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Posts Tagged With ‘ Fees ’

 
Retirement Guilt: We Hesitate to Spend, Yet Overlook Advisor Fees
October 6th, 2023

All our working lives, we dream of what we’ll do with the money we’ve saved and the newfound free time we’ve earned. Yet, upon reaching retirement, those dreams are sometimes replaced by something different: guilt. What gives? Retirement Account Guilt Happens to Almost Every Retiree Year after year, studies ask retirees about their greatest worry in retirement. The headlines are always the same. Overwhelmingly, retirees are afraid of outliving their assets. Of course, being careful to live within your means is always a good idea. But even if you’re not afraid to touch your retirement accounts,... Continue Reading

October 6th, 2023
Why Do Most Advisors Still Base Their Fees on How Much Money You Have?
September 15th, 2023

Recently, a publication targeted toward financial advisors published an article wondering if advisor fees based on assets under management (AUM) would soon be extinct. In just two sentences, this quote halfway through the article sums up precisely why the AUM model has survived for this long: “It’s so popular because it’s easy, and advisors don’t have to communicate how much money that is; they just say, ‘We charge 1%.’ It doesn’t sound like a lot of money, but it is.” Precisely. We live in a world where stores get our attention by advertising boldfaced discounts: 20% off! 30% off!... Continue Reading

September 15th, 2023
When Mutual Funds Aren’t Mutually Beneficial
August 2nd, 2023

“Set it and forget it,” is the financial industry’s refrain for retirement success; as in, invest in mutual funds, don’t touch the money, and let the magic of compound interest carry you to the retirement of your dreams. There’s just one problem: what if what you’re “forgetting” is how much those mutual funds could cost you over time? A quick history lesson shows us why this is problematic. What a Coincidence! It might be hard to believe this, but there was a time when mutual funds weren’t regarded as the retirement savings vehicle for the masses. In fact, the first modern mutual... Continue Reading

August 2nd, 2023
That Edward Jones is Up to No Good 
June 21st, 2023

Maybe You Shouldn’t Hang Out with Eddie  In this adaptation from Golden Reserve Founder Greg Aler’s new book, Fire Your Financial Advisor, we examine the villainous role Edward Jones has played in creating a retail financial advisor industry that pushes the limits of greed.  When you were in school, your parents probably told you not to hang out with certain kids who weren’t always sticking to the straight and narrow. While you’re now older and wiser, we need to impart one more piece of wisdom. Please, don’t get caught up with that Edward Jones.     Fun fact: both Edward Jones... Continue Reading

June 21st, 2023
Why Do People Hate Annuities? 
January 30th, 2023

Poll your friends and family about annuities and you’re bound to get a lot of adverse reactions. They’ll likely cite at least one of these three things :  They’re expensive and have big fees.  They don’t give you access to your money.  There’s no growth.  While these statements are true of some annuities, they’re not true of all annuities. By painting with such broad strokes, you may be removing yourself from a great investment that provides safe growth in retirement. Here’s why.  Misconception #1: Annuities are expensive and have big fees.  Variable Annuities: TRUE Fixed... Continue Reading

January 30th, 2023
Are Commissions Bad? 
January 4th, 2023

Let’s talk about commissions. For many professions—like real estate agents, sales professionals, brokers and artists—it’s a compensation structure to which we’ve become accustomed. They make money when you make a purchase related to the services they provide. But when it comes to commissions and financial advisors—whoa, hold your horses.  We’ve been conditioned to think that commissions and financial advisors shouldn’t mix. Is that the right approach?    Let’s look at it this way. Imagine you use a realtor to help you purchase a home; not just any home, but the right home... Continue Reading

January 4th, 2023
Heard the Slogan “We Do Better When You Do Better”? In Other Words, Your Advisor Does Well Even When You Don’t
June 30th, 2022

We recently heard a large, national firm use the slogan, “We do better when you do better,” and we couldn’t help but scratch our heads. On the surface it may seem agreeable; after all, if they’ve helped you build wealth, why not reward them, too? But when you think about what that means, it becomes clear that there are a few things wrong with that slogan: Retirement is about preservation first. “We do better when you do better” implies that the more money the advisor makes for you, the more money they make for themselves—a typical assets under management compensation model where... Continue Reading

June 30th, 2022
Protecting Yourself from Fees: Why You Need a Fee Filter
June 15th, 2022

No one likes extra fees, especially when they are hard to understand or being intentionally hidden. You know the ones: the stealthy “service fee,” the suspicious sounding “surcharge,” or the “handling fee,” which is always a head scratcher. There are two fees we think all retirees should know about: investment fees and advisor fees.    Granted, there’s no avoiding investment and advisor fees. Everyone should be compensated fairly for the service they provide. But how do you determine if a fee is fair? That’s what we developed the Fee Filter for.   Investment and advisor fees... Continue Reading

June 15th, 2022