Soooo....

[Chulke]

I had the opportunity to speak with an Edward Jones Financial advisor yesterday...That was interesting!

He was really trying to push my investments into Roth's...and I get that...

He also said I should not be moving 100% of my TSP money like I and so many here currently do...

He recommended allocating a percentage to each fund and then making adjustments on the fly (sounded alot like the principles of the lifecycle fund to me)...he claimed his wife (a government employee as well) was getting consistent 18% returns yearly.

Overall it sounded good but I'm not real sure its the way I wanna go!

Thoughts?



Cheers!

[sconey]

While 18% is not bad, I (and I assume many others) am doing much better than 18% by following our chosen seasonal strategies. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for his TSP advice......

[Chulke]

While 18% is not bad, I (and I assume many others) am doing much better than 18% by following our chosen seasonal strategies. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for his TSP advice......

Yeah I agree...I honestly don't think he knows what he's talking about in that aspect...He's probably just towing the company line of moderate returns with as minimal risks as possible!


Cheers!

[zenquest]

Getting 18% consistently is nothing to scoff at but Im not a fan of replicating a lifecycle fund and making adjustments "on the fly". A number of my coworkers do this and if your timing is off (which it usually is) you'll miss the opportunity. Yes you mitigate risk but even when you're spot-on you still decrease growth potential.
Great if you're close to retirement. Not so good if its a long way off. Better to just buy and hold. Once I stopped trying to be smarter than the market and actually stuck to a seasonal my returns have been great.

[Aitrus]

I had the opportunity to speak with an Edward Jones Financial advisor yesterday...That was interesting!

He was really trying to push my investments into Roth's...and I get that...

He also said I should not be moving 100% of my TSP money like I and so many here currently do...

He recommended allocating a percentage to each fund and then making adjustments on the fly (sounded alot like the principles of the lifecycle fund to me)...he claimed his wife (a government employee as well) was getting consistent 18% returns yearly.

Overall it sounded good but I'm not real sure its the way I wanna go!

Thoughts?



Cheers!

My question to him would have been "What kind of timeframe are we talking about? The last 5 years, or the last 20? Because the only way to get a number like 18% doing a diversified buy-and-hold strategy is to pick a short timeframe and ignore a working lifetime's worth of returns."

[mjedlin66]

He recommended allocating a percentage to each fund and then making adjustments on the fly (sounded alot like the principles of the lifecycle fund to me)...he claimed his wife (a government employee as well) was getting consistent 18% returns yearly.

What are these adjustments made on? Because she's not getting 18% returns without moving money in and out of funds.

[Chulke]

He said she started in 2015...so what maybe 6 years total? As for adjustments and what they were made on...I have no idea, he didn't elaborate...he just said they reallocate periodically...I couldn't figure out what he meant either...

He said she was over $100K in her account and I can only surmise that she's either putting in a lot more than the 5% or she gets paid a ton more than me...soooo yeah IDK!


Cheers!

[mjedlin66]

It's possible that those "consistent 18% returns" include her contributions. But that would imply that this financial advisor is not well qualified.

[Chulke]

It's possible that those "consistent 18% returns" include her contributions. But that would imply that this financial advisor is not well qualified.

Agreed! Not that this is indicative of his qualifications but he was also like 13 years younger than me and also stated that the millennial generation would make the social security trust fund solvent again because there would be so many workers from his generation paying back into the system??? hmmmmm???? LOL!!


Cheers!

[ubascuba]

I think he is trying to garner your business. The buy and hold system is pushed by advisors who assume their customers are lazy and/or ignorant. They meet with their clients once, maybe, twice a year and the line they give is one of 2 things: "Things are going great! stay the course." or "I know things are bad, but stay the course, dollar cost averaging is the way to go." The less work they have to do with each individual client, the higher the margins.

[IRQVET]

It is possible to get to over 100k in that time frame. I know because I did. I hit 110K in my TSP after 5.5 years. But my investment have always been 15% TSP Roth on 5% into the regular TSP. My investment strategies have been all over the place though. Some years being better than others. Still learning there, lol.

[Midway]

Sooo, if the Dow was at 18000 in 2015 and increased by 18% a year where would it be now?

[PhilJohn]

No one will care more about your money than you. I have a friend who retired a couple years ago. He actually was proud when he told me his financial advisor pretty much promised him at least a 7% return every year. Smh.

[zenquest]

If you were investing during the Great Recession and got wrecked (thankfully I didnt) a promise of 7% would sound fantastic. Now tell those same coworkers about seasonals and getting 20-30% yearly even during that volatile period and theyll think youve lost our mind. To this day I dont know of anyone who follows a seasonal strategy outside of this forum and every financial advisor I've ever talked to only wanted my business.

[stilljammi]

I don't think going the "manual lifecycle" route is the way to go, we only get 2 IFTs a month. It's pretty logical to do 100% to fund to get maximum returns. I also cringe when people say they have a guaranteed % per year. I hear that and I basically walk backwards slowly, nodding and smiling while I make for the nearest exit.