- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Self-directed retirement
Posted on 3/2/24 at 2:53 pm
Posted on 3/2/24 at 2:53 pm
Will try to be succint. 67 y/o, retiring end of '24, plenty of money for retirement including SS, not extravagant but comfortable. Currently with financial adviser, fee-based, approx 1% annual charges. He has given good advice as I approach retirement re: shifting some assets around, tax management; very accessible. Question: would like to become self-directed to save his fees- is this feasible/advisable? If so, best way to educate myself? Securities are basically index funds and ETF, i.e. not actively managed, but there is periodic re-balancing, so his investment advice is not necessarily better than others. Some hurdles i see ahead-some possible Roth IRA conversions, RMD @ 70 1/2, which bucket of assets do I tap 1st, 2nd, etc, how to handle sizable life ins. cash value. I do have revocable Family Living Trusts for wife/myself. Any thoughts/questions?
This post was edited on 3/2/24 at 2:55 pm
8
Posted on 3/2/24 at 2:55 pm to gungho
I would recommend you have a candid conversation with your FA to see if there is a different fee structure you could arrange (otherwise you are leaving…)
Posted on 3/2/24 at 4:09 pm to lynxcat
Aren't fees typically tiered depending on how much is being managed? Seems like this might be a driving factor.
Posted on 3/2/24 at 4:28 pm to DiamondDog
quote:AUM Financial Advisors are the Real Estate Agents of investing. Paying a percentage is criminal.
depending on how much is being managed?
As far as the OP goes, find a for-fee-only advisor if you want to get confirmation your initial planning is good while you buy yourself time to get educated. There's a lot of free information out there (Bogleheads comes to mind, even though I don't follow their methods). Switching from growing your assets to producing income is a significant change. There are a lot of options, but it depends on how much risk you're willing to take.
Posted on 3/2/24 at 4:33 pm to lynxcat
quote:
I would recommend you have a candid conversation with your FA to see if there is a different fee structure you could arrange (otherwise you are leaving…)
OH NOZ MOAR FINANCIAL ADVISOR THREADS!
SLACKSTER WILL BE HERE SOON LIKE A MOTH TO A FLAME
Posted on 3/2/24 at 4:39 pm to gungho
quote:
RMD @ 70 1/2
RMD isn’t 70.5.
If you’re going to do it yourself, you need to start educating yourself on all of the things the FA is/was doing for you, plus staying on top of the ever changing rules - like RMD age. I realize that’s the point of your post, but I’m not really aware of any DIY financial planning books.
Also, it’s worth pointing out that self-directed investing is cheap because the risk is shifted to you. None of us know what we don’t know (I’m an FA, that goes for me too), but your advisor sounds like he or she is delivering at least some type of value. Have you tried to quantify that value?
Posted on 3/2/24 at 4:40 pm to Fat Bastard
quote:
SLACKSTER WILL BE HERE SOON LIKE A MOTH TO A FLAME
Posted on 3/2/24 at 7:52 pm to slackster
You are correct, not sure what I was thinking, looks like by 4/1 after turning 72, right?
Not sure how to quantify the FA value, have thought about this- the advice he gives outside of portfolio is certainly valuable but worth? I think I can come reasonably close to the securities return by following his strategy which is really from Raymond James , realizable they have access to funds I don't have. I would imagine difference in performance won't exceed his fees.
Not sure how to quantify the FA value, have thought about this- the advice he gives outside of portfolio is certainly valuable but worth? I think I can come reasonably close to the securities return by following his strategy which is really from Raymond James , realizable they have access to funds I don't have. I would imagine difference in performance won't exceed his fees.
Posted on 3/2/24 at 7:53 pm to Fat Bastard
Sorry, don't frequent this board so not sure who frequent flyers are
Posted on 3/2/24 at 7:53 pm to gungho
The securities / portfolio selection is really a small piece of the value. The bigger thing is around cash flow management and tax strategy.
Posted on 3/2/24 at 7:56 pm to DiamondDog
Correct, as in this case, hence my estimate or average of his current fees. His % is actually a small fraction higher than previous FA but makes up for it in service.
I'm not in any hurry to change, just thinking things will stabilize sometime into retirement and won't need the premium his service provides
I'm not in any hurry to change, just thinking things will stabilize sometime into retirement and won't need the premium his service provides
Posted on 3/2/24 at 7:58 pm to lynxcat
Yes, I agree, and that's what I'm trying to quantify and/ or figure if I can do on my own, especially when the process seems to become more automatic. How* that makes sense
Thanks for everyone's input
*Hope
Thanks for everyone's input
*Hope
This post was edited on 3/2/24 at 8:01 pm
Posted on 3/2/24 at 8:07 pm to gungho
Use a free robo advisor.
Posted on 3/2/24 at 8:53 pm to gungho
Look for an FA that is focused on Retirement Income. Most FAs are better at the accumulation phase and not so great at the decumulation phase. Dr. Wade Phau's "Retirement Planning Guidebook is a good place to start for self education. It's not exactly light reading, though. 
Posted on 3/3/24 at 5:30 am to gungho
There’s a pretty simple way to look at the fee. Does the FA provide more value than you’re paying him? Tax strategy would probably be most significant.
Posted on 3/3/24 at 6:14 am to gungho
For the OP, these are things that I have concerned myself with as I head toward retirement:
- How do I move from growing my money to producing income?
- Will that income provide the retirement that I desire?
- When should I take Social Security?
- Controlling my MAGI to maximize an ACA subsidy, if possible.
