Random financial psa for Canadians

[meggers5]

I'm sure most of you know this already, but don't hold investments with a bank. They suck.

Find a financial advisor who will make you oodles more money. Legit oodles.

[meggers5]

Jan 27, 2015 15:18:52 GMT -5 Stan said:

Jan 27, 2015 15:12:49 GMT -5 meggers5 said:

I'm sure most of you know this already, but don't hold investments with a bank. They suck.

Find a financial advisor who will make you oodles more money. Legit oodles.

It's the same for Americans! My Roth with Vanguard has way lower fees and far better performance than my USAA held one did.

I don't know what those words mean lol, but I have learned so much since I started working for an investment firm. It's shocking.

[Deleted]

Ok. I'll preface this by saying I have never invested with a bank. We have a investment advisor that handles everything for an annual fee. He is affiliated with a bank but I don't that's what you're talking about?

Are you saying that the mutual funds offered by banks are worse/higher fee than other places? Just trying to understand your PSA! I haven't steered friends away from banks because I didn't think they were better or worse than anywhere else.

[stellas]

A financial advisor saved our asses early this fall. Like, we'd be out about 40k in cash right now without him.

Anyone who hasn't gone. Do eeeeet!

[Deleted]

It's hard to figure out what's best for you. I was with a really shitty but non-bank related investment firm before I joined with DH. Other than personal recommendations I don't know how you find a good one.

[lg28]

CIBC wood Gundy is fine. It's a legit advisor there.
CIBC at a branch level would not be.

DH is a financial advisor (not for a bank) and I've also learned how bad the bank is for actual investments.

[Deleted]

Jan 27, 2015 18:31:37 GMT -5 Que? said:

Jan 27, 2015 18:18:38 GMT -5 Adora Belle Dearheart said:

Now you've got me thinking, meggers5. Our RRSPs are at a bank, but mostly because H's has to be there for x years after his retirement account was moved from overseas (which was a total nightmare). At least, that's what I understand.

Does anyone have any good resource recommendations on this stuff for Canadians? I'd like to start doing some research so we're better informed when his account is free to move.

I have my RRSP's through a bank, but someone independant of the bank reinvests that every year into a gic or someshit? I admit to not being overly knowledgeable about this. The first 'real' job I ever had, my boss sat me down on my first payday and said 'you worked really hard for this money, don't just trust the bank with it' and I have taken that to heart since.

I really hope you don't have your retirement savings in GIC's

[Deleted]

Jan 27, 2015 18:34:49 GMT -5 lg28 said:

CIBC wood Gundy is fine. It's a legit advisor there. .

Yeah, I was going to have to strongly disagree if that's what posters meant. Glad it doesn't appear to be the case!

[lg28]

OMG your RRSP's should not be in a GIC. You're probably
losing $$ if you account for inflation.

[lg28]

Jan 27, 2015 18:31:48 GMT -5 @gingerbb said:

It's hard to figure out what's best for you. I was with a really shitty but non-bank related investment firm before I joined with DH. Other than personal recommendations I don't know how you find a good one.

Now I want to know which firm was shitty. Can i guess?!

[meggers5]

Jan 27, 2015 18:18:38 GMT -5 Adora Belle Dearheart said:

Now you've got me thinking, meggers5. Our RRSPs are at a bank, but mostly because H's has to be there for x years after his retirement account was moved from overseas (which was a total nightmare). At least, that's what I understand.

Does anyone have any good resource recommendations on this stuff for Canadians? I'd like to start doing some research so we're better informed when his account is free to move.

Ask your friends/coworkers if they have someone they can recommend. I'm sure someone you know uses one. You should be able to call the advisor to meet for to see if you like them. They can work out a plan for you if you would like to proceed.

Clients do not pay our advisors. Ever.

[meggers5]

Jan 27, 2015 18:43:25 GMT -5 @awesometothemax said:

Soooooo... how would one go about finding a good financial advisor? I don't even know where to look. I don't know anyone good with money that I can ask irl.

You probably do know people who use an advisor. Ask around. Otherwise try googling them in your area and reading reviews. Meet with them to see if you get a good feeling.

[IrishBelle]

We just had this conversation at work last week. One of my co-workers moved her investments to her bank a few years ago and says that they have done so much better there than they did with her previous advisor.

Ours are with an advisor but now I'm wondering if they are doing as well as they could. What rate of return should I be looking for?

[Deleted]

Jan 27, 2015 18:40:39 GMT -5 lg28 said:

Jan 27, 2015 18:31:48 GMT -5 @gingerbb said:

It's hard to figure out what's best for you. I was with a really shitty but non-bank related investment firm before I joined with DH. Other than personal recommendations I don't know how you find a good one.

Now I want to know which firm was shitty. Can i guess?!

Sure! It's been a dozen years though

[changedname]

I have my daughters RESP with a financial advisor and its done really poorly compared with my investments at Tangerine. I'm not sure what to do about it? Do I question the advisor and ask for him to move the stuff to a "better" account?

[Deleted]

Do credit unions fall in this category as well?

