Anonymous wrote:Ugh, people here have no idea what OP is looking for. I'm going to keep an eye on this thread b/c what OP wants is exactly what my family needs, but doesn't seem to be out there anywhere!!

I think there is definite confusion between fee only, fee baed, financial planner, financial advisor, etc....

Anyone with a high level of skill is going to the aum fee model b/c it is more lucrative.

Anyone especially skilled is probably working at fund (hedge, PE, even mutual)

Someone willing to evaluate proper investment for how to allocate hundreds of $100ks but only earn a couple hundred dollars is going to follow a formulaic approach found in A few books you could get from the library.

Ugh, people here have no idea what OP is looking for. I'm going to keep an eye on this thread b/c what OP wants is exactly what my family needs, but doesn't seem to be out there anywhere!!

I think there is definite confusion between fee only, fee baed, financial planner, financial advisor, etc....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just remember that "fee-only" does NOT mean "hourly rate." Most fee-only advisors charge AUM, even if they don't manage your money for you. They just don't take commissions on the financial products you choose to buy.

Why would you ever pay somebody a fee based on AUM for financial planning advice? I don't care what the percentage is, that is a terrible model (except for the adviser of course).

First PP - you're confusing Fee-Based with Fee-Only. What you just defined is Fee-Based.

OP - Here's the difference between types of advisors and why you're getting inaccurate info...

Fee-Only Planners are paid only for the advice they give. They do not earn commissions by selling financial products such as life insurance or mutual funds.

They charge a set amount, either an hourly fee, flat fee for a comprehensive plan or annual retainer, and do not earn any commissions. Some fee-only CFPs may not be registered to sell financial products. charge $125 to $350 per hour. Or they can also charge on a per-project basis or set a flat fee for comprehensive financial plans. The latter can cost $2,000 to $5,000.


Fee-Based Planners earn fees from advice and they make commissions on some of the products they sell.

Commission-Based Planners make money from the products they sell.

Anonymous wrote:Just remember that "fee-only" does NOT mean "hourly rate." Most fee-only advisors charge AUM, even if they don't manage your money for you. They just don't take commissions on the financial products you choose to buy.

Why would you ever pay somebody a fee based on AUM for financial planning advice? I don't care what the percentage is, that is a terrible model (except for the adviser of course).

OP here -- I think for now we're going to read "Your Money Ratios" by Charles Ferrell (good reviews on Amazon and quoted in a CNN.com article). Hoping that will help us steer our financial ship.

Just remember that "fee-only" does NOT mean "hourly rate." Most fee-only advisors charge AUM, even if they don't manage your money for you. They just don't take commissions on the financial products you choose to buy.

Www.napfa.org is what Michelle singletary recommends for finding a good fee-only financial planner.

OP here -- I DON'T need someone to tell me "invest in this stock/fund."

We need the financial "counselling" and analysis of where we are and what we should be doing other than (a) living below our means, and (b) saving. I am sure there are people who understand the long term implications of doing X, Y, or Z. We're at a point where retirement for one of us could be 10 yrs. away, so I think we should have someone giving us advice about choices we can make now to help us achieve goals down the road. We still have the benefit of time, but we won't if we wait.

This guy is a pretty good option at $150/hr, with the goal of having you "do it yourself" after 1 or 2 sessions. However, it would be worth checking whether he does the financial counseling like how much for college, etc. vs simply retirement investing.

Fran Goldman is wonderful http://www.frangofinancial.com/about_us.html

Anonymous wrote:I work with fee-based advisors, and anyone that charges by the hour is a hack. You'd be much better off reading Bogleheads and using online calculators.

You realize that an absolute, global statement like this is absurd?

I work with fee-based advisors, and anyone that charges by the hour is a hack. You'd be much better off reading Bogleheads and using online calculators.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most fee-based advisors charge an annual retainer that's fairly comparable with what you'd be charged for assets under management -- so 1-1.5% of the value of your investment portfolio.

This is just plain silly. Who would pay that for a fee-based advisor?

I don't think this is what the OP is asking. She wanted ADVICE, not actual money management. In other words, Mr. Smith - please tell me where to invest my $$....here's your payment for serve, thank you. I could be wrong and interpreting her question incorrectly.

Anonymous wrote:Most fee-based advisors charge an annual retainer that's fairly comparable with what you'd be charged for assets under management -- so 1-1.5% of the value of your investment portfolio.

This is just plain silly. Who would pay that for a fee-based advisor?