What should an advisor do for you?

[SultanofSwine]

Myself and a few others here live on the retail side and I for one am curious as to how all of you who read and/or post in this forum would answer this question.

Later on I will and hope some of the others will chime in on how we would answer the same question but from our side of the table so to speak.

[Masshog]

Explain how the hell they lost so much of my net worth....  for a damn start.    (Just kidding, but I couldn't resist). 

[JIMMY BOARFFETT]

When you are as close to retirement as I was, they shouldn't be advising you to stay the course.  Fortunately, I didn't listen.

[Road_Hog]

I'm looking for someone who knows where the schooling fish are at this summer.  Otherwise, he's worthless.  One guy can roll over an IRA like the next one can.

[SultanofSwine]

So much for some serious conversation...

Mass, they didnt lose your net worth, they minimized your future losses.

Road, as for schooling fish, you lookin for 1st graders or college grads?

[BlackKnightHogFan]

Explain how the hell they lost so much of my net worth....  for a damn start.    (Just kidding, but I couldn't resist). 

Changing $2.00 to $1.00 is a 50% loss but you still only lost $1.00 so that's not too bad.   

[SpareRib]

Give me a broker that won't let Enron go below $10 in a managed account.  Yep, it happened.  I have now proposed a simple math test for all interested broker aspirants - Even an Italian lawnboy can pass it - Sultan may have trouble with this one, so am providing the answers.
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An Italian lawnboy wants a job, but the foreman won't hire him until he passes a little math test. "Here's your first question," the foreman said. "Without using numbers, represent the number 9." "Without numbers?" the Italian says, "Data easy." and he proceeds to draw three trees.

"What's this?" the boss asks. "Ave you got no brain? Tree and tree and tree make a nine," says the Italian.

"Fair enough," says the boss. "Here's your second question. Use the same rules, but this time the number is 99."

The Italian stares into space for a while, then picks up the picture that he has just drawn and makes a smudge on each tree. "Ere you go."

The boss scratches his head and says, "How on earth do you get that to represent 99?" "Each of da trees isa dirty now. So, it's dirty tree, and dirty tree, and dirty tree. Dat is 99."

The boss is getting worried that he's going to actually have to hire this Italian, so he says, "All right, last question. Same rules again, but represent the number 100."

The Italian stares into space some more, then he picks up the picture again and makes a little mark at the base of each tree and says, "Ere you go. One hundred."

The boss looks at the attempt. "You must be nuts if you think that represents a hundred!"

The Italian leans forward and points to the marks at the base of each tree and says, "A little doga came along and crapa by eacha tree. So now you gota dirty tree and a turd, dirty tree and a turd, and dirty tree and a turd, data makea one hundred. So, when I'm a gonna start?"
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I hired him & He put me in Nortel.   

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[john c]

Educate you on market functionality, investment strategies, front page analysis, risk management, buzz, etc.  He should demonstrate that his fees provide good value.  I assume when you say advisor, you are excluding someone who decides on the target and pulls the trigger.  I've never used an investment manager so can't speak for that.

[Road_Hog]

I expect of him what I feel my customers should expect of me.  I would say the following might sum that up:
-Phone calls/E-mails are returned in a reasonable timeframe
-Solid knowledge of the product (doesn't have to know every single detail but can get an answer if needed)
-Has my interest in mind
-Desires my business

Beyond that, I want the advisor to suggest things I might be missing.  I have a working knowledge of most investment products but I'm not an expert.  For example, I want the advisor to throw something out there to make sure I really want to take that risk.   

[SultanofSwine]

john and RH, thanks for the responses. To a degree your replies illustrate an issue I have been pondering a lot lately. Imo, the general public lacks a true definition of what a financial advisor is and does. In large part I feel that is because so many people use the title while only operating in a small niche area in the industry. What results is if I tell someone I am a financial advisor they may think I am an insurance guy, a broker or an investment manager, etc. and I may be some, none or all of those things.

I was recently asked in a seminar what my elevator talk is, how I tell someone what I do in the time it takes to go a couple floors in an elevator. My thought was they better be going more than 10 floors. But it really got me thinking about a couple of things, how do I condense what I do into an elevator talk and how do I differentiate myself from other "advisors". I know what I do and I know what I do not do and that brings me to a point that I hope helps folks looking for help from an "advisor".

If you are looking for assistance, ask the person or person's you meet with what they specialize in or what thier areas of expertise are. For instance, if you are looking for a broker for a trading account, I am NOT your guy. I will be happy to give you referrals but that is not what I do. Asking that simple question on the front end could save you a lot of frustration down the line.