[meggers5]

Jan 27, 2015 19:45:12 GMT -5 changedname said:

I have my daughters RESP with a financial advisor and its done really poorly compared with my investments at Tangerine. I'm not sure what to do about it? Do I question the advisor and ask for him to move the stuff to a "better" account?

I would definitely question it with your advisor. While they should be reviewing funds periodically with you, they may not. In which case, you should ask for a review, or move to someone who will be more hands on.

[dojo]

How did you choose a financial advisor? We've been talking about getting one for years but we don't know where to start. We found one guy we liked, but the fees seemed like a lot of cash up front.

[meggers5]

Jan 27, 2015 19:56:46 GMT -5 dojo said:

How did you choose a financial advisor? We've been talking about getting one for years but we don't know where to start. We found one guy we liked, but the fees seemed like a lot of cash up front.

Asking around is really the best.

As for fees, the office I work for does not charge the client fees. They make their money directly from the fund companies they invest with. It costs the clients nothing.

This is not to say there is anything wrong with them charging fees, but if that is the deciding factor for you, you can find one that you do not pay.

[meggers5]

Jan 27, 2015 20:04:16 GMT -5 @booby said:

Jan 27, 2015 20:02:12 GMT -5 meggers5 said:

Asking around is really the best.

As for fees, the office I work for does not charge the client fees. They make their money directly from the fund companies they invest with. It costs the clients nothing.

This is not to say there is anything wrong with them charging fees, but if that is the deciding factor for you, you can find one that you do not pay.

Mine charges fees, but they are fees associated with the fund companies and etc that we deal with. I have never heard of no fees. Are you sure?

Completely sure. Companies do charge fees for some funds* (deferred sales charge). For those funds, over time the fees will disappear, unless you take your money out, in which case you are charged the fee. It does not go to the advisor though.
For front end load funds, there are no fees at all. 
*I'm talking only about the fund companies we deal with, as those are the only ones I'm familiar with.
No cheques are ever written to our company and they do not charge clients money for planning or investing (or anything else).

[meggers5]

Also, if you guys are looking for recs in your area (probably just in Ontario), you can pm me your city and I can ask my boss for recs. He's been in the business 40 years and is very well respected.

[rugbywife]

This all makes me feel mildly better that we have no investments beyond our one RESP account, which yes, is at a bank.

(I should include the caveat that we both have pension, hence no real investments, we aren't completely irresponsible and we do have savings, just not investments).

I feel like this is something I am scared of that I shouldn't be.

[meggers5]

Jan 27, 2015 20:53:28 GMT -5 @gracie6414 said:

Jan 27, 2015 20:42:24 GMT -5 meggers5 said:

Also, if you guys are looking for recs in your area (probably just in Ontario), you can pm me your city and I can ask my boss for recs. He's been in the business 40 years and is very well respected.

Can you ask for me! Pretty sure you know where I live (the island).. I'd love a pro rec

Will do! My boss is away this week at an advisor conference, so I'll ask when he gets back.

If he doesn't know anyone, he's going to a massive conference in Hawaii in April, so I'll have him keep an eye out for people there.

[kadams767]

Jan 27, 2015 20:02:12 GMT -5 meggers5 said:

Jan 27, 2015 19:56:46 GMT -5 dojo said:

How did you choose a financial advisor? We've been talking about getting one for years but we don't know where to start. We found one guy we liked, but the fees seemed like a lot of cash up front.

Asking around is really the best.

As for fees, the office I work for does not charge the client fees. They make their money directly from the fund companies they invest with. It costs the clients nothing.

This is not to say there is anything wrong with them charging fees, but if that is the deciding factor for you, you can find one that you do not pay.

Isn't this a conflict of interest? Like an advisor that gets paid from the fund would be motivated to steer your investments towards the funds/companies that pay the advisor the most commission and not necessarily what's best for you. Or is this different in Canada? In the U.S., you want a fee-only advisor.

[lg28]

Jan 27, 2015 21:03:32 GMT -5 kadams767 said:

Jan 27, 2015 20:02:12 GMT -5 meggers5 said:

Asking around is really the best.

As for fees, the office I work for does not charge the client fees. They make their money directly from the fund companies they invest with. It costs the clients nothing.

This is not to say there is anything wrong with them charging fees, but if that is the deciding factor for you, you can find one that you do not pay.

Isn't this a conflict of interest? Like an advisor that gets paid from the fund would be motivated to steer your investments towards the funds/companies that pay the advisor the most commission and not necessarily what's best for you. Or is this different in Canada? In the U.S., you want a fee-only advisor.

That can definitely be an issue. That's why you need to trust your advisor.
I know my DH's firm (which has Canadian and American offices) is moving to be more like the US system and I believe it has something to do with that. But i could be wrong.

Also, I can't ditto enough whomever said that the company is irrelevant. It's all about the individual advisor. I know there are advisors at my husbands firm I wouldn't trust, and others I would trust completely. Same with competing firms. It really is an individual thing. Getting a local rec is the best.