Thursday, May 27, 2010

How to Hire the Best Financial Advisor

How to hire the best financial adviser

To choose the right steward of your money, do your homework, cast a wide net, check references and avoid these 7 big mistakes.

Not one mention of using a mirror? Interesting. I bring this up because I doubt the person in your mirror could manage risk any worse than the trained professionals at Citigroup and AIG did. They were the cream of the crop.

Citigroup Chart
AIG Chart

Or how about the two Nobel prize winning economists over at Long-Term Capital Management?

Long-Term Capital Management

LTCM was founded in 1994 by John Meriwether, the former vice-chairman and head of bond trading at Salomon Brothers. Board of directors members included Myron Scholes and Robert C. Merton, who shared the 1997 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.[2] Initially enormously successful with annualized returns of over 40% (after fees) in its first years, in 1998 it lost $4.6 billion in less than four months following the Russian financial crisis and became a prominent example of the risk potential in the hedge fund industry.

The mirror is so easy even a child can do it. It doesn't even require a management fee. Give it a shot. You've got nothing to lose that the very best of the best couldn't lose on your behalf.



Compare and contrast her speech to this one.

December 19, 2001
GE SEES BRIGHT FUTURE Chief Immelt declares big bucks are coming

"We're built to work in every environment," Immelt told investors. "The point I want to make about GE is who we are. We give investors a chance to sleep at night knowing that you're going to get consistency and visibility."

Look, I can be a CEO. Now, my whole company is great. I can do anything good. I like anything. I like my stock. I like my money. I like my growth. I like my...

"He wants growth and he's going to use the financial firepower of GE to get it," said Dick Henderson, an analyst with Pershing. It is a strategy that has worked very well for GE in the past, he said.

The world was his for the taking.

GE's Stock Price

In my opinion, the only person you can truly trust to be a proper steward of your prosperity is you. There are just too many others looking to make your prosperity their prosperity.

23 comments:

EconomicDisconnect said...

Well I am a fan of cleavage, but thats niether here nor there.

You gotta see my interview with my pug dog:
http://economicdisconnect.blogspot.com/2010/05/economic-disconnect-special-exclusive.html

Stagflationary Mark said...

GYSC,

From the pug...

It's a donkey market.

October 5, 2009
Bull market, bear market? Donkey market!

CHICAGO - Many say we have “turned the corner” in the economy and the arguments rage from the Bulls and the Bears on Wall Street as they check their charts.

They are both wrong. We are in a DONKEY market: A stubborn stock market that is being pulled in many directions both positively and negatively.

Stagflationary Mark said...

GYSC,

I'm sorry!

That spammer struck again and I accidentally moderated your comment out as well. In my haste to reject the SPAM you took some collateral damage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendly_fire

Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death.

I did manage to read it first though. I believe you said...

"You are unreal!"

I am unreal. I'm an "illusion" of reality.

Unfortunately, I'm feeling a bit like a donkey right now. The @$$ part, lol.

Stagflationary Mark said...

This is right of of Dune. Last night's spammer has returned with a vengeance. He/she just doesn't know when to give up.

The spammer has awakened!

We have spamsign the likes of which even God has never seen.

What do you call the SPAM shadow on the second moon? We call that Muad'Meat. Could I be known as Mark Muad'Meat? You are now Mark Muad'Meat.

I'm dead to everyone unless I block what they may see.

What's in the box? SPAM.

SPAM is the mind-killer. SPAM is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my SPAM. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when my SPAM is gone I will turn and face SPAM's path, and only I will remain.

Long live the SPAM fighters!

Stagflationary Mark said...

I got 3 more spams just in the time it took me to type that last comment.

If this isn't proof that labor is cheap somewhere in the world, I don't know what is.

Blocked, blocked, blocked.

Stagflationary Mark said...

For those interested, I think I found the source of the cheap labor.

I can't prove it, but according to Site Meter my spamming friend seems to be based in the Republic of Korea and is using the Chinese language.

Shocking. Never would have guessed.

He's been on my site for 77 minutes so far and all of his work is going directly into the digital trash can. It's a frickin' anti-productivity miracle for all involved, lol.

Looks like I better check out Korea's economy in the days ahead.

Aha!

Backgrounder: Basic facts about Republic of Korea

BEIJING, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao left Beijing on Friday morning for a three-day visit to the Republic of Korea (ROK).

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao? Is that you? Hahaha!

EconomicDisconnect said...

