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Message
Is it better to invest with a financial advisor who works for a reputable company or ….
Posted on 7/26/25 at 11:19 am
Posted on 7/26/25 at 11:19 am
invest on your own?
I bank with chase and have the option of doing my own investing in a self directing account? I have a full time job for which I take full advantage of my 401k. I max out my accounts and I do the catch up amount due to my age. I am debt free and the extra money I have would need to be invested in either ETF’s or Mutual funds. I am not as experienced with investing in individual stocks, although I have a son who is doing pretty well with the self taught knowledge he is gaining from doing the individual stocks trading.
My father has an investment guy for which he has over 2 million invested with. I currently have over 500k with another investment guy who has me in a mutual fund that has gotten between 6-7% return since I rolled over the money from a previous 401k from a previous job. I like to think I could do better. So my dilemma is do I invest all my money with the investment guy or do I just roll over my old 401k money with him and do some self investing so that I can save a little money on management fees.
I have a net worth of about 2 million with my paid off home, vehicles, and current investments. I have about 400k in cash that I need to decide what to do with. I recently had about 350k of in in a HYSA but decided to remove it so that I could get better returns in something else. I am in the process of moving my money out of the HYSA back into my chase account but I did put about 50k in two. Mutual funds. SWLGX and FSPGX are the two that I have 25k in each.
My question is, should I continue to put the other 350k in each of these accounts or allow my financial guy to put that money in an investment account where he can more closely balance and rebalance to maximize my returns. Obviously I have a non investment job and he is more in tune with the market. What would you do if you were in my situation?
I bank with chase and have the option of doing my own investing in a self directing account? I have a full time job for which I take full advantage of my 401k. I max out my accounts and I do the catch up amount due to my age. I am debt free and the extra money I have would need to be invested in either ETF’s or Mutual funds. I am not as experienced with investing in individual stocks, although I have a son who is doing pretty well with the self taught knowledge he is gaining from doing the individual stocks trading.
My father has an investment guy for which he has over 2 million invested with. I currently have over 500k with another investment guy who has me in a mutual fund that has gotten between 6-7% return since I rolled over the money from a previous 401k from a previous job. I like to think I could do better. So my dilemma is do I invest all my money with the investment guy or do I just roll over my old 401k money with him and do some self investing so that I can save a little money on management fees.
I have a net worth of about 2 million with my paid off home, vehicles, and current investments. I have about 400k in cash that I need to decide what to do with. I recently had about 350k of in in a HYSA but decided to remove it so that I could get better returns in something else. I am in the process of moving my money out of the HYSA back into my chase account but I did put about 50k in two. Mutual funds. SWLGX and FSPGX are the two that I have 25k in each.
My question is, should I continue to put the other 350k in each of these accounts or allow my financial guy to put that money in an investment account where he can more closely balance and rebalance to maximize my returns. Obviously I have a non investment job and he is more in tune with the market. What would you do if you were in my situation?
This post was edited on 7/26/25 at 11:20 am
14
Posted on 7/26/25 at 11:22 am to Asleepinthecove
Just do it yourself. You seem smart enough to not frick yourself over and will probably get better returns that way.
Posted on 7/26/25 at 11:23 am to Asleepinthecove
quote:
I am not as experienced with investing in individual stocks
quote:
guy who has me in a mutual fund that has gotten between 6-7% return since I rolled over the money from a previous 401k from a previous job. I like to think I could do better
Posted on 7/26/25 at 11:28 am to Mingo Was His NameO
The Schwab mutual fund shows a 5 year return of 18%. Not sure why the laughing at the 6-7%? If you can elaborate? I always thought that getting 8-12% over the life of investing is what we should strive to achieve.
