DNMakinson

iTrader: (3)

Anyone use them?

General comments allowed / welcomed.

bahurd

iTrader: (8)

We did for a while. No longer.

If you’re someone who likes to take an active role managing your investments/money you probably won’t like them. If you’re content to sit back and let others do it maybe you will like it.

Fees are about what you’d find with a “managed account” in one of the big investment banks. For me they recommended a lot of the same stocks I already owned without paying the fee.

mreakus

As an owner of an RIA (similar type firm), they are more of a straight forward investment manager, that doesn't really do financial planning. What you should consider, is what you're looking for in terms of service: If you are looking to simply offload the management of your investments, there are people who do that for a fee, and they generally are less expensive because they are not providing financial planning advice, just asset management. Other firms may be more expensive, but their offering includes financial planning.

As an example, my firm charges less on investment management (as a percentage of the account) if you'd prefer to only want someone to manage the investments towards your goals, but we will not provide ongoing advice or recommendations/strategies for this price. We bill separately for the advice or a higher fee on the assets if you'd prefer to not write a check for the advice.

DNMakinson

iTrader: (3)

Hmmm. The guy from Fisher said Thea they would work with my estate attorney and CPA from a planning standpoint as a no-extra-fee service.

I am comfortable with my passive investment strategy, but I have not been able to adequately explain it to my wife. So I’m more looking for her sake.

There are some planning needs as well re: passing our estate.

DNM

mreakus

I worked for a "Fisher" like firm for the first 10 years of my tenure in the industry. I'm not saying it's absolute, but these larger investment-first firms tend to focus on providing the bare minimum in terms of financial planning and advice - they will do just enough to keep the assets under their umbrella. It's exactly what my previous firm transitioned into and why I left. There is a massive difference between an investment-first financial firm that "does" financial planning, and a planning-first financial firm that has a strong investment offering.

IMO, you should look to secure a relationship with a good financial planner who charges a yearly fee for planning work (so you do not need to immediately off-load your investments). This allows you and your wife to build a relationship based on trust and advice, and if something should happen to you then your wife could further engage should she need it. As an additional piece, these are the types of advisors that know how to properly fold all areas of your financial circumstance together.