Financia Advisors good/bad

Smoaky

Smoaky

New Member
Location
Florida
Before retiring reading articles and talking to others most recommended getting a financial advisor. I did and regret it. I had not done my homework about investments, taxes, and other so that is on me. I was thinking what would happen was the opposite of what did happen.

I am not suggesting other do not get one, but am stating don't get one without doing a lot of research, and self education before you do chose one.
 
A friend of mine claimed that her advisor was the best so I gave him a call, he said that since I had so little at that time I should buy only Cisco at $80/share. I knew about diversification so I followed my own instincts. Shortly after that Cisco fell and stayed down for a long time so I would not have done well. Instead, I put my pennies into medical and pharma self directed funds at Fidelity and have done very well, diversifying more as time went on while paying very little in fees. If I make an investing mistake, it is mine to own and I have enough brain cells left to make corrections instead of blindly paying someone commissions.
Ric Edelman has good book about money which I recommend.
 
Smoaky said:
recommended getting a financial advisor. I did and regret it
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I always just used the free one provided by Fidelity, but that didn't work out well for me.

I wish I'd had a good advisor.

Now I either ask questions on the early retirement forum (lots of good info there), or wing it (with less than optimal results), except lately I ask either CHATGPT or Gemini, and that doesn't always work out well (tho I guess when AI said semiconductors have a good 5 year outlook I can't blame it for the price dropping 4% within hours of me purchasing (stupid war)).
 
HoneyNut said:
I always just used the free one provided by Fidelity, but that didn't work out well for me.

I wish I'd had a good advisor.

Now I either ask questions on the early retirement forum (lots of good info there), or wing it (with less than optimal results), except lately I ask either CHATGPT or Gemini, and that doesn't always work out well (tho I guess when AI said semiconductors have a good 5 year outlook I can't blame it for the price dropping 4% within hours of me purchasing (stupid war)).
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Keep your eyes on the horizon, not the incoming waves.
2007-8 I lost a lot but when the market rebounded I was way ahead of the game because I did not sell out of fear. I really can't imagine using the internet for investment advice because they can be too easily manipulated. Instead invest in things you understand and use solid research.
 
Happy Heart said:
Instead invest in things you understand and use solid research.
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LOL, if I only invested in something I understood, my money would have to all be in cash. Though I guess I could have done better research than when AI said semiconductors, I was like "hmm, I've heard that word, I guess its a good idea".
 
We have a great financial advisor. So very happy we have him to do the grunt work, the paperwork, keep up on tax laws, etc.
Of course we do our homework too, and he does nothing without our approval.
 
Sadly, a profession where finding a good and competent one is like finding a diamond in a bucket of cubic zirconia.

I have had same person for 30 yrs now.
has always steered me well called out of blue if they wanted me to switch something up as they read the tea leaves. trust (both ways) and the ability to not be sold on junk is key. Doing research yourself is a good way to ask better questions etc.
 
Having grown up in the "too big to fail" debacle and hearing about local financial "advisors" disappearing with everyone's money, I have always split our money between two separate groups - just in case. We have half with Thrivent and half with Prudential. Both were started with just a little money and have grown over the years that we haven't had to tap them for anything just yet.

I had some business education in college and have attended several "free" seminars (where they give you dinner and try to get you to invest) over the years - just to learn whats going on. I had a few questions for them where, I already knew the answer and could gauge their knowledge and attitude. I don't mind paying some fees - this is THEIR job after all. I pretty much told the Prudential guy, "Make me some money so we can retire" and he did just that.

One piece of advice - DO NOT walk into an Advisor's office and tell him/her that you have no idea what to do with your money. They WILL take advantage of you!! Do, at least, some homework and ask questions about investing or annuities or something general. They will take you more seriously if they know you're watching carefully, what they do.
 
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