The financial advisor sharks are out in force. What does an advisor do for you that you can’t do yourself? Considering many of us will be laid off and expenses need to be watched, how do you justify the additional expenses for a financial advisor vs doing it yourself? We will have extra time when we’re unemployed.
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I get free dinner invitations through the mail from financial advisors trying to drum up business. Had a nice steak dinner at Perry's, another one at Fogo and a third one at Eddie V's. No obligations.
I'm met with Fidelity yesterday. They've been inundated with panicked Chevron folks.
@ak still waiting for you to post your phone number. Seriously!
Note that as a Chevron employee with a Fidelity 401k, you can talk to a CFP at Fidelity for free.
I only listen to Jimmy Cramer. He’s a Genius!
Worthwhile advisors don’t do cold calls. Or sales at all.
I thought the same thing until I started working with one. They have been able to connect me to a broader range of experts than I had on my own, and in addition, useful software that can run scenarios / options for how I want to live my life relative to accessing my investments. Sure, you can do all this on your own, but I have been happy to have the cadre of experts to quite the noise and alternatives, and get more focused on a plan and a way to execute the plan that is in my best interests.
The only financial advisors that are going to be helpful to you this year or next will be the ones that are also CPA's with some sort of legal experience as well (either through additional legal resources of the firm they are representing or by being licensed tax lawyers themselves).
Why is that? Because a very significant portion of your separation planning (i.e. wealth management planning) has to involve a tax minimization strategy in the same year as you receive your separation package -- since the effective tax rate on the separation package is going to be around 30%. In other words, the money that you receive as part of the layoff process has to be invested in such a way that would enable you to get most (or a large portion) of your federal taxes back when you file your taxes the following year. That could be accomplished by getting immediate depreciation write-offs from investments into "actively managed" real estate deals, machinery, storage units, car washes, oil & gas deals, and other private syndication deals. Alternatively, you could also "donate" a part of your income into a private foundation (that you control) that would subsequently reinvest that donation for both growing of the principal and giving you an immediate federal tax reduction opportunity at the same time.
Long story short: these strategies can't normally be achieved by using "run of the mill" financial advisors alone -- you'd need both a CPA and a tax law lawyer to put together a comprehensive strategy that invests your money in an intelligent manner AND refunds a large portion of your federal tax. Essentially, you need to be looking for a simplified version of the same investment strategy for your funds that Donald Trump (and other politicians) utilize to generate cash flow from invested principal while bringing the effective federal tax rate down to single digits......
Look at Financial Advisors same as you would at a day-old loaded diaper…
I don’t trust anyone with a net worth less than mine.
I’d recommend meeting a financial advisor in person. I see a lot of advisors not located in all our locations and it’s a disadvantage when you’re trying to have an in depth discussion. You can tell a lot about truth and authenticity about your advisor in person.
Be wary about making financial decisions while you’re in an emotional state. They are building on your fears.