OT- What brokerage/advisor do you invest your retirement savings with?

[irregularly irregular]

After doing a topic search, I know for sure I will not be seeking investment advice from Andrew Peters since his prognostications are totally off base.

I spent several hours last week and this weekend looking at our IRA, Roth IRA, SEP and cash accounts. Admittedly the markets have been volatile this year, but the fees and expenses charged are what is killing me. It's of little consolation to only be down a little compared to the market, when they are still charging me the same fees as if they had increased our account values by 25%! I'm seriously considering moving everything to a discount broker and doing inexpensive index funds and money markets.

What do you do to keep your nest egg growing without the vultures pecking away at it?

My apologies to you if you are a vulture and/or financial advisor. Like all professions, some are better than others. 

 

 

 

 

[PromoTheRobot]

How old are you? How many years before retirement?

I'm no expert but a friend has done well over the long haul investing in blue chip stocks that pay dividends. 

[Eleven]

I use Andrew Peters, unless I'm day-trading on my own based upon what I read on reddit.  I've made and lost three fortunes in GameStop and crypto this month alone.

[Digger]

I'm just waiting to see who identifies as a vulture.

[SwampD]

I keep investing in the NJ Lottery.

[PerreaultForever]

I hear ya, most irritating to pay fees when you're losing money. I did better when I self directed and did my own thing but 2 years ago I decided to let the professionals handle it and relax. Not a good decision but kind of stuck riding it out now. 

[Stads]

[RangerDave]

We have been very pleased with Vanguard.  We have most of our money in target-date index funds, with a target date of about 10-15 years after our expected retirement date.  This gives us more stock exposure a little later, since we expect our retirement to last 20 - 30 years.  Always invest long term.

Vanguard has very low fees, but also offers advisor help if desired.

**Disclaimer**  I am not a vulture, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express one time....

[7+6=13]

11 hours ago, Eleven said:

I use Andrew Peters, unless I'm day-trading on my own based upon what I read on reddit.  I've made and lost three fortunes in GameStop and crypto this month alone.

AMC ape?

[MattPie]

Index funds with extremely low fees. Advisors sometimes beat the market, but less often beat the market when you knock a couple percent off for the fees.

[ddaryl]

I manage my and my wife's IRAs with a subscription service

I use TD Ameritrade as a brokerage.

If your interested in Dividend /REITs as a portfolio strategy I can Highly recommend 2 news letters. Having these 2 newsletters cost me about $800 a year... My strategy is to save about $1 million and to have that $1 million pay me about 4% a year. Many of the dividend companies I invest in raise that dividend one a year. Some every 2 years, a few haven't made a change. Most of stocks recommended have fantastic balance sheets and good money flow to maintain the dividends.

The 2 newsletters I use are iReit, featuring Brad Thomas, and Dividend Kings which has a few contributors. Both are located at

https://seekingalpha.com/

 

I have been using these 2 service for a few years. They are very active and  produce updated spreadsheets with more info that you will ever need. I plan on staying with them till I become to old to manage my own accounts.

I have a 401k at work and there is a company that manages that for me, but every year I transfer what ever I can to my IRA's. 

The market took a beating and my accounts are down from their peak, but I don't care because the dividends haven't changed. Right now With just under $300k in my IRA's I make over $1000 a month average in dividends. I re-invest my dividends since I'm only 53 and buy more dividend stocks that are recommended, or since the market is down I add to my existing holdings

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2022 by ddaryl

[ddaryl]

13 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

How old are you? How many years before retirement?

I'm no expert but a friend has done well over the long haul investing in blue chip stocks that pay dividends. 

See my post above. I am following a similar strategy. Smart dividend investing can actually help against inflation in the future since dividends from quality companies get raised over time. Plus your not forced to sell stocks and make withdrawals on your money which is an account killer in down markets. You just collect the dividend payments and leave your principal alone as a long as you can.

Edited August 1, 2022 by ddaryl

[irregularly irregular]

Thanks much for the replies. Even the "funny" ones. 

I just turned 64 and have been working the past few years on a when I want to basis. I still enjoy working, especially when I pick and choose when and where. Work has not been as important since having a little fight with Prostate Cancer. But watching the nest egg getting battered just on the verge of retirement has been difficult to take. 

Thanks again for the input. Some interesting ideas and I appreciate the feedback.

[Eleven]

2 minutes ago, irregularly irregular said:

a little fight with Prostate Cancer

My turn:  ***** cancer.

 

[irregularly irregular]

2 minutes ago, Eleven said:

My turn:  ***** cancer.

 

100%. Get your PSA tests done fellas! And you ladies get your parts checked as well!

[pastajoe]

We consolidated our funds with Fidelity Investments. On average our investments increase 15% yearly. They take a percentage based on the value of our portfolio. You decide how aggressive you want to be with stocks, and they do the detailed buy/sells. They make more when we make more. An advisor is assigned to you. They also provide credit and debit cards, and checks, and you get cash back for using their card. I was able to retire last year at age 60.

[Contempt]

Dunkirk Don: Follow the money

[ddaryl]

16 hours ago, irregularly irregular said:

Thanks much for the replies. Even the "funny" ones. 

I just turned 64 and have been working the past few years on a when I want to basis. I still enjoy working, especially when I pick and choose when and where. Work has not been as important since having a little fight with Prostate Cancer. But watching the nest egg getting battered just on the verge of retirement has been difficult to take. 

Thanks again for the input. Some interesting ideas and I appreciate the feedback.

Fight the good fight my friend.. ***** CANCER !!!

