LBC Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I hope this isn't too off topic.:) This board is such a great resource that I thought I'd see if I can get some help in this area, too. We've been investing in mutual funds through a financial planner for years, and we're just. not. happy. We're seeing our potential earnings get eaten up by management fees, and the only person who seems to be making money is our financial planner. My dh has been encouraging me to take over our portfolio for years now, but every time I try, I can't figure out where to begin. There's just way too much information out there. I need to hear from a real person who has been managing their own money with some level of growth and the ability to sleep at night. Is there a good book that can narrow down the options, and point me in the right direction? I have an aptitude, but not a huge interest in the subject. I do all our personal finances, and the bookkeeping for our business. I generally understand the stock market, and ETFs, and MERs and all the lingo, but I'm not inclined to check the markets every day to see where things are at. I just need someone to help narrow things down for me. I need a "curriculum" with a system. I don't want to do three years of research. I want to have a bit of a plan to follow so that I can just get started and learn more as I go. I've noticed that at least one of the dads on the board has mentioned managing his own investments (was it regguheert?). I'm hoping there is somone who can point me in the right direction by recommending an excellent book or website. I'm in Canada, but things are pretty much the same, with the exception of tax laws and available online trading accounts. Thanks, Lori Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sthompson Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I don't know if this helps but my DH refuses to invest in anything that he cannot touch. There are lots of different options out there. We have been looking at precious metals. Silver, bronze, copper. Gold is a little out of our league right now. Items that pertain to our life like tractors and farm equipment. We are very leary about stocks and bonds and just try to stay away from that as much as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 As a former broker, I highly recommend sticking with someone who knows what they are doing. It IS possible to learn everything you need to know--if you have the time and inclination to learn, not only approaches to investing (technical or fundamental), but also have the time to follow your investments. Do you want income investments or growth investments, what are your long-term goals? What is your risk tolerance? Which investments match that tolerance? What kind of tax implications are you willing to take now...or would you rather have them later? There is a lot to learn, especially in an uncertain environment. That said, there are a lot of snaky people in the business! Not everyone's ethics are the same. I recommend going with a nationwide brokerage firm that has a strong and long history. The firm I worked for had strict oversight of their brokers to make certain everything was done in the clients best interest. I'm certain you can learn everything you need to know! Truly, it's not rocket science. BUT, make sure that this is a time investment you are willing to make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Hmm....if it were me, I'd probably start by looking for "Dummies" or "Idiot's" guides. Those could be your "spine" :lol: and then you could branch out from there in your library, looking up topics you want to know more about. Another bunch of books I read years ago were the Rich Dad books - those were interesting to me. By Robert Kiyosaki. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I hope this isn't too off topic.:) This board is such a great resource that I thought I'd see if I can get some help in this area, too. We've been investing in mutual funds through a financial planner for years, and we're just. not. happy. We're seeing our potential earnings get eaten up by management fees, and the only person who seems to be making money is our financial planner. My dh has been encouraging me to take over our portfolio for years now, but every time I try, I can't figure out where to begin. There's just way too much information out there. I need to hear from a real person who has been managing their own money with some level of growth and the ability to sleep at night. Is there a good book that can narrow down the options, and point me in the right direction? I have an aptitude, but not a huge interest in the subject. I do all our personal finances, and the bookkeeping for our business. I generally understand the stock market, and ETFs, and MERs and all the lingo, but I'm not inclined to check the markets every day to see where things are at. I just need someone to help narrow things down for me. I need a "curriculum" with a system. I don't want to do three years of research. I want to have a bit of a plan to follow so that I can just get started and learn more as I go. I've noticed that at least one of the dads on the board has mentioned managing his own investments (was it regguheert?). I'm hoping there is somone who can point me in the right direction by recommending an excellent book or website. I'm in Canada, but things are pretty much the same, with the exception of tax laws and available online trading accounts. Thanks, Lori DH and I have been looking at the Rich Dad, Poor Dad game Cash Flow for our kiddos. The concept is neat, play a game and learn real life stuff about investing. Plus it has the potential to grow with their knowledge. I do not have any experience with it though. I did read his books and found them helpful as a way of bringing myself "up to speed" with DH's interest in investing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LBC Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 As a former broker, I highly recommend sticking with someone who knows what they are doing. It IS possible to learn everything you need to know--if you have the time and inclination to learn, not only approaches to investing (technical or fundamental), but also have the time to follow your investments. Do you want income investments or growth investments, what are your long-term goals? What is your risk tolerance? Which investments match that tolerance? What kind of tax implications are you willing to take now...or would you rather have them later? There is a lot to learn, especially in an uncertain environment. That said, there are a lot of snaky people in the business! Not everyone's ethics are the same. I recommend going with a nationwide brokerage firm that has a strong and long history. The firm I worked for had strict oversight of their brokers to make certain everything was done in the clients best interest. I'm certain you can learn everything you need to know! Truly, it's not rocket science. BUT, make sure that this is a time investment you are willing to make. Thanks, Georgiana. This is a good perspective. Our financial planner is only licensed to sell insurance products and mutual funds. He isn't a licensed stock broker, so he's quite limited in what he recommends