Fee only Financial Advisors

Asset allocation, risk, diversification and rebalancing. Pros/cons of hiring a financial advisor. Seeking advice on your portfolio?
tvenner
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Was: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by tvenner »

I work through an MFDA licensed firm and for the last 2 years have been offering Fee Only Financial Planning. The biggest problem has been compliance issues from the MFDA.
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scomac
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by scomac »

Canadian financial blogger offers financial planning services by teaming up with PWL Capital Inc., Toronto based wealth management firm.
I am pleased to announce that I have partnered with PWL Advisors in Toronto to offer a unique service for DIY index investors. For a flat fee, budding Couch Potatoes can now work with me and two licensed advisors—Justin Bender and Shannon Dalziel—to design and implement an ETF portfolio at a discount brokerage. And for investors who want a little more help, we also offer an ongoing service for a low quarterly fee.
The more things change, the more they stay the same... :roll:

Thoughts?
"On what principle is it, that when we see nothing but improvement behind us, we are to expect nothing but deterioration before us?"
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Taggart
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by Taggart »

scomac wrote:Canadian financial blogger offers financial planning services by teaming up with PWL Capital Inc., Toronto based wealth management firm.
I am pleased to announce that I have partnered with PWL Advisors in Toronto to offer a unique service for DIY index investors. For a flat fee, budding Couch Potatoes can now work with me and two licensed advisors—Justin Bender and Shannon Dalziel—to design and implement an ETF portfolio at a discount brokerage. And for investors who want a little more help, we also offer an ongoing service for a low quarterly fee.
The more things change, the more they stay the same... :roll:

Thoughts?
Well, I'm 100% sure Dan Bortolotti won't be providing a service to budding dividend growth investors. :lol:
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Pickles
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by Pickles »

scomac wrote:
I am pleased to announce that I have partnered with PWL Advisors in Toronto to offer a unique service for DIY index investors. For a flat fee, budding Couch Potatoes can now work with me and two licensed advisors—Justin Bender and Shannon Dalziel—to design and implement an ETF portfolio at a discount brokerage. And for investors who want a little more help, we also offer an ongoing service for a low quarterly fee.
The more things change, the more they stay the same... :roll:

Thoughts?
Hey, if "de-clutterers" can make a living because people won't force themselves to get rid of their junk, there's likely a great market for financial advisors to walk folks through the process of buying a rooster of couch potato investments.
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Pickles
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scomac
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by scomac »

Taggart wrote:
Well, I'm 100% sure Dan Bortolotti won't be providing a service to budding dividend growth investors. :lol:
We all have our own brand of Kool-Aid, don't we? :wink:
"On what principle is it, that when we see nothing but improvement behind us, we are to expect nothing but deterioration before us?"
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scomac
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by scomac »

Pickles wrote:
Hey, if "de-clutterers" can make a living because people won't force themselves to get rid of their junk, there's likely a great market for financial advisors to walk folks through the process of buying a rooster of couch potato investments.
I suppose. Who am I to stand in the way of the entrepreneurial spirit? After all, that's real job creation! :lol:
"On what principle is it, that when we see nothing but improvement behind us, we are to expect nothing but deterioration before us?"
Thomas Babington Macaulay in 1830
BRIAN5000
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by BRIAN5000 »

A capable planner can expect to interview a client, produce a retirement plan and review it with the
client in as little as 5 hours, typically at a cost of less than $1,000 if fees are charged.
If the above quote* is true then they are only charging 3 times as much?

*taken form the The Canadian Retirement Planner’s Software manual
This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed
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MALDI_ToF
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by MALDI_ToF »

BRIAN5000 wrote:
A capable planner can expect to interview a client, produce a retirement plan and review it with the
client in as little as 5 hours, typically at a cost of less than $1,000 if fees are charged.
If the above quote* is true then they are only charging 3 times as much?

*taken form the The Canadian Retirement Planner’s Software manual
Three times as many people?! Based on the PDF brochure though, it seems that only J. Bender has certification with a CFA and CFP. S. Dalziel seems to have no certification next to her name; just an "investment advisor". I wonder what her qualifications are.
Give a man a fish, and that man knows where to come for fish. Teach a man to fish, and you've just destroyed your market base.
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by DanH »

BRIAN5000 wrote:
A capable planner can expect to interview a client, produce a retirement plan and review it with the
client in as little as 5 hours, typically at a cost of less than $1,000 if fees are charged.
If the above quote* is true then they are only charging 3 times as much?

*taken form the The Canadian Retirement Planner’s Software manual
The last time I was providing fee for service (retirement and investment) advice, $2,500 - $3,000 was typical for each of those plans. Only the most basic of plans could be done in 5 hours. Every plan I did required 8-10 hours. I suppose you could do it quickly using a software package. I preferred to build my own tools and customize everything. Takes more time; costs more money but was truly individualized.
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

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scomac wrote:
I am pleased to announce that I have partnered with PWL Advisors in Toronto to offer a unique service for DIY index investors. For a flat fee, budding Couch Potatoes can now work with me and two licensed advisors—Justin Bender and Shannon Dalziel—to design and implement an ETF portfolio at a discount brokerage. And for investors who want a little more help, we also offer an ongoing service for a low quarterly fee.
I'm not an indexer so maybe I don't get it: why do you need quarterly "service" for a couch potato portfolio? I thought potatoes need to be "cultivated" (rebalanced) about once a year at most.

