Talk to me about why we should or should not use a financial advisor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Why is there an assumption that someone had a silver spoon? What if this same person came from nothing, busted his or her butt to get where he or she is? There are a lot of people who come from very modest backgrounds and do quite well in life and there is no reason that people should think that just because you have enough money to hire a financial advisor that you automatically have a silver spoon.

A lot of people simply do not understand the time constraints that come along with certain jobs and how you time can be more valuable than money. But it really is true.

I think I'm the PP being referred to. No silver spoon -- start a company from nothing, worked long hours to grow it, and have been blessed to be successful at it the last few years. Time is the most valuable asset right now, especially with young children.

I also will spend $1,000 more on an airplane ticket just to get a flight that gets me home in time for dinner with the family, instead of the one that arrives at 10pm when they're in bed.

You sound horrible with money.

The $1,000 means little to me compared to putting my little ones to bed after being away for a week.

Our HHI is where $1,000 doesn't really make much of a difference to us anyway, but I really do value spending time with my kids especially while they're still little and enjoy spending time with me.

I get it. My DH has done stuff like that sometimes even when I think it's crazy. But back on the topic of financial planning. If you have even a few minutes a day to be on DCUM and are even moderately competent at planning things generally, you can manage your own finances without a planner very well. Even at higher net worths or incomes. In this day and age with brokerages that are close to free, with low cost index investing, with the bonanza of good advice online for free, including within this very thread, there's just no need to hire an advisor anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's what an advisor tells you during a bear market. "Don't panic, don't sell. Hold."

The rest of us already know this.

Actually they do tax loss harvesting, but yes, they do say not to exit the market and hold in general.

They help you find equities with a lower downside risk- so you don't lose as much in a bear market. This matters if you are risk averse or have a shorter investing window, etc.

[Anonymous]

Napfa.org to find a reputable fee only planner.

But vanguard baby yeah!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We use a financial advisor just for time savings. I checked our reports. For the investments that are 100% in equities.. our retirement funds.. our returns net of fees are:

2016: 11.6%
last 3 years average (calendar years 2014-2016): 5.6%

Looks like S&P 500 is 7.99% for the last 3 years (up to Feb 2017), but couldn't find it for the last 3 calendar years:
http://us.spindices.com/indices/equity/sp-500

This is unfortunately very common. What are you paying this advisor?

[Anonymous]

Our accounts are with Vanguard AND they manage them for us. Totally worth it.