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Thread: how do I do it?

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    Member cutie69's Avatar
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    Default how do I do it?

    I live in Toronto and was wondering what type of professional would I go and see to invest my money properly. I have been dancing for almost 5 years now and all I have invested in is RRSP's.

    How do I go about safely inveating my money without being ripped off ???

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    Senior Member commando's Avatar
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    Default Re:how do I do it?

    Well, it depends first of all on what your investment goals are. Short term investing? Aggressive growth? Wealth Preservation? Secondly, what kind of time frame are you looking at? Third, how much do you already have in investable assets? If you don't have a lot, look at online brokerage firms, since the fees at a large firm will be too much. If you have more money, it's worth it. One thing that you can do is meet with a professional financial advisor to get some help figuring all of these things out. They will ask you a lot of questions to figure out what are goals and needs are, and develop a financial plan for you to achieve your goals. YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS. Some firms will charge you for it; find one that won't. you should not be under any kind of obligation, and you can keep the plan to use. Any more questions, feel free to ask.

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    God/dess GoldCoastGirl's Avatar
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    Default Re:how do I do it?

    Also, in re: financial planners... do not buy any investments from one as they tend to get a 'kickback' (commission usually) from sales associated with that investment. These FPs are no different to a sales person and should be avoided (as they don't provide impartial advice in re: investment... they will gear you towards those they get something from more than anything else).

    Just my experience.


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    Featured Member discretedancer's Avatar
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    Default Re:how do I do it?

    Be sure to read up on MORNINGSTAR.com about any investment before you do it - this will tell you (for stocks, funds, etc) things like the historic gain/loss of the investment...who is managing it, etc.


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    Senior Member awboy's Avatar
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    Default Re:how do I do it?

    Well cutie, you have come to the right place, between Melonie, monty, and some others you will be put on the right track for certain. I disagree with Commando about not paying for financial advise. GoldCoastGirl is right if you go with a financial advisor associated with a investment componay they may give you free advise but they will try and sell you their investments. You can try www.fpanet.org to try and find a planner in your area, they will usually charge a flat hourly rate and they will go through all of your financial info and help you put together a plan your comfortable with. This will include insurance, wills, budgeting, and other things. They will help you develope the plan and then you implement it. Discrete is correct, Morningstar is a good place to research investments as well as Motley Fool, Kiplinger, Money Magazine, etc. I recommend using no load mutual funds, but Melonie has some great advise on other investments. Good luck.

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    Featured Member discretedancer's Avatar
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    Default Re:how do I do it?

    Some places offer free consultation...but if they are offering to do in-depth examination of your situation and offer suggestions for free, think of 2 things.

    1. you get what you pay for

    2. where exactly do they make money (off you)? - I bet it's by putting you in investments that make THEM the most money, not you

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    Senior Member commando's Avatar
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    Default Re:how do I do it?

    Discretedancer, that's why you open a "wrap account" you don't pay any commissions, and the advisor generally doesn't make any more money from any one type of investment. you pay a quarterly fee (usually) and you can trade as much as you like. The fee is usually based on a percentage of your total assets (like 0.08%), so the advisor only makes more money if you make more money. BTW, that percentage is annual, so it's split up quarterly. Also, as far as free consultations go, the term "you get what you pay" for does not apply. the reason this is done is to show people what they need to do to achieve their financial goals, and demonstrate the value that a professional brings to this process.

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    God/dess montythegeek's Avatar
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    Default Re:how do I do it?

    I fall into a hybrid of the opinions of commando and discrete dancer.
    First throw out for all time the notion you get what you pay for. The correct way to phrase it is YOU PAY for what you get. You can pay lots of money and get cr*p advice.

    If you want good advise on particulars- you are going to pay for it. ANY decent financial advisor will be glad to talk to you because he knows he is auditioning unless he is so well known he does not need to. He won't tell you the small nuances.

    Go in expecting to pay them money if they go to work for you. Sometimes it is up front, some times it just costs more to do things through them. Do not walk in expecting them to tell you the hot stock on Wall Street next week.

    Do expect them to be different from each other. Even a great lawyer has areas of specialization. Their are people whose natural focus is young high earners. There are ones who are better focussed on protecting and generating income from an established asset base. They both know 90% the same thing, but they do think differently.

    Have a firm life plan and be brutally honest about what you do and wht your situation is. A dancer with a 5-7 year max earning period is different than a lawyer and dentist or a person with 2 kids and a spouse. They have to know this or even a great person will give bad advice--bad in the sense of not suited to you.

    Let them know what you know about finance so they can talk YOUR language. Let them know what money streams you are planning to save over what time frame as well as goals like buying a house in x period of time. If you are planning to buy a house next year part of the money needs to be invested differently. If you are single it is different from being married. If you are planning on going to school in 3 years it is different than if you are done with school.

    Be careful if something does not sound right. You are the customer and if you do not understand something as "why" until you DO understand it. If you need to learn something, read 2 books about it. The one they reccomend and a general book by someone with no axe to grind that you can pick up at a library. they are not there to do everything FOR you. They are there to do everything WITH you.

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    Senior Member commando's Avatar
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    Default Re:how do I do it?

    Thank you Monty, that's exactly what I've been trying to say here as well as on the other post.

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