This post was edited on 7/26/25 at 11:29 am
Posted on 7/26/25 at 11:29 am to Asleepinthecove
I don’t have advanced knowledge in investing so I typically stick to investing in Vanguard’s S&P 500 fund, Vanguard’s US Growth fund, and VGT (their technology ETF). Since 2011, I’ve averaged roughly 11%-12% a year on this. VGT is a little higher. My 401k at work is in State Street’s 500 fund as well. I only have a couple individual stocks that I trust to be long term growth because I simply lack the knowledge to be more targeted. In my opinion, an index fund like one that mimics the S&P 500 is perfect and will give you solid long term growth and should be an overall safe investment. Plus, most of the funds/ETF’s I invest in are super low cost, certainly much lower than any professional would charge me. When I get to within five years before my expected retirement age, I plan on transitioning to a target date retirement fund in order to become less equity heavy, and it should also be able to preserve my balance while giving me a safe 3%-6% return in retirement.
Like others have pointed out, your 6%-7% return with a pro is absolute shite. You can very very easily get better than that on your own with one eye closed.
Like others have pointed out, your 6%-7% return with a pro is absolute shite. You can very very easily get better than that on your own with one eye closed.
This post was edited on 7/26/25 at 11:32 am
Posted on 7/26/25 at 11:32 am to Mingo Was His NameO
I’m at 19.30% last 12 months in my 401k and 10.17% with my Edward Jones guy. Been thinking of finding someone else to manage the money I have with them but I’m pretty risky in my 401k and EJ has me pretty well balanced. It’s a pretty decent amount of money but only about 1/4 of what I have invested in the market and 18% of my NW.
Posted on 7/26/25 at 11:38 am to TDsngumbo
quote:
retirement. Like others have pointed out, your 6%-7% return with a pro is absolute shite. You can very very easily get better than that on your own with one eye closed.
This guy that has my money isn’t actively managing it. He works for NW mutual and helped me roll it over into something else at the time. Maybe it was an adjustable fund based on my age and as I have gotten closer to retirement age, it’s become more conservative. I wish I had been more knowledgeable back then about it because I would have taken more risk.
That’s the reason I want to move it to another guy who has a great reputation in the area and has done well for his clients. I just don’t know enough about investing in the market other than looking at a mutual funds rate of return record and deciding on where to place the money. I work in the medical field and have about 12 years more work before considering retirement. My annual income can range between 300-400k, so I have some ability to take risk.
Posted on 7/26/25 at 11:42 am to Asleepinthecove
quote:
This guy that has my money isn’t actively managing it. He works for NW mutual and helped me roll it over into something else at the time
I was going to ask if your “guy” is an insurance agent because that return sounds typical for investments with an insurance agent. Listen to me closely - I’m an insurance agent and I’m here to tell you that you should never invest with an insurance company. That is a recipe for enormous fees and shitty investment options. Please for the love of God fire that guy and do your own investing with index funds/ETF’s and call it a day. You’ll never regret that decision.
This post was edited on 7/27/25 at 5:57 pm
Posted on 7/26/25 at 11:53 am to TDsngumbo
quote:
I was going to ask if your “guy” is an insurance agent because that return sounds typical for investments with an insurance agent. Listen to me closely - I’m an insurance agent and I’m here to tell you that you should never invest with an insurance company. That is a recipe for enormous fees and shitty investment options. Please for the love of fire that guy and do your own investing with index funds/ETF’s and call it a day. You’ll never regret that decision.
He does sell insurance products. I have life and disability through him but he does have his securities license. I have only purchased term insurance through him and I have an own occupation disability policy with a 13k monthly benefit.
Posted on 7/26/25 at 11:58 am to Asleepinthecove
Very difficult question. It depends. For people posting on a money board, we think you are stupid if you don't know about VOO. For someone who is not educated on financial information, a PF guy is better.
Posted on 7/26/25 at 12:18 pm to Asleepinthecove
You really don’t need an advisor. He or she will do not do better than the below, but he or she will charge you plenty to not do better:
80% in SPLG, which is a low cost S&P 500 ETF
20% in QQQM, which is a NASDAQ 100 ETF
Put it on cruise control, keep adding to it, don’t go in and out of other ETF’s, be patient and you will become very wealthy.
