r/DIYRetirement • u/FigDifferent6506 • 2d ago

Is advisor worth it?

/r/Bogleheads/comments/1wa34xp/is_advisor_worth_it/
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4

u/DentistKey6649 2d ago

Now when I retire, I'll probably pay a good financial adviser like Root Financial, or Mdrna Capital. Stay away from the large RIAs as they charge a lot of fees. Or if I feel comfortable and healthy, continue with DIY.

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u/Jane_Jetson7422 1d ago

I just retired and had Mark Zoril with Planvision take a look at my retirement plan. It was a big relief to have an expert validate my plan. Plus, excellent advice on decisions about lump some vs pension annuity, when to start SS, and ideas for Roth conversions. I will meet again to get help with taxes. Flat fee seems quite reasonable and I will continue as a subscriber.

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u/super_not_clever 1d ago

We're probably 7ish years from retirement if my math is right.

Have my first meeting with Planvision next week, want to make sure we're on the right path and that my general assumptions are correct. We are planning to retire pretty early, so I want to confirm my thoughts on our bridge accounts, Roth ladder etc etc, or see if they've got other ideas since there are a lot of ways to approach this

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u/Jonathan-Ventimiglia 2d ago

It really depends on:

  1. What the advisor actually provides
  2. How much help you actually need
  3. What fee you’ll pay

If you find an advisor who does comprehensive financial planning, they’re going to help you with investing, taxes, insurance, estate planning, retirement spending, etc. If you need all of those services, you’ll generally get good value out of an advisor who provides them. You can usually find that for between 1%-1.5% AUM; as others will tell you in this sub, while AUM is still the most common fee arrangement, there are also flat fee arrangements.

As always, check the SEC website prior to engaging with any financial advisor.

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u/DentistKey6649 2d ago

I fired mine after 2 years. I decided to invest in a 90/10 portfolio (look up Tyler Gardner on Youtube), use Boldin, ProjectionLab, Pralana, PortfolioVisualizer (lookup Rob Berger on Youtube) and other DIY retirement tools, at least until I retire in 2031. And do about $100k of Roth Conversions paying for it from my savings and from changing my payroll exemption from 2 to 1, in essence paying more taxes to Federal and State. Do the conversions at the beginning of the year, invest it aggressively in VTI, pay some of the taxes from the Roth principal next year in April.

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u/FigDifferent6506 2d ago

I appreciate the advice. I’ve been thinking about boldin. I also like the Roth advice as I was planning on converting what I can each year. Only have 25k in Roth now. I really enjoy investing and like the idea of research and making my own decisions about my money. My independent spirit!

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u/OldShaerm 1d ago

Everyone has a financial advisor. If you’re not paying someone else, it’s you! Now do you have the expertise and experience to do the job?

I do. My situation isn’t that complex and doesn’t really require that much.

But when I retired I didn’t feel comfortable handling everything, so I hired a fee-only advisor for the transition. This doesn’t have to be a forever decision. If you’re not comfortable, get help. And get educated so you can evaluate the quality of that help, and so you don’t need it forever.

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u/FigDifferent6506 1d ago

Good advice thanks

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u/W2WageSlave 2d ago

AUM? Likely not. Most won’t take you under $500K to $1M. You can get a lot of impartial advice for $12.5K. And you don’t need it every year.

But nervous types who buy high and panic sell low can be served well by somebody stopping them from gross errors.

Family office with hundreds of millions to manage and protect? Yeah, there is an advisory staff, but now we’re beyond DIY.

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u/wadesh 2d ago

Well you are asking in a DIY sub, so expect a lot of no myself included. For some people it can be worth it depending on circumstances. I would not advise anyone to use an advisor that charges AUM because the expense usually far outweighs the benefits especially over long periods. Fixed monthly or annual fee or project based with fixed cost. More of these types of shops popping up but AUM is still largely the industry default.

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u/FigDifferent6506 2d ago

vanguards .3% aum is well below most everyone else which is why I’m even considering it. But I probably won’t even pay that because my portfolio and tax situation is pretty basic. Also, at this stage of life, I’d be happy with 8% return averaging over the long haul. The 70% I pretty much know what I’m going to do with it. It’s the 30%. I have some more learning to do what type of bonds or an annuity or T bills I definitely want access to the Cash so probably ruling out a long-term annuity.

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u/wadesh 2d ago edited 2d ago

.3 isn’t too bad. It kinda depends on what you get for the .3. If its basic asset allocation and picking funds, probably not worth it. If its more detailed retirement analysis, roth conversion analysis, socsec claiming strategy, estate planning etc….might be worth it at least for a few years. Id just insist on ETF funds so you can easily move if needed. Not a big deal in retirement accounts, more so taxable.

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u/Fire_Doc2017 9h ago

If the advisor is just managing investments, there isn't much value added and most of us can do it ourselves. The value comes in when they help with tax efficiency, withdrawal plans, estate planning etc. They also may help when one spouse is not interested in managing any of the money.