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Fidelity’s been nagging me to come in and talk with them recently to make sure my index fund portfolio is “performing well.” Am I correct in guessing this discu

Fidelity’s been nagging me to come in and talk with them recently to make sure my index fund portfolio is “performing well.” Am I correct in guessing this discussion likely doesn’t have my best interests at heart?

chii 2y ago
They need to sell you more products. Passive index investors are the worst type of customer, because they tend to be careful about their spend, expense ratios and understand what they're buying! So make sure you are the worst type of customer.
js2 2y ago
It's fine to have it, but you can also tell them you're managing your own retirement and they'll back off. In my experience, it starts with them just making sure you have a plan. You can use their web-based free retirement planning tool to do that yourself: https://www.fidelity.com/what-we-offer/planning https://www.fidelity.com/what-we-offer/planning I'm not sure how it progresses after that if you keep talking to them. AFAIK though, they just want to make sure you're aware of everything that Fidelity offers. Some discussions here: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=349342 https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=349342 https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=420550 https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=420550
csomar 2y ago
Yes. The alpha in "high-finance" is in the sale. Your sale is their alpha and your loss.
readthenotes1 2y ago
I knew someone who let Fidelity manage hen's money. It gave access to some funds that aren't available to the hoi polloi but I don't remember what the fee was. In this case, it was also the service of "I don't want to think about money so I'll pay you to do it" in the nouveau riche way of trying mimic the aristocrats who needn't dirty their hands with it
kube-system 2y ago
Despite these headlines, there are reasons that someone may want to rebalance their portfolio. Performance over time is not everything -- for instance, it is often advisable for someone approaching retirement to rebalance into investments that are lower performing but more less volatile. An S&P 500 index fund might give a reliable 20 year performance, but if you're cashing out next year, you're gambling on somewhere between a -40% and +60% return. This is all to say, just because you have money in index funds doesn't necessarily mean they're the right index funds for your situation.
- bluGill 2y ago
  Just remember that as you near retirement odds are you have more than 10 years left - don't rebalance too far out of high preforming index funds
- thunky 2y ago
  > if you're cashing out next year, you're gambling on somewhere between a -40% and +60% return This is true but it's not a great idea to cash out all at once. Better to de-risk gradually, and only sell small lots when you need to fund expenses.

chii 2y ago

They need to sell you more products. Passive index investors are the worst type of customer, because they tend to be careful about their spend, expense ratios and understand what they're buying! So make sure you are the worst type of customer.

js2 2y ago

It's fine to have it, but you can also tell them you're managing your own retirement and they'll back off. In my experience, it starts with them just making sure you have a plan. You can use their web-based free retirement planning tool to do that yourself: https://www.fidelity.com/what-we-offer/planning https://www.fidelity.com/what-we-offer/planning I'm not sure how it progresses after that if you keep talking to them. AFAIK though, they just want to make sure you're aware of everything that Fidelity offers. Some discussions here: https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=349342 https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=349342 https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=420550 https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=420550

csomar 2y ago

Yes. The alpha in "high-finance" is in the sale. Your sale is their alpha and your loss.

readthenotes1 2y ago

I knew someone who let Fidelity manage hen's money. It gave access to some funds that aren't available to the hoi polloi but I don't remember what the fee was. In this case, it was also the service of "I don't want to think about money so I'll pay you to do it" in the nouveau riche way of trying mimic the aristocrats who needn't dirty their hands with it

kube-system 2y ago

Despite these headlines, there are reasons that someone may want to rebalance their portfolio. Performance over time is not everything -- for instance, it is often advisable for someone approaching retirement to rebalance into investments that are lower performing but more less volatile. An S&P 500 index fund might give a reliable 20 year performance, but if you're cashing out next year, you're gambling on somewhere between a -40% and +60% return. This is all to say, just because you have money in index funds doesn't necessarily mean they're the right index funds for your situation.

bluGill 2y ago
Just remember that as you near retirement odds are you have more than 10 years left - don't rebalance too far out of high preforming index funds
thunky 2y ago
> if you're cashing out next year, you're gambling on somewhere between a -40% and +60% return This is true but it's not a great idea to cash out all at once. Better to de-risk gradually, and only sell small lots when you need to fund expenses.