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Let's be clear. Advisory or not, they ARE still being paid fee's. Some get to charge it up front, some don't and get paid on the back end. Some pay more, some less. That's why it's important to check the 12b-1 fee schedule. Also most who don't will put you in "C" shares...they usually (not all fund families) will pay the higher 12b-1 fee.
Also, depending on the relationship and the client/advisor agreement, how much attention did you think he was going to give you? Was it spelled out in your agreement? Was it a non-advisory account? A lot of that all depends on expectations. Sounds like you have a good relationship now with a new advisor?
I said we didn't pay him directly...
And we have a new (10+ yr's) FA/CPA who charges AUM fee---for us--65 basis points which is pretty cheap from what I read...
We will probably seek out a CFP as well. The problem with referrals is that many folks just aren’t knowledgeable enough to really understand if their guy (gal) is good or not. Then there is the question of how he or she is getting paid, and how much, exactly. It is stunning to me how many people are in this situation.
BTW, Vanguard has numerous services. Might be worth it to you to take a hard look at what they offer and how much it costs.
I have a friend who is a business owner and he swears by his guy. I may have a talk with him. Search this site for cfp. There are numerous suggestions in previous posts.
a cpa is the last person i would ever use for financial planning . you may as well use a dentist for your doctor ..
That’s a pretty ridiculous thing to say. The largest CPA firms all have financial advisory groups. They all have high net worth individual practices. It’s one of the best places to go....without question.
Maybe you’re thinking of small town CPAs who have some simple tax and accounting service...
if you are using the financial advisory group you are not using a cpa to do your financial planning. good planners work with a group of people . ours is a financial planner but his group includes an estate /elder law attorney and a tax adviser if he needs to consult them .
as a rule cpa's or tax advisers are only good at the end they are specialists in . if i needed a financial planner i would not go to see a cpa unless he was going to hook me up with one .
to many times here people refer others to a cpa and a cpa alone is the wrong choice . my daughter inlaw is a cpa and she is the last one i would consult on retirement planning or aspects of social security and medicare . even portfolio construction is out of her range of specialty which is hedge fund accounting .
so if you are going to a cpa for a referal to a financial adviser-great . but if you are going to one to do your planning-bad choice .
keep in mind there is a difference between a tax adviser and a cpa . a cpa can be more of an an accountant for public corporations and may know very little about retirement tax planning or personal issues .
a tax adviser is someone generally skilled in the area he is being used within . while they may be a cpa or not , their knowledge may be better geared toward financial planning than someone with accounting skills
Last edited by mathjak107; 05-06-2018 at 11:16 AM..
if you are using the financial advisory group you are not using a cpa to do your financial planning. good planners work with a group of people . ours is a financial planner but his group includes an estate /elder law attorney and a tax adviser if he needs to consult them .
as a rule cpa's or tax advisers are only good at the end they are specialists in . if i needed a financial planner i would not go to see a cpa unless he was going to hook me up with one .
to many times here people refer others to a cpa and a cpa alone is the wrong choice . my daughter inlaw is a cpa and she is the last one i would consult on retirement planning or aspects of social security and medicare . even portfolio construction is out of her range of specialty which is hedge fund accounting .
so if you are going to a cpa for a referal to a financial adviser-great . but if you are going to one to do your planning-bad choice .
keep in mind there is a difference between a tax adviser and a cpa . a cpa can be more of an an accountant for public corporations and may know very little about retirement tax planning or personal issues .
a tax adviser is someone generally skilled in the area he is being used within . while they may be a cpa or not , their knowledge may be better geared toward financial planning than someone with accounting skills
I’m not sure why you’re explaining the profession to me. I know there are specializations. I’m in a specialization. That’s why your comment is so absurd. The big four absolutely have CPAs who directly specialize in personal financial planning and management of assets of high net worth people. It’s objectively one of the best places to go....not like going to the dentist for financial advice like you stated.