Mark,
That is weird that they keep coming back. Look on the bright side, SPAMmers know they can get page views using your site, success hurts man!

mab said...

In my opinion, the only person you can truly trust to be a proper steward of your prosperity is you. There are just too many others looking to make your prosperity their prosperity.

Stag,

That's how I see it. If a working stiff saves 15%/year and invests in safe investments like Treasuries, TIPS, or even CDs it's inevitable that their wealth will grow handsomely.

It's the free lunch mentality (wealth without work) combined with Wall St. LIES that is devastating investors.

Financial professional = CON-man.

mab said...

Stag,

How to Hire the Best Financial Advisor

Good post, but I think we can do better.

How to Fire the Best Financial Advisor

Just thinking out loud digitally.

Stagflationary Mark said...

mab,

Maybe we should stop there. I'm certainly not going to suggest how to "sire" the best financial advisor. This is just not that kind of website, lol.

mab said...

Stag,

I think we can get some more mileage out it.

How to pyre the best financial advisor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyre

Stagflationary Mark said...

GYSC,

That spammer is up to about 100 in total so far. In theory, about 1,100 to go (assuming he/she feels the need to attempt to SPAM all of my posts.

What a waste of time and effort. At best it's a one SPAM per minute pace (due to the word verification) and now they all just fall straight into the digital trash can never to see the light of day.

mab said...

Stag,

I'm thinking the spammer has you confused with someone who doesn't hesitate to heckle the bubbles/financial foolishness in China. It's clearly just a misunderstanding.

Maybe you should offer an olive branch by doing a post pointing out how residential real estate in China "only" costs 20 or 25 times the typical Chinese income. I'd recommend using the word "only" many, many times.

It's all about saving face.

Stagflationary Mark said...

mab,

Some would have us desire, admire, and retire financial advisors but we have chosen satire instead. Go figure!

Here's some free financial advice. I offer a summary of our lost decade and what the future may ulimately be in 4 words or less.

Conspire -> Quagmire -> Perspire -> Expire!

Plan accordingly!

Stagflationary Mark said...

mab,

"It's all about saving face."

Oh no. Not another savings glut. We need to get them out there spending! Hoarding mung beans! Storing oil! Stocking up on empty housing! Garlic! Copper!

Mwuhahaha! *cough* *sputter* *choke*

EconomicDisconnect said...

You really have to see this chart from EconomPic:
http://econompicdata.blogspot.com/2010/05/not-sustainable-part-ii.html

To the Spammer:
Don't make me walk over to the MIT computer labs down the street next week and ask them to start messing with you. It's not fun when those nerds go to work.

Stagflationary Mark said...

GYSC,

That chart hurts my eyes!!

Look, all it takes is one simple assumption to make sense of it.

1. We can always spend more than we earn.

Once you realize that, it takes no great leap of faith to realize that we can spend more than we earn now, spend more than we earn later, and spend more than we earn forever!

Woohoo!

Next up, I'll assume I'm a pig and enter myself into the State Fair! Blue ribbon here I come!! ;)

EconomicDisconnect said...

How about a pie eating contest and you warm up by eating a raw egg and castor oil???????

EconomicDisconnect said...

Crows are amazing animals, here they are even smoking after a fine meal:
http://www.tifr.us/tifr/2010/5/27/crows-need-smoke-breaks-too.html

Stagflationary Mark said...

GYSC,

LOL!

Yeah, I'll just assume that I can keep it down!

Better still, let's make it Castrol oil. I'll simply assume that what is good for my car must be good for me too! ;)

I love assumptions!!

Stagflationary Mark said...

GYSC,

I thought crows generally smoked after having... um, well, as part of the, um, you know, when the little crows are made.

Irina Ross said...

After a serious search I did some time ago I choose to go with a fairly new type of an advisor. I am not wealthy but I understand the value of consulting with the people that help you build you wealth in a fair way. People’s Financial Advisor (www.peoplesfinancialadvisor.com) are Fee-Only certified planners and registered with the SEC. They offer a free financial assessment (everyone should at least do that) and a full financial plan for $99. The entire interaction is on-line; I had an interview on their website and after several days got a full report that talked to me in plain English about my situation. It’s worth every dollar I paid for it.

Stagflationary Mark said...

Irina Ross,

You've posted your endorsement of this particular financial advisor in many different places on the Internet. It therefore strikes me as SPAM.

However, since you didn't just copy and paste the same exact paragraph many times I shall let it stand. I'll let the readers decide for themselves whether to trust your sincerity. I'm skeptical.