My financial planner said...

[Harris]

Eh ???

People get so hung up on cars / clothes / tag names / watches / jewellery. All of the poshest of the posh lumped together never add up to anything more than a small to medium sized residential portfolio.

Portfolio doesnt mean anything to me... Its just a means to an end. Gathering and hoarding of wealth/ properties/ portfolio is again secondary.

If I knew I would be around for another 500 years, I would aim to get myself a $100 mil portfolio , however I am happy with $10 mill and spending on stuff that makes me happy would do me ok.

I see the debate being more philosophical where likes of you want to keep on accumulating because it drives you and makes you feel content with your abilities and capacity to build incremental wealth.

Good on you for not being driven by ordinary stuff like cars and watches..!

Some of us want to earn and spend... however still keen to build solid portfolios which might still be wayyy short of your massive commercial portfolio.

Each to their own....

Harris

 

[MTR]

Hiya Harris

I like the way u think, I learn so much from what you contribute, u seem to always hit the nail on the head.

You don't judge and always provide a balanced view.
I thank you for your contributation.


All the best

 

[s_t]

What did you expect him to tell you - that he can get you fully retired by age 40? If he is a licensed financial planner, I would imagine saying that sort of thing to a first time customer would be opening himself up to being sued and losing his planners license (unless you a very high net worth/income individual to start with). Why, because that would be considered almost impossible, and involve taking excess risk (according to views held within the general financial industry and the community). A wealthy and successful planner might suggest something a little more in line with what you had hoped for, but only once he knew you and your goals/situation a lot better!

I don't see what the car has to do with it. I suspect (and hope) that the conversation was a little more indepth and probing than just what you've written - determining whether he is worth using or not (and walking out!) on what you've relayed only would be almost impossible.

 

[Mofra]

i think the point of the comment on the car is that you can own a very nice car for $35-40k (commodore, falcon etc) which is half the price.

I doubt many decent financial planners would be silly enough to own their own car anyway.

More likely either an asset to the business or a salary sacrifice arrangement. Judging a financial planner because of the car they drive is ridiculous.

 

[coopranos]

People get so hung up on cars / clothes / tag names / watches / jewellery. All of the poshest of the posh lumped together never add up to anything more than a small to medium sized residential portfolio.

Different strokes mate, I cant see Donald Trump driving around in a Camry, Tiger Woods buying his suits from Ed Harry, or Warren Buffett wearing a 10-for-$5 watch from Bali.

I thought the SS crew were smarter than to be influenced or impressed by supposed "wealth indicators" like cars et al.....

Dont me so judgmental mate, just because you arent impressed by these things doesnt make people with different opinions to you stupid. To someone an expensive car might be just as impressive to them as an elderly ethnic rich hermit is to you (tongue firmyly in cheek of course)!
Similarly just because someone likes to watch footy doesnt mean they are throwing their lives away either.
Imposing your own values onto someone else does nothing for you and nothing for them (as was my point in my initial post on this thread).
Some may say that a father doing fly-in fly-out work is being neglectful as a parent and a husband, someone else may be quite happy to do it with no ill effects on them or their family. Its just different strokes.
Personally, I am massively impressed by your own achievments, but I am just as impressed by the father of 5 cabinet maker who has a great family, loves his work and does it till he is 60, and enjoys his retirement on $50,000 a year, or the Tibetan monk who find happiness meditating all day long with no earthly possessions.
If someone has worked smart/hard for their money and they get happiness from driving a luxury car, more power to them! If you work smart/hard and get happiness from acquiring more and more commercial property, more power to you

 

[Gcs15]

My financial planner cost me 2/3 of my super. Showed me some fancy graphs with very nice returns.

I see AMP have ad's on TV about super and risk. They certainly don't show 2/3rds loss when talking about risk

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

My financial planner cost me 2/3 of my super. Showed me some fancy graphs with very nice returns.

I see AMP have ad's on TV about super and risk. They certainly don't show 2/3rds loss when talking about risk

Classic case of someone who isn't willing to take responsibility for their own choices. You chose that planner, I'm fairly certain you dumped your info in their lap then walked away expecting them to make you a lot of money.

It seems that people lose sight of the fact that a financial planner is not there to make you a crapload of money, they are there as part of the team you choose to create wealth for yourself. You control your wealth creation, if you leave it in the hands of someone else, you get what you deserve.

Mark

 

[Glucose]

most investors here, drive older cars [
QUOTE]

Bit of an assumption here I think? Has there been a poll done on what cars we all drive? I'd actually be very surprised if most SS forumites drove older cars.

