dan.gosser[at]gmail.com wrote:
- quote -

planner.

Hello All, I am looking for either a directory of, or a personal
recommendation of a fee-only financial advisor in NJ/PA (Philadelphia
area.)
Before putting out your money for financial advice, go to the local
library where you should find the books recommend by Joe also the many
web sites suggested by others.The Vanguard Group has a number of index
funds with low fees. I have Rollover IRA's with Vanguard and T Rowe
Price, and am very pleased with their service.

DFA is the best investment manager around, without a doubt! I'm a fee
only financial planner and I wholehearedly recommend you find a DFA
advisor. Arnold Schwarzenegar owns part of DFA - (interesting
factoid).

The Larry Swedroe book is great reading, but it's pretty dry. I
actually have a copy I could send you if you like? No Charge If it
helps you clear things up regarding passive vs. active management it
will have served it's purpose!

There's a NJ fee only planner who's a CFP and a member of
www.cfpcafe.com - Frank I think is his name. Not sure if he is a DFA
advisor or not.

Two tools for finding a fee-only financial planner are:

http://www.napfa.com/index2.htm and

http://www.dfaus.com/ (see Find an Advisor near the bottom of the page)

In addition to the other books mentioned I recommend The Informed Investor
by Frank Armstrong. Larry Swedroe's books are also good.

--
_Bill_

You can benefit immensely and protect yourself from some over-priced
options by starting out with a little self-education. Here is a book or
two
that are fun reads, and helpful:

Bogle on Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor
by John C. Bogle

Asset Allocation: Balancing Financial Risk
by Roger C. Gibson

Your first goal should be to learn about allocating your portfolio into
different categories. Try the following free online tools to get some
understanding of the subject:

http://www.smartmoney.com/oneasset/ (Fast but general.)

http://www.fairwinds.org/wizards/AssetAllocator.asp (Fast but general.)

www.vanguard.com (Click on: "Go to Personal Investors... " ; "Planning &
Education" near top; "Retirement Planning"; "I'm already saving... "; "How
should I allocate my assets" on the right, middle; "I accept" at the
bottom.)

http://www.ifa.com/SurveyNET/ (Take the 49-question survey. At the end, it
will spew back recommended allocations, using the index funds it
sells. Just ignore the particular funds, and use the general
recommendations for ideas.)

I also went through the Vanguard Company's little education site yesterday
and thought it pretty good for newbies interested in investing and mutual
funds, with an hour to spare. Go to www.vanguard.com , then click on: "Go
to Personal Investors.... "; "Planning & Education"; "Investor Education";
"What is investing." Continue down the left column of six topics.)

Disclaimer: I have never had an account with Vanguard and do not plan to
open one with it anytime soon. But its site has a lot of helpful
information.

<dan.gosser[at]gmail.com> wrote
- quote -

Hello All, I am looking for either a directory of, or a personal
recommendation of a fee-only financial advisor in NJ/PA (Philadelphia
area.)

Also, are there any good resources for a beginner to learn about mutual
funds and other IRA investment options? I am going to roll-over an
IRA, into a new account, and i'm clueless when it comes to investment
options.

Thanks!