Comments on Profile Post by Erroneous

I normally don't recommend unless you have tons of $$$$ and can afford their fees.

I spent two years of my life working part-time as an assistant to one, and you're better off opening your own account on Fidelity or Vanguard; do your own research and invest your money gradually so that you know what you're doing. Don't invest more than you're willing to lose and you'll do fine.

Not a financial professional, not financial advice, just an opinion:
- If you're decent at math (intuitively, not like you pass level 200 calculus or whatever) and you don't have a ton of $, do it yourself, but run it by a friend in the industry or say a "retail" financial planner if your acct comes with one. Be aware of "big trends" in the market (i.e. when to buy bonds vs stocks, etc.)

- If you have the $, then develop clear financial goals and go talk to a few guys at your favorite firms. Be aware that their interests may not always align with yours, do due diligence, etc.
- If you are both bad at math and do not have the $, then just pick a "common" investment portfolio for some X years old.

- Do not try to catch knives and hype trains. Do not be too risk adverse and go no where.

Fidelity is easy like Charles Schwab and easy like Vanguard.

Best advice I can give you is to learn sound investing principles taught by Vanguard and the “Bogleheads”. A Vanguard Target Date Fund or Life Strategy fund is a solid one fund option. Most important things are to minimize debt, increase savings rate, keep your investment fees low, and diversify globally.

Just invest in headphones.

If you have to go with one, find a “fee-only” planner and not a “fee-based” planner. The former is a flat fee for their services, while the latter takes a percentage of your portfolio (more likely to sell you their products and/or get commissions).

Purely for IRA/401K with plenty of time until retirement, consensus seems to be a Vanguard or equivalent total market index fund or ETF for averaging 7% annual growth, as the foundation of your portfolio. From there, depends on your risk tolerance and other variables, and of course diversification to hedge against downturns and inflation. Obviously, any advice needs to be tailored to personal goals and situation.

It looks like you may be looking into franchising opportunities, so hope you find a low-fee advisor, good luck!

My approach has been to mix conservative investments with somewhat riskier investments—but only in riskier ones that are more indispensable. At 55, maybe 25% in utlities, 25% S&P 500, 20% Google, 10% Apple, 10% Samsung, 10% gold. No "social media," "currencies," oil, anything obviously unethical (cigarettes, booze). At 35, tie up less in utilities/S&P and add in a couple of big drug manufacturers.

I get anxiety just hearing the word "portfolio." Goes back to grade school where I fell like I am already WAY behind.

Spending a ton of money to make some other money doesn't sound amazing. Personal investing beyond the normal 401k stuff is probably better. We are looking into franchises for sure, just trying to make sure we have an overall plan rather than a "big idea" type thing going on. Thankfully we have a few income streams at the moment, but we're both 40-ish and trying to push forward smartly.

(And hopefully continue to have multiple incomes, and more than we have now, in retirement if the world doesn't blow up before then.)