Financial advisor tried to screw me today

BeL0wMe · #1 08-17-2006, 08:42 PM

Hey all,
I finally sacked up and started to put some of my daily salary to work for me, I invested 20k at Smith Barney in a MM account at 5%, because I'm a puss, and then asked about investing the rest of my monieszz. The advisor said that he would not sell me any no load funds as he wasn't allowed to and tried to make me buy all load funds. wtf?!!? Can't sell me any no load funds? When I mentioned Vanguard the guy's mood got a little sour, and he tried to stray me away. So needless to say I thanked him for my 20k tucked away in MM, and scrammed. Are all financial advisors going go be like this, just trying to sucker you in? Is the only honest way to invest, and get a good roi to do it yourself?

Also anybody heard anything about themutualfundstore.com? This guy sounds pretty decent, and advocates no load funds such as Dodge and Cox Internationl
Excelsior Value and Restructuring
Third Avenue Value, etc. all 5 star morningstar funds. Would I be better looking there to put my moniesss. Thanks!

chardog · #2 08-18-2006, 12:10 AM

I think I would enjoy being a financial advisor for the week it would take me to go out of business by recommending only no load, low expense, highly tax efficient index funds and ETFs.

OpenWheel · #3 08-18-2006, 01:21 AM

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I think I would enjoy being a financial advisor for the week it would take me to go out of business by recommending only no load, low expense, highly tax efficient index funds and ETFs.

[/ QUOTE ]

There are a lot of financial advisors who make a very nice living doing just that.

Financial product salesmen, on the other hand, usually work on commission.

Thremp · #4 08-18-2006, 01:36 AM

Lemme get this right... You hire a professional. Don't take his advice and then get pissed about it.

If you obviosuly know wtf to do on your own, why are you wasting his time?

Big TR · #5 08-18-2006, 08:57 AM

You should hire a financial advisor who gets paid an hourly rate, not by commissions on your investments. Look for someone with a CFP designation and try calling around.

buffett · #6 08-18-2006, 10:03 AM

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Are all financial advisors going go be like this, just trying to sucker you in? Is the only honest way to invest, and get a good roi to do it yourself?

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I say no, but then again I'm kind of in the business. I think the most important factor is the compensation structure. People by and large behave how they are incented to behave. For instance, if a guy gets commissions for pushing load funds, by golly he's going to go around telling everyone Jack Bogle is an idiot. So if you can find someone whose incentive system works in your favor, you're probably halfway there already.

[ QUOTE ]
Also anybody heard anything about themutualfundstore.com? This guy sounds pretty decent, and advocates no load funds such as Dodge and Cox Internationl, Excelsior Value and Restructuring, Third Avenue Value

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I've never heard of that website or Excelsior, but the other two are spot-on, shareholder-minded, ethical, probably-market-beating places run by bona fide members of Graham and Doddsville.

maxtower · #7 08-18-2006, 12:45 PM

I think there are some financial advisors who work on an hourly basis. The rest get paid through commissions on loaded mutual funds or insurance premiums. Obviously, since thats how they make their living they are going to only deal with those products. I believe you should seek out the hourly rate type guys.

Thremp · #8 08-18-2006, 09:03 PM

You can get almost anyone to give you an hourly rate?

You think any CFP is too busy to punch a clock charge you $150+ an hour to answer questions?

kidpokeher · #9 08-19-2006, 02:06 AM

I've heard of Mutual Fund Store. They act as a financial advisor of sorts for mutual funds and advise you on what type of funds you should put your money in. In addition to the standard marketing hype "proprietary methodology and research, etc..." they make a real big deal about not getting kickbacks from the fund companies so you're not pressured into buying crap just so the salesman gets rich. That's admirable, but on the downside I heard the fees they do charge are expensive.

talentdeficit · #10 08-19-2006, 05:37 PM

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You can get almost anyone to give you an hourly rate?

You think any CFP is too busy to punch a clock charge you $150+ an hour to answer questions?

[/ QUOTE ]

cfp's who derive the bulk of their income from commissions and sales of financial products aren't all that likely to be well versed in products that earn them nothing when recommended.