ag0207 said:Milwaukees Best Light said:ag0207 said:
Forget the broker and their fees. Start your own brokerage account on vanguard. I would begin putting in 5-10k a month in the vanguard account in VOO. That way if the market takes a dip it won't hurt as bad like it would if you did a lump sum transaction. Long term it will do better than the interest rate you are currently getting & you will do better than your broker because you won't have him skimming off the top. If you are determined to use your broker then still transfer the cash the same way to minimize your risk.
Don't do this. Find a new financial advisor. If you want a recommendation, just ask. Interview a couple. Just going off your posts and the thread title, you studied law more than finance. Hire a pro. Nothing wrong or shameful about it.
Just curious at what you think is wrong with this advice? He has the majority of his money with a broker already. This is money that is basically sitting and not earning much at all. Dollar cost averaging into the s&p500 is not typically viewed as a risky strategy.
Obviously there are many opinions on investing. I have been using a financial advisor for years and still do. I wanted to become more financially literate and began with the strategy outlined above. I still invest with my advisor but I also opened my own brokerage account and over the last 10 years it has outperformed what my advisor has done. I still keep/use my advisor because they use some investment strategies that I don't to diversify my portfolio.
To make myself clear, I wasn't suggesting he stop using his financial advisor/broker. This excess cash would be a great opportunity to start to learn more about finances and using an index fund like VOO is about as safe as you can get.
OP
DO NOT TAKE ALL OF YOUR MONEY OUT THAT IS INVESTED AND START INVESTING IT YOURSELF. But starting with what you have in cash is a great way to learn.
I am probably inferring too much from op's posts, but he is asking very basic questions pretty far along in the career earnings journey. I think he is past the point of jumping in and figuring things out in the financial world. If he were interested, the thread would have been more along the lines of 'Where to start doing my own investing?'
Guy is obviously a very successful lawyer. Stay focused on that. If he hasn't taken much time in the previous 20 years, he probably won't in the future. If you don't have/take the time to manage your money, you should probably pay someone to do that for you.
And that is ok. Do what you do well and hire good people to do the jobs you don't.