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I suspect like me, most HD members are against paying large yearly fees to investment advisors. I have made all of our investment decisions and have done pretty well. I also do our taxes.
While I have no immediate plans to stop, because my wife has no interest in any of it, and is considerably younger, chances are she will be left alone at some point to figure out RMDs, SS, taxes, asset allocation etc.
I have looked at Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, independent firms etc and have never been convinced they are worth the money, even if necessary in this situation.
Do you pick bare bones and pay 0.3% fee with additional fund fees for total of 0.6%, or up 1% to 1.25% for individual advisor you can develop a relationship with?
The times we have tried either alternative I did not feel we got more than expensive index funds.
Does anybody have any experience with any alternatives, or a firm that will just deal with the income, RMDs etc and leave the stock picking to someone else?
The easiest way to avoid AUM fees is to figure how much cash to keep in a risk-free account and put the rest in a balanced fund. There are lots of choices and you can pick your risk level. Alternatively, choose a target date fund and put everything except the cash in it. This may not be tax efficient but will be inexpensive. Use the money you save to hire an hourly paid tax advisor.
For those of us with most assets inside IRAs, I think this idea has merit.
Are there any advice-only financial advisors who do not require assets to be transferred to a custodian of their choice and allow assets to remain where they are? If so, then how do they get visibility into the client’s portfolio?
I think most advice-only advisors don’t require this. They get visibility by the client simply showing them what they have. It’s the advisors who actually manage your portfolio who require it be on whatever platform they use.
There are advice only advisors which are mentioned elsewhere in this thread who provide planning and advice and you execute the plan and trades. You can find them at adviceonlynetwork/com. There are flat fee advisors who typically are small botique outfits and focus on planning and passive investment management aligned to your needs and plan. They frequently do detailed cash flow and tax planning amongst other services. We have had a flat fee advisor for 9 years and feel it is well worth it for risk management, peace of mind, addressing blind spots, minimizing mistakes and planning to meet goals.