The firms are full of clients receiving a full suite of financial advice, including billionaires and professional athletes. Yes, the advisory group will refer also you to other CPAs in the firm with tax exp or to lawyers within the group. It’s the perfect place to have a top to bottom financial team. CPAs specializing in this area of financial planning are just as good as CFPs...
unless the cpa is also certified as a financial planner NO ONE should be asking a cpa advice about retirement planning or any other financial planning outside of taxes -period UNLESS he works in conjunction with a planner and or planning group . many do not!. many here use local cpa's for their tax returns and these are the wrong people to be asking about financial planning unless they themselves are trained and certified or will farm you out to those who are .
the local guys people use for taxes are generally solo accountants and not financial planners .
the advice i see here given to see a cpa for financial planning is poor advice unless he is going to farm it out and NOT TRY DO IT HIMSELF if he is not certified .. i am not talking about going to a full service group !
Last edited by mathjak107; 05-06-2018 at 02:04 PM..
I said we didn't pay him directly...
And we have a new (10+ yr's) FA/CPA who charges AUM fee---for us--65 basis points which is pretty cheap from what I read...
No, I get it, you didn't pay him directly, but paid him by getting locked into a fund/allocation for at least 1-yr to pay him.
65 bps is pretty good, not bad at all. Depending on what you have set up with the FA, and his/her expectations vs. yours it could be a very good situation. But just to be clear, understand even those FA's who charge a AUM fee are still ALSO getting paid by some fund families, just like the other advisor. You're just not getting charged a transaction/ticket charge and may be getting to take advantage of lower OER's/12b-1 with an advisory account (which in turn limit how much he's getting paid on the back end).
unless the cpa is also certified as a financial planner NO ONE should not be asking a cpa advice about retirement planning-period UNLESS he works in conjunction with a planner and or planning group . many do not!. many here use local cpa's for their tax returns and these are the wrong people to be asking about financial planning unless they themselves are trained and certified or will farm you out to those who are .
the local guys people use for taxes are generally solo accountants and not financial planners .
the advice i see here given to see a cpa for financial planning is poor advice unless he is going to farm it out and NOT TRY DO IT HIMSELF if he is not certified .. i am not talking about going to a full service group !
This is absolutely correct. If you want financial advice, you should use a fee-based certified financial planner. If you need your taxes done or some auditing, then use a CPA firm. While it is true some CPA firms have ventured into areas like financial planning and management advisory services, that is 'really' not where their expertise is..
as i always mention many fee only planners in my experience are generally not as well versed in using comprehensive packages in retirement that incorporate your own investing , immediate annuities and perhaps even life insurance . since life insurance is tax free , a single annuity and life insurance may end up being a far better deal as it is tax free money to a spouse that now is filing single with likely rmd's to boot . .
i found that many lack the training and certification to get involved with other products or if they did they would not be fee only .
i interviewed quite a few and all dropped the ball . the sharpest of the bunch was a commissioned fellow . i ended up buying my ny state long term care partnership plan from him .
the fee only guys were quite lacking and old school in my opinion . the problem is most people are not knowledgeable enough to tell a planner who is up to date and running on the latest research from the old school guys running on old theory and planning methods that are very narrow in what they use .
as i always mention many fee only planners in my experience are generally not as well versed in using comprehensive packages in retirement that incorporate your own investing , immediate annuities and perhaps even life insurance . since life insurance is tax free , a single annuity and life insurance may end up being a far better deal as it is tax free money to a spouse that now is filing single with likely rmd's to boot . .
i found that many lack the training and certification to get involved with other products or if they did they would not be fee only .
i interviewed quite a few and all dropped the ball . the sharpest of the bunch was a commissioned fellow . i ended up buying my ny state long term care partnership plan from him .
the fee only guys were quite lacking and old school in my opinion . the problem is most people are not knowledgeable enough to tell a planner who is up to date and running on the latest research from the old school guys running on old theory and planning methods that are very narrow in what they use .
In our case, we don't need a CFP, but I am highly skeptical of those that promote products where they make substantial commissions. There appears to be a potential conflict of interest.
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