 

[natmarie73]

My financial planner cost me 2/3 of my super. Showed me some fancy graphs with very nice returns.

I see AMP have ad's on TV about super and risk. They certainly don't show 2/3rds loss when talking about risk

Can you tell us what happened there? I was under the assumption that super was untouchable until you were 60 or so, so I can't understand how it can be "lost". Share crash or something else?

I had a similar conversation with the last financial planner I spoke to (AMP) and after I told her what annual income I was expecting after "retiring" at 55 or so she basically said that my goals were impossible. I just said thank you very much and walked away. FWIW, I didn't think my goals were impossible at all - very conservative in actual fact ($100,000 annual income and 25 - 30 years to achieve it). I had 3 IPs at the time as well, but no shares so I can't think why that would be an impossible goal

P.S - do you seriously live in Vladivostok?

 

[Gcs15]

Sure Natmarie73 I'm more than happy to explain

I left my job of 7 years to persue other interests late 99. I was unable to keep my super in the same fund as it was my employers super. So I went to a financial advisor for advice. He suggested an AMP fund and showed me a lot of graphs and some awsome returns. From memory not a lot if anything was mentioned about risk. He could have mentioned risk but I certainly don't recall it.

Persueing my other interst I didn't check in on my super for over two years. I recall watching the dot-con with mild interest and thinking along the lines "sucks to be them". Little did I know my super was heavily invested in them. So when I did find out about my super and their huge losses I was gutted. Mind you in percentage terms I lost a lot. In real dollars it'd make you lot laugh. Anyhow I learnt a lot from that experience. How much have I learnt? Well for one I have gotten straight onto my current super fund and chased up if they have any of my money in sub-prime, low-doc / no-doc. I'm wondering how many other people have done that? I'm guessing not many as they were surprised at my line of questioning. Another lesson I learnt was to be very wary of anyone touting unrealistic returns.

Mark - you accuse me of not taking responisbility. Back then I packed boxes for a living. I was paid $23k a year. I think it is unfair to expect a storeman to also be investment savvy. I do think that it is fair to expect a financial planner to have done a better job than what he did. After all he'd have gotten upset if I'd made an error with his delivery. Also it is his job to advise me and to advise me to put my retirement money into a high risk venture isn't cool. Then again from my research into bubbles and the dot-con the advise he provided was inline with the thinking at the time.


Lastly - no I am not in Vladivostock. It had been my intention to got there via the Trans-Siberian Express but circumstances intervened.

 

[Timmy]

Classic case of someone who isn't willing to take responsibility for their own choices. You chose that planner, I'm fairly certain you dumped your info in their lap then walked away expecting them to make you a lot of money.

It seems that people lose sight of the fact that a financial planner is not there to make you a crapload of money, they are there as part of the team you choose to create wealth for yourself. You control your wealth creation, if you leave it in the hands of someone else, you get what you deserve.

Oh, very helpful. Just laugh in their face.

You know, not everyone is an investment extrodinaire, and millions and millions of people rely on the help of others when investing.

For someone to come to this forum and share this highly personal information, and then for you to shoot them down like you did is just disgusting. I've received warnings for less.

 

[coopranos]

Oh, very helpful. Just laugh in their face.

You know, not everyone is an investment extrodinaire, and millions and millions of people rely on the help of others when investing.

For someone to come to this forum and share this highly personal information, and then for you to shoot them down like you did is just disgusting. I've received warnings for less.

I think he was (quite fairly) pointing out that everyone is responsible for their own decisions, for all areas of their life.
You cant smoke for 10 years, get lung cancer and complain that a shop clerk shouldnt be responsible for their own health because he never did medicine at college and only earned $23k a year.
To offload the responsibility onto someone else for one's own problems is pointless - everyone makes mistakes but it is only when you take real responsibility for them that you learn from your mistakes and turn them from negatives into experiences.

 

[ermen]

u know when u r rich when your $70k is simply rounding error on your salary...

 

[Les]

G'day GCS15,

I must side with you

I do think that it is fair to expect a financial planner to have done a better job than what he did.

Why would I need a financial planner if he/she didn't know more than I did. Why should I pay them if they can't come up with a BETTER plan for my money? Why else WOULD I employ them? I think we all expect a professional to have "that little bit more" to add that we might not be aware of.

But, yeah, 2000 was a "different year" - involving a major crash (dotcom).

