Warning: Getting a Second Opinion on a Financial Advisor May Have Saved This Woman’s Retirement

August 20, 2012

“Interview at least three financial advisors in your area and then call me back for a second opinion on your top choices.”  That was the guidance I gave to a woman who called our financial helpline. She is retiring in about six months and wants to have a relationship with a local financial advisor when she retires.  We discussed what she was looking for, how to find someone, and what questions to ask, and I sent her a follow up resources that had the list of questions.  We talked about choosing someone who has made a commitment to their industry by earning a CFP® or ChFC® designation or a masters degree in financial planning.  After giving her some links on how to search for a planner (click here) and some questions to ask (click here for the resource), she set out to find one. Continue reading “Warning: Getting a Second Opinion on a Financial Advisor May Have Saved This Woman’s Retirement”

Which investment firm is the “best?”

March 30, 2012

Who knew that a post-modern world where a big government controls everything and has a televised tournament where children fight till the death would be so popular? The Hunger Games movie opened recently and had the third best debut weekend of all time.  It even beat all of the Twilight series movies as a box office success.  Fortunately, or unfortunately depending upon how I view this, I have read both the Twilight trilogy as well as the Hunger Games trilogy.  Continue reading “Which investment firm is the “best?””

Your Advisor Told You What?

March 28, 2012

I told you last week about a caller who was still unsure about her financial capacity to retire despite having $1.5 million in her nest egg. The purpose of her call was to get a second opinion on how her retirement nest egg should be invested. A financial advisor wanted her to roll the money over to an IRA and invest it in a moderate balanced portfolio so that she would not run out of money but she wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to do.  I’m glad she called because we discovered a few interesting facts during our conversation: Continue reading “Your Advisor Told You What?”

Should I Manage My Investment Account or Use a Financial Advisor?

June 02, 2011

If I had a dime for every time I heard this question – I would have a lot of dimes! This is actually one of those questions I feel shows that an investor has entered the introspective phase of their investing life. The good news here is that the sooner you can answer this question, the quicker you can get on with the business of putting your money to work for you! Continue reading “Should I Manage My Investment Account or Use a Financial Advisor?”

With Football and Financial Advisors: Loyalty is Everything

February 18, 2011

A few weeks ago I had a conversation with my girlfriend about the concept of loyalty.  To products and services.  And football teams.  I guess I should add some background information here.  I have been a lifelong football fan and she is just learning about the game over the last few years and frequently asks awfully insightful questions.  One of her recent questions was about what happens when a player from another team that you don’t like comes to play for the team you do like.  For full disclosure, I grew up in the Baltimore area and I’m a Baltimore Ravens fan (and I really don’t like the Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts).  My answer was that most fans root for their team regardless of the players on it.  We essentially root for laundry.

[YouTube video: Seinfeld] Continue reading “With Football and Financial Advisors: Loyalty is Everything”