[HognotinMemphis]

An advisor should make me money...when the market goes up, I better go up. When the market goes down, I should still go up. And I hope my advisor makes himself a lot of money too.

[john c]

OK, how about this "elevator" quickie:
     So, what do you do for a living?
     I make people smile about their financial situation.

If that doesn't get their attention enough to further the conversation somewhere else, no big loss.

[hog.goblin]

I want the following out of my advisor (and I get most of it):

-He doesn't sell me a product, but his ideas and strategies
-His plan is customized for me, because he bases it not only my age but also on my risk tolerance
-He (or even his assistant) communicates with me in some periodic manner (either by phone or email)

And the hardest issue:

He doesn't live and die by "buy and hold"

It's a good philosophy that minimizes taxes and fees, but if a stock is dying don't be afraid to sell it and take a loss.  There are usually better alternatives.  As someone mentioned above, riding Enron to near zero should cause someone to reconsider their career.

[hawgbawb]

I have a portion of my assets with a guy that is a CFA and CFP. I refer to him as a Financial Advisor, but he acts like a Manager, in the sense that he is given pretty much carte blanche to make trades. He works fee-only based on percentage of assets (no commission) which I think is the way to go (assuming he knows what he's doing). IMO most brokers have much greater conflicts of interest.

I have been with him for about 5 years, and just finished comparing his results vs. the S&P 500, and he has beat it pretty handily (after deducting fees)--but that's not saying much over that term.  He doesn't try to hit home runs, and generally goes for well-managed institutional funds.  He has beaten the S&P because he had the sense to shift much of it to cash last fall.  I suspect though that his conservative bent cost him some ground over the last 6 weeks, when the S&P has rebounded.

I will continue to compare his results to my 401K, buy and hold Vanguard accounts, etc., and see whether he continues to perform. My expectation is that he earns his fees by beating my other holdings.

[BILLYBOB]

An advisor should make me money...when the market goes up, I better go up. When the market goes down, I should still go up. And I hope my advisor makes himself a lot of money too.

The only advisor I've ever heard of who was actually able meet your criteria is Bernard Madoff.

[HognotinMemphis]

The only advisor I've ever heard of who was actually able meet your criteria is Bernard Madoff.

If you sold your holdings with Madoff 9 months ago, you acheived what I state in my post. It was just those in the last 9 months who didn't get theirs.

[hog.goblin]

If you sold your holdings with Madoff 9 months ago, you acheived what I state in my post. It was just those in the last 9 months who didn't get theirs.

Don't count on it.  The investigators are trying to (and succeeding) take back some money from those "investors" who made profits.

[Ash]

Don't count on it.  The investigators are trying to (and succeeding) take back some money from those "investors" who made profits.

It is called a clawback and yes they are pursuing it.

[HognotinMemphis]

I have a portion of my assets with a guy that is a CFA and CFP. I refer to him as a Financial Advisor, but he acts like a Manager, in the sense that he is given pretty much carte blanche to make trades. He works fee-only based on percentage of assets (no commission) which I think is the way to go (assuming he knows what he's doing). IMO most brokers have much greater conflicts of interest.

I have been with him for about 5 years, and just finished comparing his results vs. the S&P 500, and he has beat it pretty handily (after deducting fees)--but that's not saying much over that term.  He doesn't try to hit home runs, and generally goes for well-managed institutional funds.  He has beaten the S&P because he had the sense to shift much of it to cash last fall.  I suspect though that his conservative bent cost him some ground over the last 6 weeks, when the S&P has rebounded.

I will continue to compare his results to my 401K, buy and hold Vanguard accounts, etc., and see whether he continues to perform. My expectation is that he earns his fees by beating my other holdings.

Still with this guy? How long did he stay in cash? Did you get back in late after the markets took off in April, 2009?

[PEtrader]

Most advisors suck. 

[Sueie]

Most advisors suck.

My son has one that wants him to finance half of a new truck at SEVEN FRICKING PERCENT INTEREST.  I think we have found our self a "winner".
Of course the Everette "[CENSORED] suckers" were in total agreement.

[McKdaddy]

My son has one that wants him to finance half of a new truck at SEVEN FRICKING PERCENT INTEREST.  I think we have found our self a "winner".
Of course the Everette "[CENSORED] suckers" were in total agreement.

I'm sorry to hear that.

[SardisHog]

I'll ask the obvious. What is his credit rating and how has he done on any previous loans?