what is the typical cost? Any words of advice? What is your experience?

thanks.

 

i would say read a lil n learn on ur own

 

I make all my financial decisions based on what I read on AZine.

 

My brother is one. It depends on what your needs are. If you have some cash it is a worthwhile thing to have have. If you are savvy enough you should be capable of doing what they do via online trading account, but they do the research you would be doing. It's there job to take care of your money.

If you're looking to invest just a couple thousand, i would recommend doing your own research and using an online brokerage account. If you are in higher numbers and your investments are more complex try calling a brokerage house (if you can find one ). Or if you have a lot of cash I can hook you up with my brother (Certified FP. Formerly of Wachovia, now independent).

 

Fees vary greatly based on your needs and the amount being invested. Some advisors get a commission on the back side, from the fund itself for selling the fund to you, others charge you a monthly "fiduciary" fee, it can be a fixed number or it can be a small percentage of what you invest, it varies company to company. However, the SEC is changing how things are done, so what works today may not be the way it goes tomorrow.

Personally, I feel that unless you have gobs of money and/or no time or don't care, your better off doing it yourself.

 

I've always heard that one should get a financial planner who is a certified financial planner (CFP) who is fee only- paid hourly, rather than one who is paid for managing your investments, or paid on trades.
If the planner works out, you can go back to the planner, and if not, you don't need to move assets from the planner's control.

I haven't used one to date, though.

G/L.

 

Find one that is fee-based only. Here are a few sites to visit:

http://www.fpanet.org/
http://www.cfp.net/search/

Also read:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/money...y101/lesson15/

 

yup, just wanna echo the fee based planner sentiment. stay away from commission based ones because they have a conflict of interests at times (making themselves the most money vs making you the most money/doing whats right for your situation)

stay away from places like ameriprise because they are basically salespeople dressed up as financial advisors for the most part.

 

glad to get some useful suggestions.... sometimes I swear, I just wish some of us here would refrain from making smart ass comments as it is not helpful...



checked on my 401k today (was dreading looking at it) and it dropped $50k this year. Oh well! Could be a heck alot worse I guess.

 

I actually retain a financial advisor from Ameriprise. He does an awesome job for me and gives me unbiased advise 24/7, literally. I call him whenever I want. He accepts an agreed upon annual fee and does his job...Even through this not-so-stable financial time, Ameriprise is doing ok. I've also known my FA for a while...Maybe I'm just fortunate?

 

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