Need a new investment adviser / RRSP person - recommendations?

[Zero102]

My wife and I presently hold RRSPs through Investors Group. Over the past 5 years we have had our advisor change 4 times due to people leaving the company, and our current adviser seems to want to meddle with every aspect of our finances and sell us things more than he cares about our RRSPs performance, which has been dismal. I don't want to give any specifics about our current investments as the news is not pretty, but it would suffice to say we are both far from retirement and are moderately risk tolerant.

We are looking for somebody to open a new RSP/RRSP with to diversify a little bit and try to start moving away from IG (we'll eat penalties if we move these investments in the next few years so they might as well stay with IG for now).

Personally I have zero interest in another Investors Group person. We tried to get in with Scotiabank but we waited at our closest location for 40 minutes past our appointment time (after checking in 15 minutes before it) and nobody even came out to greet us, so I really don't feel like they give even half a shit
My parents have recommended strongly against TD as they each have an RRSP with TD that they are very unhappy with.

Who should I try next?

[msommers]

I'm also looking at changing from Investor's Group but it's because I think she's chatted with me once over the last 5 years LOL. I think the last few emails I've got from her were about the annual comedy show at the Jubilee!

[roopi]

I'm assuming since you are with IG currently you are not comfortable choosing your own funds? If you are the best thing to do is just open an account with your current bank and have everything transferred over.

If you are looking for a financial advisor to do this all for you I'd advise you start educating yourself and taking care of it yourself.

[Masked Bandit]

Shoot skandalouz_08 a PM. He's in the business and is well educated on investments.

[ArjayAquino]

Originally posted by Masked Bandit
Shoot skandalouz_08 a PM. He's in the business and is well educated on investments.

I just met up with Des last week, he set me up on Term Life and now he is helping me with my RRSP. Great guy to deal with.

[Feruk]

I met a financial adviser through a friend last year. The guy barely passed math in high school, had some completely unrelated degree, never bought a stock in his life, but was starting as a financial adviser for one of the big banks. Is that really the kinda person you want to pay to manage your retirement?

Here's the only "financial advisor" you'll need IMO:
http://canadiancouchpotato.com/

Strategies there are for the lazy. You'll almost never beat the market, but you'll almost always do almost as good. That's far more than can be said for a financial adviser.

[roopi]

Originally posted by Feruk
I met a financial adviser through a friend last year. The guy barely passed math in high school, had some completely unrelated degree, never bought a stock in his life, but was starting as a financial adviser for one of the big banks. Is that really the kinda person you want to pay to manage your retirement?


I've met alot of 'Financial Advisors' like this as well. I'm not trying to discredit any actual advisors but it seems like there are so many people in this industry who are clueless (as most industries I guess).

[Zero102]

Originally posted by Masked Bandit
Shoot skandalouz_08 a PM. He's in the business and is well educated on investments.

Who is he associated with?

As for why don't I just do it myself - I dunno, I'd say because it seems risky. At the end of the day it is just another thing to take up time each day learning and worrying about. With 2 kids and a 3rd on the way, a racing hobby, a house to take care of, and many more things going on, I just don't think I can dedicate the attention required to managing my own portfolio.

That said, when I started I picked some investments just for fun (no money) and they would have made me about 11% over the 5 years, whereas my investments with IG are down about 27% over the same 5 years so really I would have been further ahead. :nut: This is the sort of thing that makes people manage their own investments, isn't it....?

[ArjayAquino]

Originally posted by Zero102


Who is he associated with?

Sunlife

[ExtraSlow]

Most financial advisors who work for banks, Investors Group and similar institutions are nothing more than salespeople. Much like the teenager at bestbuy, they have their own reasons for suggesting a particular product to you, and many times, their interests don't coincide with your own.

That's not to say you can't get good financial products from them, but like buying a used car, the burden is on the consumer to not get fleeced.

[Zero102]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
Most financial advisors who work for banks, Investors Group and similar institutions are nothing more than salespeople. Much like the teenager at bestbuy, they have their own reasons for suggesting a particular product to you, and many times, their interests don't coincide with your own.

That's not to say you can't get good financial products from them, but like buying a used car, the burden is on the consumer to not get fleeced.

Precisely why I was looking for recommendations. Actual experience with people and their solutions seems to be the best way to judge.

[ZenOps]

I suggest nickels. Take it as you will.

[roopi]

Originally posted by Zero102


Who is he associated with?

As for why don't I just do it myself - I dunno, I'd say because it seems risky. At the end of the day it is just another thing to take up time each day learning and worrying about. With 2 kids and a 3rd on the way, a racing hobby, a house to take care of, and many more things going on, I just don't think I can dedicate the attention required to managing my own portfolio.