80% in SPLG, which is a low cost S&P 500 ETF
20% in QQQM, which is a NASDAQ 100 ETF
Put it on cruise control, keep adding to it, don’t go in and out of other ETF’s, be patient and you will become very wealthy.
This post was edited on 7/26/25 at 12:53 pm
Posted on 7/26/25 at 12:44 pm to Rize
quote:
10.17% with my Edward Jones guy
10.17% before or after EJ gets their 1-1.5% that’s visible plus the hidden 1%+ you will pay on your portfolio on the million buy/sell fees that seems to happen each year with them?
Posted on 7/26/25 at 12:51 pm to Asleepinthecove
quote:
This guy that has my money isn’t actively managing it. He works for NW mutual and helped me roll it over into something else at the time.
Watch out with NW…or any of those low level advisors really. After I noticed Prudential liquidated a $10k holding to pay their $35 annual fee and just left the rest in cash for 5 years, I became aggravated. Coincidentally a college friend started at NW around the same time and talked me into managing the Roth. NW proceeded to liquidate all the Prudential funds and converted them to NW branded funds that were all front loaded with 6% fees.
Posted on 7/26/25 at 1:04 pm to auwaterfowler
quote:
10.17% before or after EJ gets their 1-1.5% that’s visible plus the hidden 1%+ you will pay on your portfolio on the million buy/sell fees that seems to happen each year with them?
I have no clue. I do remember about 6 or 7 years ago they came out with a lower fee based investing option and that’s the one I chose. Haven’t asked about it since.
He’s still in Baton Rouge and I’m now in Spring TX and we chat once or twice a year unless I’ve got some stuff going on and schedule other calls.
I have no problem finding someone else with lower fees but I do need some guidance and don’t trust myself to manage it all alone. I’ve got enough in ny EJ account that if I average 8% returns that I could probably retire off that at 64 in 20 years and live a nice retirement. It’s kinda my fail safe that if my other accounts and investments don’t have the same return(more risky) then I’ll still be fine.
This post was edited on 7/26/25 at 1:13 pm
Posted on 7/26/25 at 1:18 pm to Asleepinthecove
Depends on how much you know and your tolerance for risk.
You might at least want to consult with an advisor who's a fiduciary and has access to estate lawyers. The laws regarding inherited IRAs can get tricky, for example.
You might at least want to consult with an advisor who's a fiduciary and has access to estate lawyers. The laws regarding inherited IRAs can get tricky, for example.
Posted on 7/26/25 at 1:20 pm to Asleepinthecove
A good rule of thumb is to always keep your insurance and your investments separate. Your agent could very well know his shite but he can’t change the investment options you have to choose from or the fees.
Posted on 7/26/25 at 1:40 pm to TDsngumbo
quote:
Your agent could very well know his shite but he can’t change the investment options you have to choose from or the fees.
That really depends on if the his "agent" is an IAR and which Broker Dealer he is associated with.
Posted on 7/26/25 at 1:41 pm to Mingo Was His NameO
quote:
Mingo Was His NameO
If that 401k was rolled inside 5-6 years, that's a pretty bad performance.
Now of course, that could also mean the OP asked for a more conservative approach.
Posted on 7/26/25 at 1:43 pm to castorinho
quote:
If that 401k was rolled inside 5-6 years, that's a pretty bad performance.
I’m not disputing that, but 6% is a lot better than -20% if you don’t know what the frick you’re doing
Posted on 7/26/25 at 1:59 pm to TDsngumbo
quote:
This guy that has my money isn’t actively managing it. He works for NW mutual and helped me roll it over into something else at the time. Maybe it was an adjustable fund based on my age and as I have gotten closer to retirement age, it’s become more conservative.
Sounds like a Target Date Fund (TDF).
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