiduciary standard of care”, looks after the assets of another person on that person’s behalf, is fully transparent, and required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest

_____________________________ Name of Advisor (print)
_____________________________ Signature of Advisor
_____________________________ Date

I looked at the 10 year return on the life strategy moderate growth fund and its somewhat higher then the 15 year at 6.05%. With a 60/40 split this is in line with the DFA fund returns. Todd I think that you are one of the good guys, but for myself I can't see the value in your .6% fee. This would amount to a 10% fee on my returns over the last 10 years. That being said, I do think for someone that needs a personal relationship with an advisor you would be the way to go.

The following post shows the returns from the 3 fund portfolio over at bogleheads. http://www.bogleheads.org/blog/three...folio-returns/

[California Sunshine]

Do you believe in the advice, "Follow the Money?" And I don't mean your money, I mean the money the broker is taking from your investment. Sales fees, investment fees, holding fees, commissions, loads, and much more taken from your investment is how the financial advisors can afford fancy offices with large staffs. Maxman (in his first post on this thread) is right on when he says indexed funds out perform 80% of managed funds. Get into Vanguard index funds and let the investment returns stay in your portfolio instead of funding the financial planners extravagant lifestyle.

[rubicon]

I had completed studies to be a financial advisor and as demonstrated here in this thread and the wide and varying opinions and the uncertain variables I decided against it. I do believe in long holding periods. I do believe in low fees. I do believe in diversification. I do believe in rebalancing. I do believe in exploring tax strategies. I do believe in structuring ladders. I do believe in continued investment savings and so we continue to save and invest

the FED scares the bejesus out of me and angers me because a decent interest return is important to seniors. What they and global leaders have wrought with all the QE is up for debate but in my mind has done more harm than good. The why the topic for another thread.

[tcxr750]

Regarding the perception of the performance of VSMGX and VSCGX relative to a diversified portfolio managed by an advisor with a 1% management fee.
Let's say you have a $1,000,000 portfolio (good luck) and take out 4% per year. You get $40,000 per year and your advisor gets $10,000 per year. In other words 20% of your annual withdrawals are not going to you. 10 years of advice = $100K.
I've been retired 10 years and can safely say that my advisors (see Barron's top 100 list) have allowed my account value to incur 20% losses during the Great Recession. The good news is that if you live long enough and don't make withdrawals eventually your portfolio will recover to it's original value. Unless of course your in the RMD phase. Enjoy!