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Questoin About Financial Advisor - Question for Janky on pg 3
Posted on 4/17/13 at 1:15 pm
Posted on 4/17/13 at 1:15 pm
My 401K is through Fidelity. I've also opened a Roth IRA on Fidelity's website as well and want to start funding that soon. I have no idea what type of funds to pick. My question is, should I go to a financial advisor in town (Lake Charles)? If I do this, can I still use Fidelity online and they just access my account or what?
This post was edited on 6/14/13 at 8:27 am
6
Posted on 4/17/13 at 1:34 pm to CQQ
Most here don't use FAdvisors. You could subscribe to Bob Brinker Market timer and follow his portfolio advice for $185 / yr. Look online. Most of his portfolios are heavy in Vanguard's total stock market mutual fund and Fidelity has similar funds. Just buy market index mutual funds. It's simple.
Posted on 4/17/13 at 1:41 pm to CQQ
Yea most on here will tell you to educate yourself if you haven't already. The funds are usually easy to research. You are looking for probably average to below average risk in funds with the highest rate of return based on the life fund. Vanguard and PIMCO funds are great. Nothing wrong with using a FA, I would just try to research for myself.
Posted on 4/17/13 at 2:05 pm to Nawlens Gator
quote:
Vanguard's total stock market mutual fund and Fidelity has similar funds
Are these the same as Fielity's Freedom Funds?
quote:
Fidelity Freedom® Funds, also called target date funds, are all-in-one investment strategies that can help take the guesswork out of building and maintaining an age-based retirement portfolio. Each Freedom Fund name includes a date, which can help investors to choose the fund that represents their anticipated year of retirement.
Posted on 4/17/13 at 2:14 pm to CQQ
quote:
My question is, should I go to a financial advisor in town (Lake Charles)?
You can but they can't help you.
quote:
If I do this, can I still use Fidelity online and they just access my account or what?
Why would they do this? They aren't getting paid to manage your funds.
Posted on 4/17/13 at 2:40 pm to Broke
quote:
If I do this, can I still use Fidelity online and they just access my account or what?
quote:
Why would they do this? They aren't getting paid to manage your funds
Exactly. Forgot to answer this question.
Posted on 4/17/13 at 2:45 pm to CQQ
Target retirement funds kind of manage themselves as they become more conservative over the years.
Posted on 4/17/13 at 10:58 pm to CQQ
Possibly. You will need to find an advisor that bills for financial planning. He will put together a plan/portfolio, without having the funds. You will just pay him for his services.
Posted on 4/18/13 at 7:43 am to BayouBengal
quote:
Target retirement funds kind of manage themselves as they become more conservative over the years.
No they don't. Steer clear of these as much as possible.
Posted on 4/18/13 at 9:01 am to whodatigahbait
quote:
No they don't. Steer clear of these as much as possible.
Can you explain? I've gotten this recommendation from a few people, that's why I ask.
Posted on 4/18/13 at 9:21 am to CQQ
quote:
Can you explain? I've gotten this recommendation from a few people, that's why I ask.
I have two main problem with them first most companies put their own funds inside, so you are putting fees on top of fees.
Secondly, they don't do what they are supposed to do. Go look at the performance of any 2010 target date fund during 2008 and you'll see that most of them lost btw 20-25%. That is way too much risk for a portfolio for someone that is meant to retire in 2 years. Bottow line is they aren't managed well.
Posted on 4/18/13 at 9:34 am to Nawlens Gator
Ok, thanks 
Any idea what these are called on Fidelity's site? The reason I started this thread is because every time I attempt to delve into Fidelity's website and pick something, I get too confused and just stop messing with it and it makes me weary of investing.
quote:
Vanguard's total stock market mutual fund and Fidelity has similar funds
Any idea what these are called on Fidelity's site? The reason I started this thread is because every time I attempt to delve into Fidelity's website and pick something, I get too confused and just stop messing with it and it makes me weary of investing.
Posted on 4/18/13 at 9:56 am to CQQ
Is this what I want?
Posted on 4/18/13 at 10:22 am to CQQ
Note the expense ratio is only 0.17%, which is pretty low. I don't know if Fidelity charges a fee on top of that though.
Fidelity's focused stock fund looks to have outperformed this one but their expense ratio is 0.93%.
Probably can't go wrong with either. Maybe flip a coin to choose.
Posted on 4/18/13 at 11:16 am to Nawlens Gator
quote:
Nawlens Gator
I appreciate your help. One more thing and I'll quit bugging. If I pick a fund like this, what exactly is my money going to? What am I investing in? As they say, explain it like I'm five
Posted on 4/18/13 at 11:50 am to CQQ
Go to yahoo finance and enter the ticker VTSMX. Then look down the left side of the page and click on holdings. This list the top 10 hildings of the fund. Apple is the number one holding the fund.
VTSMX Holdings
VTSMX Holdings
This post was edited on 4/18/13 at 11:51 am
Posted on 4/18/13 at 12:06 pm to CQQ
Stocks and bonds or both. For example the equity mutual funds buy a broad range of stocks that would be almost impossible for a single investor to do. These stocks are owned mutually by all investors who share in dividends, appreciation/depreciation etc. The stocks are selected to achieve the funds selected goals, such as tracking an index like the s&p 500, total stock market, etc.
Buying a broad range of stocks reduces downside risk that you could face if your single stock gets hammered for some unforseen calamity. Note it also limits the upside potential vs a single stocks that experiences a big move to the upside.
I'm no expert, but this is the general idea.
Posted on 4/18/13 at 12:16 pm to whodatigahbait
quote:
Secondly, they don't do what they are supposed to do. Go look at the performance of any 2010 target date fund during 2008 and you'll see that most of them lost btw 20-25%. That is way too much risk for a portfolio for someone that is meant to retire in 2 years. Bottow line is they aren't managed well.
If they were only down 20-25% during that particular time period they did pretty well considering the performance of other equity investments. Also the effect on someone close to retirement or even already retired is not that bad. They are not going to draw out all of their investment at once, they wuld be down on the mosney they needed during those two years, but the balance of their holdings is left to recover and grow which it is exactly what happened.
Posted on 4/18/13 at 3:46 pm to EA6B
quote:
If they were only down 20-25% during that particular time period they did pretty well considering the performance of other equity investments. Also the effect on someone close to retirement or even already retired is not that bad. They are not going to draw out all of their investment at once, they wuld be down on the mosney they needed during those two years, but the balance of their holdings is left to recover and grow which it is exactly what happened.
you couldn't be more wrong. if a person is that close to retirement they should not be that exposed to the equity market. The idea with target funds is supposed to be that as you get closer to retirement they dial down the risk; and while i agree that 20-25% down compared to the S&P at 37% is great. The point is that a 2010 retirement fund should have not nearly that much equity exposure. If you are set to retire in 2 years do you want your portfolio to be exposed to lose 25% of it's value in one year. Hell no and this is exactly what it did.
Proof that they don't work or do what they are supposed to do.
Posted on 4/18/13 at 7:17 pm to whodatigahbait
quote:
whodatigahbait
While I don't agree that you should own any fund that lost that much in 2008 with a few exceptions, I agree with you on that particular retirement fund.
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