If you had invested your own funds, would you have side-stepped the crash? I did, but only because I WASN'T invested in shares. Pure luck really.

Classic case of someone who isn't willing to take responsibility for their own choices. You chose that planner, I'm fairly certain you dumped your info in their lap then walked away expecting them to make you a lot of money.

Ouch, Mark - I don't know ANYBODY who expects a FP to make them a cr*pload of money. But I DO think they expect a FP to do a better job than they personally would (otherwise, WHY would they employ a FP?)

If this is the best I can expect from a FP, then steering clear is probably my best move....

 

[Timmy]

You cant smoke for 10 years, get lung cancer and complain that a shop clerk shouldnt be responsible for their own health because he never did medicine at college and only earned $23k a year.
To offload the responsibility onto someone else for one's own problems is pointless - everyone makes mistakes but it is only when you take real responsibility for them that you learn from your mistakes and turn them from negatives into experiences.

How ironic, considering that Mark is a smoker.

Although I'm sure he's got some pathetic way of justifying it in his own mind, which indirectly places the responsibility into someone else's hands.

As hard as I try, I could never take a smoker seriously. Especially when it comes to money.

 

[Gcs15]

I think he was (quite fairly) pointing out that everyone is responsible for their own decisions, for all areas of their life.
You cant smoke for 10 years, get lung cancer and complain that a shop clerk shouldnt be responsible for their own health because he never did medicine at college and only earned $23k a year.
To offload the responsibility onto someone else for one's own problems is pointless - everyone makes mistakes but it is only when you take real responsibility for them that you learn from your mistakes and turn them from negatives into experiences.

That's not fair at all.

I don't know how else I can explain it without using harsh examples that'd see me banned. But basically you're victim blaming.
........................



edit to add

I put my superannuation with AMP. It wasn't some fly-by-night mob. And it wasn't as if my advisor was putting me in some super risky speculative venture.


I forgot to say earlier that I intentionally sought a Financial Advisor with up-front fee's. Why? I wanted professional financial planning advice - not a sales pitch! I think that was a smart move back then for someone who had no investment experience and I think it'd be a smart move now.


I still can't believe that I'm being attacked for admiting that I'd lost 2/3rds of my super in a respected fund? I know that the advisor was just giving advice that any other advisor would have given. But to expect me to second guess a person who has superior knowledge and experience isn't realisitic.

 

[soyabean]

Classic case of someone who isn't willing to take responsibility for their own choices. You chose that planner, I'm fairly certain you dumped your info in their lap then walked away expecting them to make you a lot of money.
Mark, what makes you being certain about this ?

It seems that people lose sight of the fact that a financial planner is not there to make you a crapload of money, they are there as part of the team you choose to create wealth for yourself. You control your wealth creation, if you leave it in the hands of someone else, you get what you deserve.

Mark

I totally agree with Les.
Mark works for a financial planner firm, to HELP/assist people creating wealth . His words above are very hash, judgemental and rude, I wonder if they would give this firm a very good image at all ? Who would want to engage a FP having staff/paraplanner/planner who communicates this way ???

 

[Gcs15]

Classic case of someone who isn't willing to take responsibility for their own choices. You chose that planner, I'm fairly certain you dumped your info in their lap then walked away expecting them to make you a lot of money.

It seems that people lose sight of the fact that a financial planner is not there to make you a crapload of money, they are there as part of the team you choose to create wealth for yourself. You control your wealth creation, if you leave it in the hands of someone else, you get what you deserve.

Mark

I'm sorry Mark. I didn't know you were a financial planner.

No, I did not just walk in and dump my info and walk away.

No, I wasn't expecting my financial planner to make me a crapload of money. I was expecting him to provide me with options and advice on where to put my superannuation.


"You control your wealth creation, if you leave it in the hands of someone else, you get what you deserve." - and your customers get what sort of return from your advice?



...............

edit to add

Glad your not in my "car repair", "health", "safety", "fitness" and most definately my "wealth" team. I picture you as a body gaurd looking over the unconscious body of his principle and saying "I'm a part of his protection team - he should have taken more personal responsibility" then shrugging your shoulders and walking away.

 

[want2bewealthy]

Oh god.. why oh why did I start this thread...


Ill let you all battle it out.
see ya.

 

[alexlee]

Learn from it, w2bw. It's actually a very interesting discussion that will apply to your employment of different professionals (accountants, lawyers, FPs, stockbrokers, tradies, whatever) in the future.
Alex