Your situation is what worried the most when I decided on my dividend investment strategy. I seen it happen to my mother who has to take withdrawals to make ends meet. Down markets hurt, and down markets are unavoidable.

The market had been on an unprecedented bull run for a long time but the market has also been over valued for a few years but still got pushed upwards. This down turn was overdue. Lots of people were spoiled by the market and many younger investors have never experienced a down market.

The market will bounce back, but there is always another down turn lurking...

Edited August 2, 2022 by ddaryl

[JustOneParade]

22 hours ago, ddaryl said:

I manage my and my wife's IRAs with a subscription service

I use TD Ameritrade as a brokerage.

If your interested in Dividend /REITs as a portfolio strategy I can Highly recommend 2 news letters. Having these 2 newsletters cost me about $800 a year... My strategy is to save about $1 million and to have that $1 million pay me about 4% a year. Many of the dividend companies I invest in raise that dividend one a year. Some every 2 years, a few haven't made a change. Most of stocks recommended have fantastic balance sheets and good money flow to maintain the dividends.

The 2 newsletters I use are iReit, featuring Brad Thomas, and Dividend Kings which has a few contributors. Both are located at

https://seekingalpha.com/

I have been using these 2 service for a few years. They are very active and  produce updated spreadsheets with more info that you will ever need. I plan on staying with them till I become to old to manage my own accounts.

I have a 401k at work and there is a company that manages that for me, but every year I transfer what ever I can to my IRA's. 

The market took a beating and my accounts are down from their peak, but I don't care because the dividends haven't changed. Right now With just under $300k in my IRA's I make over $1000 a month average in dividends. I re-invest my dividends since I'm only 53 and buy more dividend stocks that are recommended, or since the market is down I add to my existing holdings

 

 

@ddarylthis is such an effective and productive way to turn current assets into future income because of the compounding effect of reinvestment plus rising dividend payouts. The bolded is why its not utilized more, unfortunately. Focus on the income - as you well know and do.

For anyone who might be interested, here is an example. In 2013 you purchased 100 shares of Abbvie (ABBV) at $52. It was paying a quarterly dividend totaling $1.60 per year (~3% dividend yield). In this the 10th year you would now own, through reinvestment, ~130 shares that will pay a $5.64 per share dividend. The key thing is the annual distribution rate on the original investment.  $733 income on a $5200 .... or ~14%. And likely to continue rising.

[ddaryl]

13 minutes ago, JustOneParade said:

@ddarylthis is such an effective and productive way to turn current assets into future income because of the compounding effect of reinvestment plus rising dividend payouts. The bolded is why its not utilized more, unfortunately. Focus on the income - as you well know and do.

For anyone who might be interested, here is an example. In 2013 you purchased 100 shares of Abbvie (ABBV) at $52. It was paying a quarterly dividend totaling $1.60 per year (~3% dividend yield). In this the 10th year you would now own, through reinvestment, ~130 shares that will pay a $5.64 per share dividend. The key thing is the annual distribution rate on the original investment.  $733 income on a $5200 .... or ~14%. And likely to continue rising.

I'm sitting on 75 shares of Abbvie at $79, paying me $1.49 per share quarterly... I bought it years ago and it took off... If it drops further I will add. 

[JustOneParade]

3 hours ago, ddaryl said:

I'm sitting on 75 shares of Abbvie at $79, paying me $1.49 per share quarterly... I bought it years ago and it took off... If it drops further I will add. 

👆 The way its supposed to be done. And the opposite of what the majority do (#emotions). Hang in there! 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

When I started working for myself I was on the *Freedom 95* plan.

20 years later I am on the *Freedom 92* plan.

Some of yous fellow hosers may get the reference.

[Zamboni]

@ddaryl and @JustOneParade … after reading your comments and looking at multiple sites regarding good blue chip stocks, I decided to buy 3 shares of ABBV tonight. It’s down from a peak of $173 a few months ago so I said meh what the hell at $140 a share. Hopefully it’s a good investment and I will buy more if it goes lower. I go thru TD Ameritrade to buy my stocks. I’m very new and quite ignorant to this world of savvy stock buying but I’m trying. I also have a few shares of DIS, AAPL, and AZN. Just getting my feet wet with this stuff. Thanks for your knowledge.

Edited August 3, 2022 by Zamboni

[ddaryl]

11 hours ago, Zamboni said:

@ddaryl and @JustOneParade … after reading your comments and looking at multiple sites regarding good blue chip stocks, I decided to buy 3 shares of ABBV tonight. It’s down from a peak of $173 a few months ago so I said meh what the hell at $140 a share. Hopefully it’s a good investment and I will buy more if it goes lower. I go thru TD Ameritrade to buy my stocks. I’m very new and quite ignorant to this world of savvy stock buying but I’m trying. I also have a few shares of DIS, AAPL, and AZN. Just getting my feet wet with this stuff. Thanks for your knowledge.

Dividend Kings call it a potential reasonable buy at these prices, which is the 2nd tier. Potential Good buy is their top ranking.
ABBV is on their phoenix list which is a list of blue chips that are top considerations,  but its not on their top buy list right now, it was at one time.

Its a solid dividend company, there is a very small chance of them not being able to cover the dividend (The best blue chip div companies all have a small % chance so that's a good thing), which is why they are on that phoenix list, and represents a damn good company to hold and add to over time at this junction

I will add  if it falls more myself.

Edited August 3, 2022 by ddaryl

[bob_sauve28]

Vanguard passively managed index funds, total stock market. Low fees, great returns.