financial advisor for providers

[Guest061511-2]

There was a thread about this in Dallas a while back, and I just saw in another thread Tron posted something about investing and financial planning. Hi Tron I was wondering if anyone might be interested in holding such a class for providers. Would anyone be willing to do this if there is enough interest and we could pay a fee for the sevices?

[Natalie Reign]

Originally Posted by BritneyBangs

There was a thread about this in Dallas a while back, and I just saw in another thread Tron posted something about investing and financial planning. Hi Tron I was wondering if anyone might be interested in holding such a class for providers. Would anyone be willing to do this if there is enough interest and we could pay a fee for the sevices?

+1

I would really like to find someone trustworthy to handle all of my investing and long-term savings plans. It turns out that investing in gourmet foods and wine is good for the soul, but not so much for the wallet. Dammit, man.

[Codybeast]

He could always just barter a two hour class for a two hour session with Everyone who attends at once. Time for the blue pill.

[xxnubyxx]

Simple. Peter Schiff of http://www.europac.net/
He's famous for predicting the housing and financial crisis. I have my folks' investments in him and he's very reputable, low price and low risk. You need a minimal of 25K for his "better services". If you don't have that amount, you can talk to me, but I don't suggest you follow the advice of some financial salesman. I find they always have arterial motive.

[ACEIV]

Hi Brit,

Interesting idea. I could teach a 90 minute class. It would have to start with the basics, as all good financial planning does, with learning budgeting and the power of the net worth statement. Many people fail to grasp the importance of these, but it is crutial to attain your personal financial goals, wants, and needs. Then the class would have to discuss individual risk tolerences as they relate to specific investments. Although slightly dry, it is imparative for people to accurately understand their tolerance for gains/losses. For example, how many people jumped out of the market when the Dow was dropping from 9000 - 6700? Investments seem to be the only thing that people don't want to buy when they go on "sale" Sad for all those who sold, as they missed out on a great market rebound.

I would end it with evaluating investment options and "real world" review of financial providers and investing strategies. I am still a believer that regardless of who and how you invest, each one of us must learn the basics, because as current events constantly remind us, no one will care more about our financial security than ourselves.

What else do you think might help?

ACEIV

[tron]

I have not passed any of the tests, and am not licensed. If someone does this, they should have passed the appropriate tests - see: http://www.finra.org/industry/compli...edreps/p011051

I got hammered in a recession, and started reading CNN/Money - http://money.cnn.com daily to try to get an idea when the economy will get better.

I would say this, though: buying individual stocks will require too much time to research and pick the right time to buy and sell. You are likely to be better off if you buy a fund that is tied to an index - like the S&P 500 or Russell 2000 (small cap). You will be investing in more stocks and diversifying your risk. International funds are a good option too, but may have more risk.

If you get an account with ETrade or Schwab, they should have online tools to help you pick funds, but you need to look at the 'load' and fees. It takes $1,000 to open a Schwab account and $500 for ETrade. I do not know about TDAmeritrade. These are pretty easy to use, and you should be able to link them to an external checking account, so you can transfer money back and forth - and get a debit card on the checking account attached to the brokerage account.

It is probably worth splitting your investment into 3 or more funds with the percentage based on the level of risk you are willing to take with each amount.

If you do buy mutual funds, there may be a redemption fee if you sell within 1 month or some other time period. This will be described in the web page for the fund, and isn't buried in fine print.

[ezman]

Scott Burns writes a weekly column weekly and advocates "couch potato" investing, using ultra low cost index funds. There are several options from 4 different funds all the way up to 10 different funds.

The basic idea is diversification ... if one type of investment is going down, there probably is another one going up. And with low operating costs, you get to keep most of the gains, instead of paying a fund manager.

[Rand Al'Thor]

You might want to do this in multiple steps. While investment advices are...a dime a dozen, you might want to get into financial planning and budgeting first. Create long and short term goals, budget to fit that and a savings plan. Get used to that first before you spread yourself out too thin.

Investing money long term isn't too hard, especially if you sign up through one of the services listed above - plenty of companies will be happy to make money off of your money. I agree with ezman and the "couch potato" investing plan. There are as many ways to invest as there are advisors, and they will all tell you that theirs is the best. If your goals are long term, it becomes even easier.