- Controlling my MAGI to avoid IRMAA, if possible. This involves being cognizant of the two years prior to being subjected to Medicare which determines what you would pay.
- Converting pre-tax retirement assets to post-tax retirement assets on a specific schedule to minimize tax, avoid RMDs, and maximize future after-tax net worth (FANW). This could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to heirs, depending on the estate.
- Planning for philanthropy goals (great for tax-deferred accounts, which affects all of the above).
- Managing overall cash flow as you make these financial moves. Do I know how each year of my retirement will be funded, if multiple sources exist?
- What happens to my spouse if I die? How does this modify the plan?
- How confident am I that the plan will work?
Unfortunately, I have yet to find someone who is more interested in developing my plan than they are to manage my assets or sell me a financial product. I get it, there is less money in helping people figure this stuff out because it's hard to do. There are a few fee-only groups that will do it, but they are expensive -- which is fine especially if your estate is large. If your estate is not large (>$5M), you are probably fine reading about these topics and even paying for software to help you figure it out. Here are some specific suggestions:
For a small estate, consider something like NewRetirement. It's a fairly new DIY retirement planning online service, but they provide a lot of educational material and even have live 8 week courses to ensure you understand how to use the software. You can also pay them $175 an hour to walk you through your planning.
Bogleheads have recommended a gentleman named Mark Zoril who uses a software called PlanVision. HERE is a video that provides some information. The complaint I've read is that they don't really hold your hand. They set you up an account, you enter the information, and then they point out big issues. They don't seem to be really taking ownership of whatever your particular problems are without a more expensive relationship. If you're a DIY'er, though, apparently they like it.
If you have a complicated or large estate, then a group like Timothy Financial Counsel could be what you're looking for. They are in high demand.
Otherwise, READ READ READ READ READ. If you have the interest and capability you can save yourself a tremendous amount of money. If you lack confidence or just want to make sure you have a second set of eyes, then engage one or more to act as a sounding board for your plan.
There are many, many pretenders in this field. Locally, I've found nothing but shysters working in their own best interest or those who seem incompetent from a holistic planning view. Good luck.
- How do I move from growing my money to producing income?
- Will that income provide the retirement that I desire?
- When should I take Social Security?
- Controlling my MAGI to maximize an ACA subsidy, if possible.
- Controlling my MAGI to avoid IRMAA, if possible. This involves being cognizant of the two years prior to being subjected to Medicare which determines what you would pay.
- Converting pre-tax retirement assets to post-tax retirement assets on a specific schedule to minimize tax, avoid RMDs, and maximize future after-tax net worth (FANW). This could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to heirs, depending on the estate.
- Planning for philanthropy goals (great for tax-deferred accounts, which affects all of the above).
- Managing overall cash flow as you make these financial moves. Do I know how each year of my retirement will be funded, if multiple sources exist?
- What happens to my spouse if I die? How does this modify the plan?
- How confident am I that the plan will work?
Unfortunately, I have yet to find someone who is more interested in developing my plan than they are to manage my assets or sell me a financial product. I get it, there is less money in helping people figure this stuff out because it's hard to do. There are a few fee-only groups that will do it, but they are expensive -- which is fine especially if your estate is large. If your estate is not large (>$5M), you are probably fine reading about these topics and even paying for software to help you figure it out. Here are some specific suggestions:
For a small estate, consider something like NewRetirement. It's a fairly new DIY retirement planning online service, but they provide a lot of educational material and even have live 8 week courses to ensure you understand how to use the software. You can also pay them $175 an hour to walk you through your planning.
Bogleheads have recommended a gentleman named Mark Zoril who uses a software called PlanVision. HERE is a video that provides some information. The complaint I've read is that they don't really hold your hand. They set you up an account, you enter the information, and then they point out big issues. They don't seem to be really taking ownership of whatever your particular problems are without a more expensive relationship. If you're a DIY'er, though, apparently they like it.
If you have a complicated or large estate, then a group like Timothy Financial Counsel could be what you're looking for. They are in high demand.
Otherwise, READ READ READ READ READ. If you have the interest and capability you can save yourself a tremendous amount of money. If you lack confidence or just want to make sure you have a second set of eyes, then engage one or more to act as a sounding board for your plan.
There are many, many pretenders in this field. Locally, I've found nothing but shysters working in their own best interest or those who seem incompetent from a holistic planning view. Good luck.
Posted on 3/3/24 at 7:39 am to RoyalWe
Good post.
I recently found a FA on YouTube that provides strong content - James Canole with Root Financial. I think this is a pretty small shop but he focuses a lot of his content on retirement cash flow management, tax efficiency, probability of success to retire, etc.
I recently found a FA on YouTube that provides strong content - James Canole with Root Financial. I think this is a pretty small shop but he focuses a lot of his content on retirement cash flow management, tax efficiency, probability of success to retire, etc.
Posted on 3/3/24 at 8:25 am to RoyalWe
quote:
There are many, many pretenders in this field. Locally, I've found nothing but shysters working in their own best interest or those who seem incompetent from a holistic planning view. Good luck.
Great post.
Posted on 3/3/24 at 8:46 am to RoyalWe
quote:
RoyalWe
Good post.
Posted on 3/3/24 at 8:48 pm to gungho
My CFP is also my CPA
Having CFP as CPA I feel like will be worth its weight in gold in retirement.
Having CFP as CPA I feel like will be worth its weight in gold in retirement.
Page 1 of 2
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News