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disappointment with Fidelity Premimum Services
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notImpressed
Dec 20, 2011, 1:48:32 AM12/20/11
to
Just wanted to let people know that my experience with a Fidelity Account
Rep for Preimum Services wasn't that good. I was looking for specific
advice about rebalancing - funds to consider switching into & out of. I ask
several times and all I got was a push toward buying a deferred annunity.
He wouldn't give any fund advice at all. Fairly disappointed.i don't know
if this is generally true or just the yahoo that I happened to get. Much
different experience than their TV commercials lead you to believe.
Rep for Preimum Services wasn't that good. I was looking for specific
advice about rebalancing - funds to consider switching into & out of. I ask
several times and all I got was a push toward buying a deferred annunity.
He wouldn't give any fund advice at all. Fairly disappointed.i don't know
if this is generally true or just the yahoo that I happened to get. Much
different experience than their TV commercials lead you to believe.
zvkmpw
Dec 27, 2011, 2:22:57 PM12/27/11
to
My experience has been similar.
My impression of Fidelity is that any interaction beyond a simple
administrative request goes to a sales-droid-like person.
By contrast, Vanguard seems to have customer-service-like people who
are very knowledgeable.
YMMV.
======================================= MODERATOR'S COMMENT:
Please quote the article to which you are responding in order to provide context for your comments.
My impression of Fidelity is that any interaction beyond a simple
administrative request goes to a sales-droid-like person.
By contrast, Vanguard seems to have customer-service-like people who
are very knowledgeable.
YMMV.
======================================= MODERATOR'S COMMENT:
Please quote the article to which you are responding in order to provide context for your comments.
anoop
Dec 28, 2011, 12:17:47 AM12/28/11
to
you towards whatever it is that helps them. When it comes to managing
your money, you're on your own. Even if they were to steer you
to specific funds, they would most likely show you funds that had
a good recent performance and that will likely drop in the near
future.
If you really must invest in stocks and bonds, do so via index
funds and do some independent reading on what might be a
good balance for you. Given that no one knows how the market
will perform in the short or long term, all of this is akin to pulling
numbers out of a hat. Do some reading and do what feels
comfortable to you.
But I'd also like to point you to http://zvibodie.com/. I have
found his advice very useful.
David S Meyers CFP
Jan 1, 2012, 11:03:51 PM1/1/12
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anoop <ghan...@gmail.com> writes:
> On Dec 19, 10:48 pm, notImpressed <n...@none.com> wrote:
>> Just wanted to let people know that my experience with a Fidelity Account
>> Rep for Preimum Services wasn't that good. I was looking for specific
>> advice about rebalancing - funds to consider switching into & out of. I ask
>> several times and all I got was a push toward buying a deferred annunity.
That's unfortunate. Note, however, that such an "account rep" is likely
> On Dec 19, 10:48 pm, notImpressed <n...@none.com> wrote:
>> Just wanted to let people know that my experience with a Fidelity Account
>> Rep for Preimum Services wasn't that good. I was looking for specific
>> advice about rebalancing - funds to consider switching into & out of. I ask
>> several times and all I got was a push toward buying a deferred annunity.
*not* acting as a registered investment advisor - he's acting, at
best, as a rep of a broker-dealer - ie. he's in a position to sell
you things and subject, at best, to a "suitability" standard, not
a fiduciary one.
If you're not paying for investment advice, you shouldn't expect
to get investment advice. You were not talking to an investment
advisor, nor were you paying this person to act as one.
That said, I've never found the Fidelity folks to be anything
less than amazingly helpful - when I knew what I wanted. They
can help you manage a rollover between accounts, open or close
accounts, even execute a transaction. But asking them for
investment advice is asking for trouble.
>> He wouldn't give any fund advice at all. Fairly disappointed.i don't know
> My experience with several banks has been similar. They push
> you towards whatever it is that helps them. When it comes to managing
> your money, you're on your own. Even if they were to steer you
were you talking to salespeople and hoping that you'd get
"free" advice out of the deal? There's a huge difference.
> If you really must invest in stocks and bonds, do so via index
> funds and do some independent reading on what might be a
> good balance for you.
that you'll probably have to write that someone a check - if he's
not getting paid to sell you things, he's still got to get paid
somehow for providing that advice.
That said, I generally recommend index or index-like funds
(there are a lot of great "passively" managed funds which are
built for low-cost, low-turnover, etc but which are not strictly
index funds).
Bodie's been interesting for a long time. Of course, in the last
couple of years, he's looked like a genius - he's been recommending
minimal or no equity exposure and massive TIPS exposure for years.
That was a brilliant strategy for the last couple of years, and
likely horrificly bad strategy going forward, given where TIPS
yields are right now. Trailing 3-yr total return on the iShares
TIP index ETF are in the 9% range (NAV and price differ). A little
bit of that was yield, a little bit was inflation adjustments,
and a big chunk was capital gains as the yield got squashed
down to pretty much nothing. This last bit cannot happen again
and, if anything, is likely to reverse. That said, his latest
book should probably be on my reading list. It looks like he's
got a new one out only a day or two ago, and I'd be interested
to see how he's updated his recommendations lately.