That said, when I started I picked some investments just for fun (no money) and they would have made me about 11% over the 5 years, whereas my investments with IG are down about 27% over the same 5 years so really I would have been further ahead. :nut: This is the sort of thing that makes people manage their own investments, isn't it....?

I assure you that a financial advisor that is only going to be buying you funds will not be actively managing your portfolio. If you are just buying ETF's or mutual funds you don't need to constantly watching or managing them. As suggested the Couch Potato method posted early does work and you just need to rebalance your portfolio every 6-12 months.

If you don't mind sharing some information such as what you are currently invested in and your short/long term goals there are a lot of people on this site you can guide you in the right direction.

Anyone selling you funds is most likely going to push you in the direction of where they get the most commission.

Personally most of my money is actively managed by myself in equities however I also have an account that is strictly mutual funds that I contribute to on a monthly basis. It has been 5-6 years and I've never touched the account and it has averaged a return of 9-11% on a yearly basis without ever having a negative year. It really is that simple.

[sabad66]

Which mutual funds have been averaging you 9-11%, if you don't mind me asking?

[krazykhoja]

Depending on the company you deal with, the person who sells you the funds isn't going to manage the actual portfolio. If you want to PM me any additional details or even just come in to discuss (no sales tactics I promise!) investing/your goals I am more than happy to help out & help point you in the right direction.

I work at RBC and part of my job is to deal with customers investments. What I do is find out what the clients goals/risk tolerance/time horizon etc are & based on this I determine which RBC funds are best suited to your specific needs/goals. However, I don't manage the funds myself, they are managed by investment professionals.

That being said, I do have knowledge in the finance industry as well as have taken/continue to take courses to help me gain more knowledge on the investment side so I can assist my clients. I'm sure in some firms/banks people might get paid extra to sell certain funds & are out for their own interests, but that isn't how it is everywhere.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[Rat Fink]

.

[Zero102]

Thanks for all the advice guys. After a lot of thinking it over you are right - the only person who actually cares about my money is myself.

I read Canadian Couch Potato site for what seemed like hours and it has led me to think the best option for me is to throw this year's contributions into the ING streetwise funds. Once I get up past $50k in them and have more experience with this all I will look at moving over to TD and getting more involved.

[ExtraSlow]

Couch potato or "armchair" portfolios would be suitable for a lot of investors.
Armchair millionaire is a good book that gives some background on these strategies.

[roopi]

Originally posted by sabad66
Which mutual funds have been averaging you 9-11%, if you don't mind me asking?

I can post this for you this evening.

[Feruk]

Originally posted by Zero102
I read Canadian Couch Potato site for what seemed like hours and it has led me to think the best option for me is to throw this year's contributions into the ING streetwise funds. Once I get up past $50k in them and have more experience with this all I will look at moving over to TD and getting more involved.

Why would you not simply follow the couch potato portfolios instead? Those ING streetwise portfolios are similar, except they cost 2 to 5 times as much to the investor.

http://canadiancouchpotato.com/model-portfolios/

Just my thoughts.

[Zero102]

Originally posted by Feruk


Why would you not simply follow the couch potato portfolios instead? Those ING streetwise portfolios are similar, except they cost 2 to 5 times as much to the investor.

http://canadiancouchpotato.com/model-portfolios/

Just my thoughts.

Because the guy who writes the articles recommends them for people who are investing (relatively) small amounts and are inexperienced

http://canadiancouchpotato.com/2012/04/09/ings-streetwise-fund-v-td-e-series/

It is not the way I am going to go until I retire, but I need to get money into investments pretty quickly here as the RRSP cutoff is creeping closer. I am going to start here and work my way up, but I need to start somewhere.

[Mibz]

Streetwise is how I started. For smaller amounts the MER difference is easily offset by the ridiculous ease of setup and management. I think you're making a good choice.

EDIT: But don't wait until you've got an arbitrary amount of money in there to start doing it yourself. Keep reading and manage it yourself as soon as you're comfortable.

[Stevo89]

Originally posted by Zero102


Because the guy who writes the articles recommends them for people who are investing (relatively) small amounts and are inexperienced

http://canadiancouchpotato.com/2012/04/09/ings-streetwise-fund-v-td-e-series/

It is not the way I am going to go until I retire, but I need to get money into investments pretty quickly here as the RRSP cutoff is creeping closer. I am going to start here and work my way up, but I need to start somewhere.

I think you may be misunderstanding what he recommends for people investing a relatively small (<$50 000) amount of money. He suggests Index Funds over ETFs for people investing <$50 000. Both the TD e-series and ING Streetwise fund are Index Funds. The reason why he suggests investments <$50 000 to go with Index Funds is because the "associated fees" that go along with them is percentage based, where as for ETFs it is a flat rate per transaction. Therefore as your investment amount increases, ETFs > Index Funds because the flat rate fee is spread out over a larger investment amount where as a % will always stay the same. For example if it Index Funds MER is 0.5% and each ETF transaction = $10 then...
At $10 000 and lets say 10 transactions fees would be
Index Fund = $50 ETFs = $100
At $100 000 with the same amount of transactions...
Index Fund = $500 ETFs = $100
I hope that made sense?

