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Like 15 of these can be replaced by having a financial advisor that you fully trust. Finding one is obviously a huge challenge, but makes almost of all this kno

by soared 3y ago

Like 15 of these can be replaced by having a financial advisor that you fully trust. Finding one is obviously a huge challenge, but makes almost of all this knowledge you can offload onto an expert. IMO fidelity is probably the closest you’ll get, they’re call centers/etc are all fully certified us-based people who aren’t on commission/etc.

williamdclt 3y ago
Does anyone has a UK advisor they're overwhelmingly happy with?
- foobiekr 3y ago
  In the US I have friends who are deliriously happy with their absolutely incompetent financial advisors. The problem is that it’s a sales role and the usual customer manipulation applies strongly.
thenerdhead 3y ago
Rule #1 literally talks about why you don't. > Can you make big profits by relying on an expert who does have the proper qualifications? How do you find a true expert? That task is no easier than picking the right investments. If you don’t understand investing as well as the pros, you won’t know how to check those who seek to advise you. And you can’t rely on an advisor’s track record, even when it’s presented honestly. Track records tell you only how advisors did in the past – not how they will do next year.
- soared 3y ago
  This is true historically where you needed to pick an individual advisor who managed your portfolio based on their experience/etc. That’s not really how the major companies like fidelity run it anymore - an advisor gets their certification and then fully plays by the playbook and isn’t allowed to even have their own track record. So you’re not getting some guys advise, you’re getting a company’s extremely researched strategy they built for individuals who match your needs. But really calling up any company and asking for a rep isn’t going to be great - I think being friends with someone who you trust as a friend first and then as someone who converts the playbook to your investments is best.
  - ghaff 3y ago
    I like my financial advisor and all that. And he'll take into account my plans and any specific preferences I have. But, at the end of the day, he's mostly taking the output of his company's computer programs.
  - thenerdhead 3y ago
    The point of much of Harry Browne’s work is to be self-reliant and not trust the government nor big companies with your life decisions such as investments. Stop fooling yourself that these big companies are looking into your best interests. They aren’t. They are looking for ways to make activity on your investments and collect fees.
    - Tempest1981 3y ago
      Ok, but I know people who invest poorly and never rebalance. It's not a priority for them. Professional help would be a win-win for both, even after fees.
  - jordanpg 3y ago
    The issue is that these "advisors" have to get paid. And if you are paying for mass-produced advice, the margins are guaranteed to be small. This is the kind of advice that you can easily get if you research it, but might still be work intensive or error-prone to implement. The happy medium is robo-advisors, that get paid slightly less and implement the strategies for you.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
303uru 3y ago
Fidelity is maybe ok. You really need to spend some time educating yourself and if you want help, need to get a fiduciary.
- soared 3y ago
  Agreed - doing some learning is a huge huge step that the list of rules kind of gets at but doesn’t make crystal clear.
6ak74rfy 3y ago
> IMO fidelity is probably the closest you’ll get, This is not true. I have decent knowledge about investing (index funds, stocks vs bonds vs real estate allocation etc.). So, I know when my Fidelity investment advisor was BSing me when she started selling me "alternative investments" (such as private annuity and direct indexing). Needless to say, I don't talk to her anymore.

by soared 3y ago

williamdclt 3y ago

Does anyone has a UK advisor they're overwhelmingly happy with?

foobiekr 3y ago
In the US I have friends who are deliriously happy with their absolutely incompetent financial advisors. The problem is that it’s a sales role and the usual customer manipulation applies strongly.

thenerdhead 3y ago

Rule #1 literally talks about why you don't. > Can you make big profits by relying on an expert who does have the proper qualifications? How do you find a true expert? That task is no easier than picking the right investments. If you don’t understand investing as well as the pros, you won’t know how to check those who seek to advise you. And you can’t rely on an advisor’s track record, even when it’s presented honestly. Track records tell you only how advisors did in the past – not how they will do next year.

soared 3y ago
This is true historically where you needed to pick an individual advisor who managed your portfolio based on their experience/etc. That’s not really how the major companies like fidelity run it anymore - an advisor gets their certification and then fully plays by the playbook and isn’t allowed to even have their own track record. So you’re not getting some guys advise, you’re getting a company’s extremely researched strategy they built for individuals who match your needs. But really calling up any company and asking for a rep isn’t going to be great - I think being friends with someone who you trust as a friend first and then as someone who converts the playbook to your investments is best.
- ghaff 3y ago
  I like my financial advisor and all that. And he'll take into account my plans and any specific preferences I have. But, at the end of the day, he's mostly taking the output of his company's computer programs.
- thenerdhead 3y ago
  The point of much of Harry Browne’s work is to be self-reliant and not trust the government nor big companies with your life decisions such as investments. Stop fooling yourself that these big companies are looking into your best interests. They aren’t. They are looking for ways to make activity on your investments and collect fees.
  - Tempest1981 3y ago
    Ok, but I know people who invest poorly and never rebalance. It's not a priority for them. Professional help would be a win-win for both, even after fees.
- jordanpg 3y ago
  The issue is that these "advisors" have to get paid. And if you are paying for mass-produced advice, the margins are guaranteed to be small. This is the kind of advice that you can easily get if you research it, but might still be work intensive or error-prone to implement. The happy medium is robo-advisors, that get paid slightly less and implement the strategies for you.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

303uru 3y ago

Fidelity is maybe ok. You really need to spend some time educating yourself and if you want help, need to get a fiduciary.

soared 3y ago
Agreed - doing some learning is a huge huge step that the list of rules kind of gets at but doesn’t make crystal clear.

6ak74rfy 3y ago

> IMO fidelity is probably the closest you’ll get, This is not true. I have decent knowledge about investing (index funds, stocks vs bonds vs real estate allocation etc.). So, I know when my Fidelity investment advisor was BSing me when she started selling me "alternative investments" (such as private annuity and direct indexing). Needless to say, I don't talk to her anymore.