Not sure what the exact name is supposed to be for the guy who manages your investments, but I believe I need a new one. I've been waiting on a check from this guy for a withdrawal for nearly a month now, and it's getting pretty ridiculous.

The initial problems are understandable, the account was a joint thing for a minor, I just hadn't had it put in my name until recently. The problem with sending the check initially was something to do with sending it to a new address, and I didn't have the authority to have that done since the account wasn't solely in my name.

Anyhow,the account is in my name now and the turd hasn't gotten back to me any of the times I've left a message. I left him a fairly forceful one today to call me before 5, no reply so I called right at 5 after the mail came here with no check. When I called he had left the office for the day.


I had verbal confirmation over the phone that the check was in the mail as of Wednesday of last week. He obviously hasn't taken care of business, nor does he apparently care enough to return a call. Is this grounds to tell him to piss off and close out my account with him?


I basically want to know some of my options for financial advisors, perhaps what kind of charges they apply (commision, service fees, etc.), and what kind of experiences others have had. Thanks.



[Edited on April 7, 2008 at 5:30 PM. Reason : .]

4/7/2008 5:28:49 PM

he did it

[Edited on April 7, 2008 at 5:37 PM. Reason : .]

4/7/2008 5:29:32 PM

Thanks DNL, that made it much more readable

Liv4weekends, i'm sending you a PM

oh and anyone else who might want to know, i basically told him if he was certain he needed a financial planner to go with Bill Sloan


Telephone Number: 919.515.6778

http://tinyurl.com/59b68p

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2004_April_7/ai_115044255

[Edited on April 7, 2008 at 5:41 PM. Reason : .]

4/7/2008 5:31:38 PM

Depending on the asset level I can hook you up with the person I send all my clients to and we offer non-captive (it's not just BUY OUR STUFF), free financial planning. The plans are comprehensive and the investment part if focused on portfolio analysis.

4/7/2008 6:01:30 PM

Or take Sloan's personal finance class and be your own financial adviser But don't tell him I told you his secret.

4/7/2008 6:02:58 PM

sloan is the man...but he probably has a minimum asset level

4/7/2008 6:49:14 PM

Quote :

"Or take Sloan's personal finance class and be your own financial adviser"

4/7/2008 7:03:27 PM

What kind of minimum asset level are we discussing? I'm playing with about 40k right now, which is probably not even a blip on his radar.

4/7/2008 7:04:40 PM

honestly, you should take about 15k of that, put it in a high yield online savings account as your emergency fund, match your 401k up to employer contribution, max your roth for the year, then begin playing with whats left

4/7/2008 7:08:23 PM

I'll just say this. Hearing that you're withdrawing from what sound like retirement assets tells me that you probably should've left this advisor a while back. Regardless of circumstance, a good advisor makes sure you have assets prepared for short term needs (1-5 years) as well as long term needs.

No, I have no recommendations.

4/7/2008 7:12:05 PM

^^^^^^^^i dont think that 2nd article is about the same bill sloan. i think he went to unc and majored in chemistry?

anyways, many financial planners will do an hourly consultation if you don't have enough to actively manage. take a look at financial symmetry, they are a good place to go.

4/7/2008 9:35:16 PM

i always keep 30k in emergency funds, and still have the maxed out Roth, just starting maxing out 401k(there goes all my money!), and have another account.

4/7/2008 10:30:16 PM

you keep 30k liquid? that's a hell of a lot of money

i know how large of a fund you have for an emergency fund depends on your net worth and job stability. if you have a very stable job, a cash reserve of as little as three months' living expenses may be more than ample. however, if you are self-employed or work in a profession where lay-offs are common, you may want to have as much as a year's worth of living expenses stashed away. for most people, six months living expenses is adequate.

4/7/2008 10:36:13 PM

what joe said


honestly for 40k i would not give up money to a financial advisor, set yourself up with the emergency fund, start funding 401k to employer cont., max roth, then invest 80-your age in stocks, the rest in bonds and mutual funds


thats a pretty stable way to go about it

4/7/2008 10:47:47 PM

Quote :

"invest 80-your age in stocks"

what do yall think about those lifestyle funds that take care most of the stock/bond/mutualfund ratios for you? i know vanguard has the "lifestyle fund," which for me (around 2045) has about 80% stocks, and 20% bonds/funds

4/7/2008 11:07:31 PM

DONT GET UP ILL TUCK MYSELF IN

4/7/2008 11:19:51 PM

I don't care for them personally, but I tend to invest a bit more aggressively, personally I do 100-age but for most people 80 is ok

4/7/2008 11:36:47 PM

i took sloan and i listen to clark howard. my personal wealth is immense!

4/8/2008 12:05:51 AM

why do have a financial advisor for only ~40k?

4/8/2008 12:16:17 AM

I have the advisor to help me manage the money so that it continues to grow over time, hopefully outperforming the market. At this point my knowledge of the market is limited enough that I would prefer someone who can help me make some smart decisions. Although I only have 40k to manage now, in the future once I graduate that number should climb substantially, and at that point I would like to have worked with the person long enough that I trust them with more substantial amounts of money.

4/8/2008 9:55:44 AM

I was the same way when I first graduated. My uncle introduced me to a guy at UBS. He's very great to work with. These days I usually just call him up to shoot the shit and discuss why things are happening in the market and he'll often give me additional free advice for my 401K contributions or other investments outside my funds with him. He actually just got me some Visa IPO so that made me quite happy. I can send you his info if you want.

4/8/2008 2:11:48 PM