to us. I'd like to switch to a money manager (my dad has a good one). The only problem is, our financial planner is also a client of dh's business, so if we switch, it could cause some problems for dh. If we do it ourselves, we're less likely to incur negative feelings. We've seen how defensively and negatively our financial planner has reacted to other clients switching their accounts. Dh is an electrical contractor, and is nearing the end of an enormous "renovation" (tripled the size of his house, and put in a totally computerized "smart house" system) for our financial planner. He's been working on this project for close to 3 years, and they still haven't completed the pool house. Even if we were to switch after the project is finished, dh is concerned that there will be bad feelings that will lead to negative comments that would reflect poorly on dh's business. Dh has literally bent over backward to accommodate this constantly changing project (every time our pfp sees a new product on the market, he wants dh to incorporate it into his house - I think the guy can actually turn his lights on and off remotely with his cell phone if he wants). Sorry, I know that's too much information. I guess I'm just trying to figure out what we can do. I feel a bit trapped.:tongue_smilie: Lori Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 It sounds to me as if your financial planner is doing very well, indeed! :confused: I sent you a PM on the topic here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Can you start moving it a little at a time? If so,I would do that and call it diversification. I am curious how this is working though. My dh can sell mutual funds as an insurance agent, but he has no income off of them other than initial commission for the original amount invested. He can't charge for consultation separately. How is the contract written by you and this person? Sometimes you also just have to step out in faith. Has your dh missed any other opportunities for jobs because of this deal? How many other people could he have worked for to build up his reputation? Honestly, it sounds as though the financial counselor is taking advantage of your dh in more ways than one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LBC Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 Can you start moving it a little at a time? If so,I would do that and call it diversification. I am curious how this is working though. My dh can sell mutual funds as an insurance agent, but he has no income off of them other than initial commission for the original amount invested. He can't charge for consultation separately. How is the contract written by you and this person? Everything he sells us has a DFC (deferred sales charge). What this means is that you can't take it out of the fund for 6 years without incurring a penalty. During the 6 years that it is in the fund, our PFP (personal financial planner) gets a monthly "trailer fee" that comes out of our mutual fund management expense. This means that even if our mutual fund is losing money, our PFP is still getting paid.:glare: Sometimes you also just have to step out in faith. Has your dh missed any other opportunities for jobs because of this deal? How many other people could he have worked for to build up his reputation? Honestly, it sounds as though the financial counselor is taking advantage of your dh in more ways than one. No, dh is very busy with other clients. The issue is more about "word of mouth". Our PFP knows a lot of people in our city. It's a city of about 100,000 people, and word of mouth is a major form of advertising for our business. Dh knows that the type of custom job he's doing for this client is very tricky, and if the client is upset with dh, it would be easy for him to find fault with the system dh is installing. To say that we've seen our PFP act vindictively would be a bit of an understatement. He tends to be quite aggressive and defensive toward people who he feels have "wronged" him. Even when we ask questions about our portfolio's poor performance we come up against every red herring in the book, and never get straight answers.:confused: I know it's a blind spot in his character. Lori Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I am not some investment whiz-kid, but you could also consider investing in an index fund, instead of by particular stocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LBC Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 I am not some investment whiz-kid, but you could also consider investing in an index fund, instead of by particular stocks. This is something I've been encouraged to do, but I need some guidance in narrowing things down, and choosing well. There are way too many options out there.:tongue_smilie: It's quite overwhelming. Lori Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Thanks, Georgiana. This is a good perspective. Our financial planner is only licensed to sell insurance products and mutual funds. He isn't a licensed stock broker, so he's quite limited in what he recommends to us. I'd like to switch to a money manager (my dad has a good one). The only problem is, our financial planner is also a client of dh's business, so if we switch, it could cause some problems for dh. If we do it ourselves, we're less likely to incur negative feelings. We've seen how defensively and negatively our financial planner has reacted to other clients switching their accounts. Dh is an electrical contractor, and is nearing the end of an enormous "renovation" (tripled the size of his house, and put in a totally computerized "smart house" system) for our financial planner. He's been working on this project for close to 3 years, and they still haven't completed the pool house. Even if we were to switch after the project is finished, dh is concerned that there will be bad feelings that will lead to negative comments that would reflect poorly on dh's business. Dh has literally bent over backward to accommodate this constantly changing project (every time our pfp sees a new product on the market, he wants dh to incorporate it into his house - I think the guy can actually turn his lights on and off remotely with his cell phone if he wants). Sorry, I know that's too much information. I guess I'm just trying to figure out what we can do. I feel a bit trapped.:tongue_smilie: Lori Ahhh! That definitely sheds light on it! I'm sending you a PM too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy loves Bud Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Check out Making the Most of Your Money by Jane Bryant Quinn. It's an excellent resource and will get you going in the right direction. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Check out Making the Most of Your Money by Jane Bryant Quinn. It's an excellent resource and will get you going in the right direction. Have fun! :iagree: My mom manages my grandmother's money (after her planner had her cash all tied up in stocks - when she was in her late 80s!) Mom got Grandma out of stocks before the market crash, so Grandma's appreciative. Vanguard is also pretty good for low fees for mutual funds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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