I now regret asking my brother for investment suggestions

Marie5656

Marie5656

SF VIP
Location
Batavia, NY
I have spent the past couple days pretty stressed and almost angry----at my brother. As you know, hubby is retiring next week. We both have employer based retirement accounts through VOYA. Hubby called VOYA to ask about how to handle the money now we are both retired. Our accounts are separate, of course. She gave us the name of a local guy who helps people manage their VOYA accounts. I called the guy yesterday, and we made an appointment for him to come to the house to help us re-invest the money with another broker. This guy is just an agent. The guy mentioned several of the national "brands" of investment places...T Rowe Price, Schwab and others.

So Hubby says to me "Email your brother, ask hum who is a good firm to use as we want to have a secure investment". My brother is wealthy...self made in business and such. ven rent a couple times.

Anyway, here comes the frustration. In stead of just emailing back, asking a few questions to help him in his suggestion he starts asking all thes questions about how much we have in out retirement/investment acounts (OK, I can almost deal with that one), how much we have in the bank, do we have savings, and many more questions. When I told him how much we had in our investments his response was "Is that ALL?"

Let me tell a little back story. I was quite a financially irresponsible adult, before meeting my husband (which meant into my 40's). I spent recklessly, did not save, did not always pay important bills like car insurance and even rent a time or two. After we married, I continued for a few years to be a bad money manager. Putting lots on credit cards for foolish purchases. DH spent a lot of time and money to help me bail out. Brother did help once. I gambled too..on lottery tickets.

Long story short, after several threats of divorce, and therapy, I have righted the boat and have us back on track. That being said, THIS is why we do not have a lot in savings. I had to retire 3 years before planned, so my payroll deduction of $200 a month into MY pension stopped early.

Se we have spent two days going back and forth over how little we have and still no suggestion of who to put our money with. I have crying, anxious and much more over this.
 

Forget about what your brother has. For some people, enough is never enough.

Life isn't about winning or losing. It's about having a life that is well lived. It sounds as though you are in a good place now. Enjoy it
 
Don't worry about your brother, we all have those moments that go all the way back to our childhood relationships.

We all have to start where we are and in this case, the who is not as important as the what.

The biggest question is what your savings are going to be used for and when you will need them.

If you will not need the money for several years I would look for a no-load balanced fund or broad-based index fund with one of the major brokerage houses.

If you will need the money to help with day to day expenses over the next few years I would divide it up and put it into a ladder of CDs with one coming due each year.

There are lots of options in between. The important thing is being honest with yourself about what your needs are and your tolerance for risk vs reward.

Also be very careful to follow the instructions provided by the brokerage house on how to move the IRA money without triggering penalties or taxes.

I use Vanguard, Columbia Threadneedle, and VOYA for no particular reason, IMO any of the big names are fine for the average person.

Good luck!!!
 
Please don't stress out. This happens to many people. Aunt Bea has given you very good advice. I would just add a couple of things:

- Do NOT forget to budget for healthcare costs (which go up as you age, NOT down). Be prepared for emergency expenses: new tires on the car, an appliance dies, etc. - yes, you need a savings acct even in retirement. Put a little aside every month; every bit helps.

- If you are managing your own portfolio distributions, make sure you understand the difference between a LIFO and a FIFO sale. I can't get any quick info on whether the new tax laws have changed this, so assume they have not changed, just in case. You can read an explanation here: https://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/how-to-sell-stock-with-fifo-or-lifo.aspx

+++++

Also, please cut your brother a bit of slack. Not a lot, he did stick his foot in his mouth, but do understand that high-level investment advisers are just that - they have a minimum requirement for taking clients. The CFP I worked for did not take clients who had less than $500K investable assets. Net worth didn't matter. There are advisers who have no minimum requirement, but probably the one your brother uses does have an MR.My own adviser does, too.

So he may not be helpful because his situation is so different from yours, his advice will be useless to you. That's neither his fault nor yours. It's just the way it is. Don't get discouraged, take baby steps, ask lots of questions - NO question is ever stupid - and you can learn to manage your own money.

Good luck to you going forward!
 
aww bless you Marie...you've been honest about your financial situation, pulled your socks up, albeit a little late but doing the very best you can for many years now to feather your nest, and now looking for the best advice as to how to invest it and look after what you have..lots of people are in the same boat. I'm sorry your brother is dragging his heels about giving you good advice, but hopefully some here will be able to make suggestions.. Good Luck.
 
I use Edward Jones. I was left a mutual fund account by a friend when he passed and they have been very helpful in helping me understand it and make decisions. He knows I am not a high risk person and I call him when I get my statements if I have any questions.
 
Thanks everyone. I have written down the names of the places you have suggested. My husband has some good questions for the guy when he comes over. I think we will be OK.
My brother is 15 years older than me. Because of that, we have never been really close. Took him a long time to see me as an adult. Plus, because of the money issues my husband and I went through a bad time relationship wise, and my brother got kind of pissed when my husband threatened to leave and got very angry with me. But we are fine now, hubby and I, and moving on we will be well.
 
Hi Marie,I had a similar situation with my younger brother,he worked in business sector for most of his career. When our mom died in '03 I asked him where I should take my inheritance money.He told me 'don't give it to your financial advisor'. I've been with ,Archie since '93,he works at RBC Wealth Management,his office is located here ,.I made the mistake of listening to my brother,I went with Fidelity,which a co-worker suggested. I was happy with them for a couple years,then I decided I wanted Archie to have everything,very happy with my decision to leave Fidelity 3 yrs ago
I realize my brother was just concerned for me,we are still very close. Sue
 
Marie it's too bad your brother said that but he was probably at once taken aback by your figures and concerned about your financial future. I have used many brokerages during my time as an investor but the one I like best is Schwab. Everything is easily seen, accessed and transfers are a breeze. I love that they have free trades for many funds and ETFs, including from other firms. on their One Source list. I just left Vanguard because their site is not as user friendly as other brokerages and their system for taking distributions is just too inconvenient.


Before you start to invest, make sure you have enough in an emergency fund, especially if you are homeowners. Here's why having an adequate emergency fund is essential. KingsX posted this in another thread. Don't know if you saw it because I notice you didn't reply.
https://www.fool.com/retirement/2018/04/18/why-retirees-really-need-an-emergency-fund.aspx
 

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