As for TD e-series being more complicated than the ING Streetwise Fund, that is true but really it isn't more complicated at all. The TD e-series fund portfolio requires you to purchase 4 different funds to make up a certain percentage of your portfolio. About once a year you take a look at your portfolio to check if your percentages are out of whack, AKA if certain funds are performing much better than others, and just rebalance the percentages. This is to ensure you have a "balanced" portfolio. ING is simpler in that you only have to buy 1 fund and ING will manage the rebalancing; however, they do charge a significantly higher MER. Another advantage of the ING fund is that apparently opening and buying the TD e-series funds is quite a hassle if you try to do it at a branch or through the phone. Probably the best bet is to do it online.

This is all theoretical as I actually do not have any investments right now.... I am just reading and preparing myself haha... SO someone please chime in and correct me.

[e36bmw///]

nm

[revelations]

^ no

[kenny]

How sound is the 100 - Age as a % goes into equities, rest into bonds strategy? I guess its similar to the 60/40 split that is always recommended.

[e36bmw///]

nb

[skandalouz_08]

Originally posted by Zero102
Thanks for all the advice guys. After a lot of thinking it over you are right - the only person who actually cares about my money is myself.

I read Canadian Couch Potato site for what seemed like hours and it has led me to think the best option for me is to throw this year's contributions into the ING streetwise funds. Once I get up past $50k in them and have more experience with this all I will look at moving over to TD and getting more involved.

Not sure how I missed this thread the past 3 weeks :dunno:

Anyway, I'm an Advisor with Sun Life but can offer a majority of 3rd party funds you may be interested in. This includes funds with TD/RBC/Dynamic/CI Investments/Invesco Trimark/Fidelity/etc.

As some other beyonder's can attest to, I do put the client first and invest your money where I believe will have the best returns over the long-term. How active you want to be or me to be with your portfolio is up to you. I have clients I call quarterly and others who are have specifically said call me once/year. It really is about you understanding how your money is invested and being as active or passive as you wish to be. Give me a shout or PM if you want to talk before you do your ING contribution. More than happy to answer your questions even if you go with ING.

[skandalouz_08]

Originally posted by e36bmw///

Are you sure?

If the max CPP contribution threashold is say $45000, and if your salary is say $50000, contributing max RRSP of $9000 puts you at $41k taxable.

Does that not decrease CPP payable?

It doesn't decrease CPP payable.

CPP contribution is based on your salary and not your taxable income. See link for more details: http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/isp/cpp/contribrates.shtml

[skandalouz_08]

Originally posted by Rat Fink


:werd: :werd: :werd:

Most advisors are paid monkeys. They are told what to push by the &quot;higher-ups&quot;. Most of them get a daily newsletter handed to them every morning that explains why the market did what it did so they can pass that info onto the clients who call so they don't initially seem like total fucking tools. That is how you get complete idiots that were the star football player back in the day but with the IQ of a sack of shit suddenly becoming advisors and showing up to their 10 year reunions like wannabe ballers handing out 2 cent business cards like they are the shit. I'm sure there's less than 5% of financial advisors out there who would actually be able to think for themselves and be successful at doing so. The incentive to fully care about someone elses money isn't really structured into most places because they'll still get their commissions even if they lose all your money.

Just felt the need to reply to this. I do agree, there are a lot of advisors out there that shouldn't be in the industry, are shady and that I wouldn't do business with, yet people still do business with them. I don't know if it's lack of knowledge, laziness or just sheer stupidity but it is 100% up to you as the investor to choose the RIGHT advisor for you. Don't let the advisor choose you. I like this thread because the OP has done his homework, looked at the options and made a decision based on that.

Secondly, do research on the company you are with. I had a job offer from IG doing the exact same thing I do now but I turned it down because IG doesn't have the same reputation my company does.

It's the investor's job to ask the company/advisor how they are paid on individual products. If your advisor isn't willing to tell you that, then find a new advisor. Until the Gov't of Canada comes out with new rulings to show how much every person pays in fees annually this is a question you need to ask. That being said, I'm paid on commissions. The more money you make, the more money I make. The more money you lose, the less money I make, its directly correlated.

[e36bmw///]

mm

[Zero102]

I think with RSP season being here this thread is getting some extra attention as I've had a whole slew of PMs from people offering to be my investment adviser or offer other services very recently. Unfortunately everybody is too late - I moved my money to ING quite some time ago, as I said in this thread I was going to. I'm now committed to managing this myself and am no longer actively seeking an investment adviser.

[A790]

I work with Karen Backlun and she's been awesome for me :)