kastnna wrote:
- quote -


I wish this issue was more commonly known among investors...your
advisor's role and obligations are dictated by how that advisor is
licensed and does business. I believe striking down the Merrill Rule
will lead to better outcomes for investors/clients, by amplifying the
distinction between advice and sales-facilitation.

This is the comment I submitted during the rulemaking period, discussing
my views on the distinction, when the Merrill Rule was being finalized:
http://www.sec.gov/rules/proposed/s72599/tborek1811.htm

For the OP: I'd suggest asking for a copy of Form ADV, Part II, which is
the regulatory filing that all investment advisors must make, and must
provide to prospective clients. If they don't have a Form ADV, they're
not registered as an advisor. That's not the end of the world, but be
sure to find out how they are licensed, and understand the role they'll
play when providing advice.

-Tad

On Apr 3, 4:51 pm, "Andrew Koenig" <a...[at]acm.org> wrote:
- quote -

Very good point. Yesterday, in another thread, I referred to the
"Merrill Rule" that the DC federal Court of appeals overturned last
Friday. Who is held to a fiduciary responsibility and who is not is
one of the main topics of the debate. Any google of "merrill rule" and
"appeal court" will bring up numerous articles on what the industry is
doing to extend that duty as best it can.

"kastnna" <kastnna[at]auburnalum.org> wrote in message
news:1175636343.431516.289070[at]p77g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...

- quote -

You might consider asking the advisor: "Are you a fiduciary?" The article
below surprised me; I think it's worth reading.

http://www.fundadvice.com/fehtml/inv...nd_of_adv.html

Jim wrote:

- quote -

Here's my question for you; what is your expectation? Why do you want a
planner? And how will you judge his performance?
Someone advising a retiree would have to maker it clear that they are
not going to match the returns one hears on the news, i.e. the S&P, but
in a down year, will not be down as much.
Someone advising a 30 year old needs to understand their risk tolerance,
I can tell you what mine is now, and at 30, but not what someone else's
is without a long interview. If your expectations are out of line, he
should set you straight as to what's reasonable.
I recall a co-worker in the late 90's telling me he was well on his way
to a good retirement. All I asked was what return rate the planner used.
His reply was 16%. I told him to get a new guy. I'd not debate whether
the current proper number is 8 or 10, but no regular here will suggest
16 is reasonable. Better to plan for a lower rate of return and be
surprised you were too pessimistic than the alternative. Maybe that's a
'quiz' question you can ask him.
JOE

Ask your planner what you need to bring! If he can't readily and
intelligently give you a list then that may be a bad omen.

However, some planners like to do an initial interview (without any
hard numbers) to get an idea of the client. He can get an idea of what
areas you are concerned with, in what areas you may be lacking focus,
what are your long term and short term goals, and what is your current
financial picture, etc, etc. Occasionally I don't even get to
specifics until a second or third meeting.

That said:
1. Fee structure is important
2. Check to see if he is CFP certified
3. What other designations does he have?

When it comes down to the hard data, he will probably want alot of
info. SSA statements, Net worth, all investment account statements,
insurance info, Education expense info, tax returns, annual budgeting
data... What he needs should be tailored to what YOU need.

"Jim" <jim[at]decombabulator.com> wrote in message
news:57fi6sF2cc8n3U1[at]mid.individual.net...

- quote -

Ask the financial planner how he or she is paid for the services offered.
Paradoxically perhaps, the best answer you could get to this question is:
"You will pay me $200 an hour or so for my time and advice." On the other
hand, if the answer is simply "You will owe me nothing," that is time to
divest yourself of the notion that you are getting something for free and
find out how the payment really comes about. If it comes from the companies
offering the products sold to you, may want to say "Wait a minute, is there
possibly a conflict of interests here?" and then explore the facts about
index funds, exchange traded funds, no-load funds, and so on, before you
act. Another idea: You compared this first visit to going to a doctor for
the first time. What would want to know about a doctor? Well, you might want
to know the same about a financial expert: qualifications, professional
designations, ethical standards that are followed, etc.

On Apr 3, 11:31 am, "Jim" <j...[at]decombabulator.com> wrote:
- quote -



What's his/her fee structure?

BreadWithSpam[at]fractious.net wrote:

- quote -

No more than my references to fairmark.com

The Dummies book is one I haven't read yet, but I'm inclined to read it
if only to add to my suggested reading list. My own goal is to take the
list and segment it into an 'objectives' and 'expertise' grid. If this
book is a good one for beginners, and is the answer to many people just
getting started, that's great, and considering this newsgroup gets a
steady stream of new visitors, I'd expect to hear this recommended again.

JOE

"Jim" <jim[at]decombabulator.com> writes:
- quote -

Add in your various insurance policies (life, disability, etc),

And maybe a list of your goals. Any FP will want you to start
thinking about it and probably send you off to come up with
such a list anyway. Retirement? When? College funds for the
kids? A house down payment, etc. Caring for your parents?
There are a lot of things. The FP may even suggest some thing
you hadn't thought of.

- quote -

If you haven't, you should. A will is pretty important,
even if you have a very simple estate and even if you
have very few people you want to receive it. It doesn't
have to be complicated, and many of your assets can be
handled outside of the will (IRAs, for example, always
have designated beneficiaries, as do 401ks. Most brokerage
accounts and mutual funds will let you designate them,
too)

- quote -

Too much is hard to pull off. But too *disorganized* is
easy. Take some of the information you've compiled above
and write up a summary. Doesn't have to be complex or
even perfectly detailed, at least not to start with.

Hopefully, you've got the rest of the records in some
sort of organized system of folders. It might be easy
to just bring the most recent statement from each of
the accounts

Truthfully, before heading on down the road to the FP,
I'd strongly suggest reading Personal Finance for Dummies.
It's got a chapter on selecting and evaluating planners -
as much as it appears to be a do-it-yourself book, it's
a great starting point and it has worksheets ot help you
figure out exactly the information you'll want to bring
to a planner anyway (ie. assets, debts, net worth, etc)
and may cover things that some planners (not necessarily
good ones) might skip - like debt reduction. It's a very
basic book and you might breeze through a lot of it
going "yeah, yeah, of course I shouldn't carry a zillion
dollar debt on my credit card!" but it's organized, generally
pretty right on and will help you have a clear idea of
what to expect (or what you should expect) before you
plunk down a lot more money for someone else's help.

I know, the regulars are probably sick of hearing me
suggest this book. And, no, I have nothing to do with
the book, the author or the publisher.


--
Plain Bread alone for e-mail, thanks. The rest gets trashed.
No HTML in E-Mail! -- http://www.expita.com/nomime.html
Are you posting responses that are easy for others to follow?
http://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/2000/06/14/quoting

since I've received such terrific information here, came to think of it, I
should really ask here first

have requested my 1st-ever appointment with a financial planner and have no
illusions or plans about going with this particular individual but wanted to
learn through the experience and figured that since I approach new doctors
the same way, I should invest into at least a few 1-hour consultations

so here goes

1. what's generally a good idea on how to prepare for the appointment with a
financial planner?

my own WAG is, to collect a summary of all assets, salary, debts, accounts
with investments, savings, checking and some kind of idea of monthly
expenses now and into the future

be able to elaborate specific goals for self and household (ie. kids in
university, etc.)

2. should I ask about estate planning?
3. how much information is too much?

did I get that right? what am I missing?