Thinking about getting a financial advisor...

I have to agree with the hillbilly on this one. Those target date funds have NO responsibility to make you money, nor to say you can retire at the date proposed. Further, no accountability if they don't fulfill that "promise".
Well no, but that's not what they're supposed to do.
 
If you had to have brain surgery, would you do it yourself or hire a specialist brain surgeon who had performed hundreds of these surgeries?
Now, not all surgeons are equal, and not every situation needs a surgeon.

It depends on the size of your portfolio. But I believe at a point you need qualified advice. I am happy with Schwab and I fired Fidelity.
The important thing is to get started. Invest in yourself!

Good luck!
 
Example of a good one?

ex 1: Fid Low Priced Stock outperformed Fid Freedom 2030 by about 4X in ave annual ret
As it should. I'm looking at my 401k now and there's a the Fidelity 2030 plan which has a 10 yr rate of return at 6.38% with YTD of 13.15%. That's probably not bad considering the plan is a mix (Domestic/Foreign stocks and bonds). If one wants to swing for the fences all the time then ya this product is not for them, but if one wants to "set and forget" then it may be a better than nothing option.
 
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Vanguard and fidelity have mutual funds depending on age. Check the percentages of the allotments and then go with broad market ETF's
 
I agree we are in a bubble but it likely won't pop until next year so i would still invest until the end of the year before withdrawing from the spectacle to likely come or shorting. I would not go into a 3x leveraged short nasdaq etf right now. You can expect indexes to still rise for the rest of this year from today. Sure we had a drawdown last week but that's typical. I wouldn't take that as trend yet.
I would invest in things that are more or less bubble proof or have some sort of reserve value amongst people. Gold can go up and down in USD value all it wants, but its still Gold. That is just one example. Silver is probably going to be big. And already is. Silver "spot" price is what, 23$? Most quality bars go for 40+
 
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If you had to have brain surgery, would you do it yourself or hire a specialist brain surgeon who had performed hundreds of these surgeries?
Now, not all surgeons are equal, and not every situation needs a surgeon.

It depends on the size of your portfolio. But I believe at a point you need qualified advice. I am happy with Schwab and I fired Fidelity.
The important thing is to get started. Invest in yourself!

Good luck!
How about I rephrase this.
You would 100% go to the most reputable surgeon in town, but he is only 1% out of 1% out of 1% of graduate's who not only got an education, but got straight A's and has several decades of experience.

A surgeon that has been doing his craft for ages is much different than a surgeon straight of school with 7 years of residency to go!

Everyone and their mom is a financial advisor. My recommendation is simply to do your own research and as much of it as possible. I also don't have health insurance so I am forced to know how to use a scalpel (and before I went into the construction industry did complete a surgical assisting program so I have seen my fair share of 700 surgeries).
 
Also, look into credit card and checking account churning.
I think I average something like 8-10% of my yearly income just in bonuses, cash back, and etc.
That is already something, and the more money you have the more you can do.

Honestly at this point with 7%+ CD accounts you might as well try them. If you are going to lose money in the stock market or 401k crash might as well just YOLO your life savings at a big name bank (which will also, eventually, crash, but maybe not fail #bailout). You could even go with some banks offerings of flexible 18 - 24 month bonds that offer 5%+
 
There are financial advisors that work for a fixed fee to get you going (as opposed to an annual fee).

But really just pick a mutual fund (or mutual funds) or even individual stocks (I.E. - if you are looking to retire, just start buying dividend aristocrats). I don't like target funds because (for the most part) I hate bonds, unless they are individual bonds I plan on holding to maturity.

I know this one might get a lot of hate, but some annuities are actually OK, just don't buy them through a financial advisor. If you don't have a defined benefit pension and want a guaranteed income stream, I see numbers from Schwab's online calculator that look decent enough right now (probably only because interest rates aren't ridiculously low anymore) if you are old enough.
 
I would invest in things that are more or less bubble proof or have some sort of reserve value amongst people. Gold can go up and down in USD value all it wants, but its still Gold. That is just one example. Silver is probably going to be big. And already is. Silver "spot" price is what, 23$? Most quality bars go for 40+
I've never been against commodities as they are resilient in bad times though historically they've underperformed the market which surprised me when i learned that. Though buying and selling physical gold and silver is troublesome I'd consider gold futures.
 
How about I rephrase this.
You would 100% go to the most reputable surgeon in town, but he is only 1% out of 1% out of 1% of graduate's who not only got an education, but got straight A's and has several decades of experience.

A surgeon that has been doing his craft for ages is much different than a surgeon straight of school with 7 years of residency to go!

Everyone and their mom is a financial advisor. My recommendation is simply to do your own research and as much of it as possible. I also don't have health insurance so I am forced to know how to use a scalpel (and before I went into the construction industry did complete a surgical assisting program so I have seen my fair share of 700 surgeries).
I always tell people to invest in yourself first and always. Learn as much as you can. But if you are lucky enough, you will have a portfolio that grows large enough that you need a good financial advisor. There are so many products to invest in; quality advice is critical.

There are good advisors and bad advisors. Again, I fired Fidelity and moved almost everything over to Schwab; there was a reason for it.
An excellent place to learn is on the Schwab website under the "Learn" menu item:
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How much of a balance does someone need to have to justify a financial advisor ?

$250K, $500K, $1M , ….etc…. ?

Some financial advisors are good, others are crooks and very shady.
 
How much of a balance does someone need to have to justify a financial advisor ?

$250K, $500K, $1M , ….etc…. ?

Some financial advisors are good, others are crooks and very shady.
Does the amount matter or the "situation" someone is trying to manage?
 
Agreed. There are other scenarios. A person may inherit a decent sum and put it all on red, which may not be the best investment.

I know numerous people who came into money and it was gone less than a year later.

Importantly, you don't have to follow all the advice, ultimately it is your money and your decision. Ask a lotta questions. I do.
 
About 10 years ago there was a TD Ameritrade advisor (near my home) that kept hounding me and offered to ‘manage’ my money. He cold called me about 5-6 times and started to get mad that I kept on turning down his offers to help me. Guy called me on my birthday to say hello and he wants to help. I said NO.

He then said that I was being “stubborn”.….. :unsure:

Normally I would have blown up and get nasty with him but I kept my cool. I told him next time he pesters me I will have to call corporate office and complain that I’m be harassed.

I don’t know if TD Ameritrade was telling their financial advisors to cold call account holders that were trading online and trying to persuade them to use the financial advisor services of TD Ameritrade.
 
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