...Of course, sheep, on the other hand, need to be sheared as frequently as they can bear.
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by queerasmoi »

My parents consulted with a fee-only advisor and they were considering moving from their conventional advisor. I asked them what came of it. They said they didn't like the fee-only advisor's advice to stop considering preferred shares as fixed income and treat them as equity, which means selling a big chunk. They apparently would like to continue treating prefs as FI, and that seems to be their reason now to stay with their advisor (I agree with the fee-only advisor's advice but I didn't want to get into it with them).

They do say they'll be closing out most of their high-fee mutual funds and switching to ETFs. The problem is, as full service brokerages tend to do, they'll be paying very high trade commissions for those purchases.
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by ghariton »

Pickles wrote:... buying a rooster of couch potato investments.
To watch over their nest egg, presumably...

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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by ghariton »

Descartes wrote:I'm not an indexer so maybe I don't get it: why do you need quarterly "service" for a couch potato portfolio? I thought potatoes need to be "cultivated" (rebalanced) about once a year at most.
Doesn't matter that you're not an indexer. Properly chosen index funds need to be rebalanced even less often than individual stocks. (I rebalance mine every five to ten years.My last major rebalancing was in 2002.)

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Pickles
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by Pickles »

ghariton wrote:
Pickles wrote:... buying a rooster of couch potato investments.
To watch over their nest egg, presumably...

George
And help it multiply...
Regards,
Pickles
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by squid »

Pickles wrote:
ghariton wrote:
Pickles wrote:... buying a rooster of couch potato investments.
To watch over their nest egg, presumably...

George
And help it multiply...
A bit of a cock-up, really.
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Quebec
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by Quebec »

Descartes wrote:I'm not an indexer so maybe I don't get it: why do you need quarterly "service" for a couch potato portfolio?
Indexed portfolio are easier to maintain, but regardless of investing strategy, DIY is not for every one. I'd even argue than within the general public, maybe a few percent of the people have the necessary qualities.

So if you're gonna hire an advisor, might as well make sure he's cheap, buys you (or has you buy) mostly broad ETFs or index funds, and generally keep things simple. I'm not disappointed that Bortolotti is offering a consulting/management service in collaboration with a certain company; they may actually do some good and help some people. And make a few bucks along the way, which is normal. I'll still read his blog, which is excellent.

What I think is somewhat unethical is that he, as a journalist, wrote this article in Moneysense first, where a certain portfolio manager he subsequently partnered with is presented under a very favorable light. Get me some free exposure in a widely circulated magazine and I'll get you some work later, eh? [subsequent, off-thread discussion on couch potato investing vs active investing has been moved to the Lazy Portfolio Thread -- Moderator M]
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by HOPE »

At the beginning like many I put my trust in a independent investment house and ended up with a over proportionate holding of mutual funds with deferred sales charges. Through Bylo Selhi, Shakespeare and many here on this forum I have managed to learn a solid base of general investment knowledge and I no longer have these funds.

Today, I am nearing the end of my accumulation years and want to set up an action plan with a portfolio representative of that. My asset base is relatively small an non complex however my investments are an array of individual stocks, bonds, ETF’s and mutual funds. I am presently with iTrade but I am looking for someone that will review my investments and do an analysis. A Scotiabank investment specialist has suggested I should start dealing with the Scotia Private Client Group; I am unsure.

Many offer a complete array of all-inclusive services such as tax strategies, estate planning and others. I am not sure I need or want these services for an ongoing period. With the DSC mutual funds, I was locked in for a number of years; do the agreement requirements at these firms lock me in or oblige me in anyway?


Basically I need help but I want to deal with someone to clean and realign my investments; however, I do not want to set up any form of generic portfolio whereby I am sold into bulk investment pools or a whole portfolio built solely of ETF’s.

As DanH pointed out a fee for service may not have the required license for individual investment advice and fee only providers may not exist; does that leave me with a full service broker only?

Quebec resident / Montreal area

Any or all Help Appreciated


Thanks

Hope
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Shakespeare
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by Shakespeare »

I have no personal knowledge but Find a fee-only planner in Quebec | MoneySense has some info.
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by HOPE »

Thank you Shakespeare; I have sent out a few inquiries and Caroline Nalbantoglu from your link is one.
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by Quebec »

She has written some interesting articles for CMS if I remember correctly
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Re: Fee only Financial Advisors

Post by gsp_ »

She hasn't been at PWL since Jan '12 according to LinkedIn. Now runs her own firm, CNal Financial Planning.

At one point I was considering meeting with her to better structure my financial plan but never got around to it. There are lots of articles online, she is one of the recurring designated experts in a lot of those "portfolio makeover" type articles that frequently got posted here.
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