--
David S. Meyers, CFP(R)
http://www.MeyersMoney.com
disclaimer: for educational purposes only. This is not financial advice.
anoop
Jan 2, 2012, 3:27:32 PM1/2/12
to
On Jan 1, 8:03�pm, David S Meyers CFP <m...@meyersmoney.com> wrote:
assigned to me.
> > If you really must invest in stocks and bonds, do so via index
> > funds and do some independent reading on what might be a
> > good balance for you.
>
> Or get advice from someone with not products to sell you. �Note
> that you'll probably have to write that someone a check - if he's
> not getting paid to sell you things, he's still got to get paid
> somehow for providing that advice.
I have no problem writing a check if I know the advice is
going to be useful. The last time I wrote such a check was
for a financial planner at American Express (back when
Ameriprise was part of American Express), and it was
a total waste (both of my time and money). In fact there was
a class action law suit and I got a tiny bit of that back!
There are so many variables that it is impossible to predict
with any degree of certainty what the outcome is likely to be.
So one has to pick an approach, any approach, and roll
with it.
> anoop <ghanw...@gmail.com> writes:
> > My experience with several banks has been similar. �They push
> > you towards whatever it is that helps them. �When it comes to managing
> > your money, you're on your own. �Even if they were to steer you
>
> Again - were you paying a investment advisor for advice or
> were you talking to salespeople and hoping that you'd get
> "free" advice out of the deal? �There's a huge difference.
>
It was an investment advisor at the brokerage that had been
> > My experience with several banks has been similar. �They push
> > you towards whatever it is that helps them. �When it comes to managing
> > your money, you're on your own. �Even if they were to steer you
>
> Again - were you paying a investment advisor for advice or
> were you talking to salespeople and hoping that you'd get
> "free" advice out of the deal? �There's a huge difference.
>
assigned to me.
> > If you really must invest in stocks and bonds, do so via index
> > funds and do some independent reading on what might be a
> > good balance for you.
>
> Or get advice from someone with not products to sell you. �Note
> that you'll probably have to write that someone a check - if he's
> not getting paid to sell you things, he's still got to get paid
> somehow for providing that advice.
going to be useful. The last time I wrote such a check was
for a financial planner at American Express (back when
Ameriprise was part of American Express), and it was
a total waste (both of my time and money). In fact there was
a class action law suit and I got a tiny bit of that back!
There are so many variables that it is impossible to predict
with any degree of certainty what the outcome is likely to be.
So one has to pick an approach, any approach, and roll
with it.
bo peep
Jan 2, 2012, 3:44:36 PM1/2/12
to
On Jan 2, 1:27 pm, anoop <ghanw...@gmail.com> wrote:
> It was an investment advisor at the brokerage that had been
> assigned to me.
Investment advisors don't get "assigned" - they get *hired* by you,
> It was an investment advisor at the brokerage that had been
> assigned to me.
after you review their qualifications and agree to some payment
method. And they generally don't work directly for brokerages!
Mark Freeland
Jan 17, 2012, 11:35:17 AM1/17/12
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(Feb 2012) issue in its article on brokerage services: "The company
representatives had titles such as 'account executive' [Fidelity uses
that one], 'financial adviser,' 'financial consultant,' 'financial
planning specialist,' and 'investment adviser.'"
Premium customers (over $250K at Fidelity) do indeed get assigned an
account executive (aka "advisor") "who'll provide you with one-on-one
guidance consultations".
https://guidance.fidelity.com/managing-wealth/overview
As to the value of the services at Fidelity, I agree with David that the
service quality is excellent, but I also agree with most of the people
in this thread that the "advice" isn't. Here's a thread in Morningstar
(to which I've also posted) where the consensus is different (mostly
positive, aside from Portfolio Advisory Services (PAS)). I posted there
a link to Fidelity's compensation schedule, and noted that this goes
toward explaining why people are getting nudged (it's a little softer
than pushing :-) toward PAS and annuities (highest trailing fees for the
advisor, um, rep).
http://socialize.morningstar.com/NewSocialize/forums/p/296398/3173438.aspx#3173438
dumbstruck
Jan 18, 2012, 8:01:27 PM1/18/12
to
If you are about to leave this advisor or find a new one, it might be
good to ask them about local/state tax issues. I think these are
harder to get information about on the internet or whatever. For
instance doesn't Florida have a stiff inheritance tax, so even if the
feds let you off the hook (like 2010?) Florida will reclaim every cent
(40%?) that you didn't pay the feds.
good to ask them about local/state tax issues. I think these are
harder to get information about on the internet or whatever. For
instance doesn't Florida have a stiff inheritance tax, so even if the
feds let you off the hook (like 2010?) Florida will reclaim every cent
(40%?) that you didn't pay the feds.
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