[RALPHEY BOY]

not to sound like a smart ass but Providers who invest need to file a Federal Tax return and start paying taxes on that cash income, otherwise Uncle Sammy will come a callin' asking how do you have so much $$ and never filed a return??

[actionjackson647]

im not a paid financial planner but i spent over 20 years on wall street. I still trade on an almost daily basis (not a day trader). I have helped people with basic financial planning in the past and would happy to do it again. I dont charge for this and it would be on a pretty informal basis .
Im actually pretty conservative in my investing since i hate losing money.

My first piece of advice though is a standard I tell anyone.
DO NOT INVEST WITHOUT HAVING 3-6 MONTHS OF INCOME SAVED IN A BANK ACCOUNT/MONEY MARKET FUND.

I feel this is so important it bears repeating

DO NOT INVEST WITHOUT HAVING 3-6 MONTHS OF INCOME SAVED IN A BANK ACCOUNT/MONEY MARKET FUND.

with a cushion like that you can ride out "down times" for a few months without having the risk of having to dump investments at a bad time.

If any providers are interested in assistance contact me via PM

[actionjackson647]

Originally Posted by ezman

Scott Burns writes a weekly column weekly and advocates "couch potato" investing, using ultra low cost index funds. There are several options from 4 different funds all the way up to 10 different funds.

The basic idea is diversification ... if one type of investment is going down, there probably is another one going up. And with low operating costs, you get to keep most of the gains, instead of paying a fund manager.

I hate mutual funds... with few exceptions ive never found any that are all that good on a long term basis.

[nuglet]

I AM a day trader. This has been one of the best times in 50 years to invest and while I have no "official" training, I've managed to get 20% + returns for the last 2 years. You don't need an adviser if you're willing to spend the time yourself. Why pay someone 1/2 your profit? Do it yourself and keep the $$. It isn't hard, but it DOES take time and guts.

[Codybeast]

This thread reminds me why I can't afford to hobby anymore. Never took the dang classes Now my head hurts lol

Britney it looks like you'll have no shortage of willing candidates or would that be contestants?

[Guest020916]

You can diversify, but it adds more time to understand the market. You can play a sector or couple stocks if your calls with your puts.

There is also ScottTrade which has pretty cheap transaction fees. Not sure about how much you are required to deposit to start an account. It can't be too much since a couple of my buddies use it and don't play with too much money.

There are tons of seminars, books, and webinars on trading and investing.
It's like information overload. You can probably start with an easy balance sheet for your personal life (assets and liabilities). Set some goals on how much you'd like to save by a certain term (10-yr; 20-yr; short term). The planning aspect is probably one of the most valuable activities you can do since it shows your situation in less subjective light (expense vs. income).

You can invest in mutual funds, index funds, bonds, futures, equities, etf's, & currencies. Later, you can play with option contracts.
Typically, more aggressive stocks (equities) are considered speculative or growth stocks. More risk is assumed.
Conservative stocks (equities) are considered value stocks. Less risk is assumed.

For value stocks, I look at the dividend yield. It's a yield that can be given out periodically throughout the year and is defined by the company (as well as the payout rate or div yield). Some long term value stocks could be Walmart or Coca-Cola or Wrigley. So while the stock value may not appreciate as fast as the growth stocks, it's more stable and has a supplemental div yield.

Wish I bought Coach last year. It has done very well despite the recession. Their recent spike when announcing earnings would've made my target (~ +20%).

[Guest020916]

Originally Posted by nuglet

I AM a day trader. This has been one of the best times in 50 years to invest and while I have no "official" training, I've managed to get 20% + returns for the last 2 years. You don't need an adviser if you're willing to spend the time yourself. Why pay someone 1/2 your profit? Do it yourself and keep the $$. It isn't hard, but it DOES take time and guts.

Some people have the knack but as a general advice, it's probably good to take a couple of classes (online or in-person) to understand some basics.


I somewhat agree since the recent recession and corrections have made some "established" investment managers seem suspect. As well as the "glitch" that played with market triggers earlier this year. Market is definitely manipulated in many levels. There's definitely a method to the madness and sometimes it's better to play with it than to analyze it.