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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?
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.
I am 62 and single (divorced decades) and managed my own finances. Five years ago, I decided to hire a fee only, fiduciary financial advisor to assist in navigating toward retirement, and getting another perspective. I found my advisor through Garrett Planning Network (garrettplanningnetwork.com). She’s independent and not part of a large company, although started her career at one. I was financially able to retire sooner than anticipated 6 months ago due to a voluntary buy out. The buy out was average, although being able to keep the insurance was the most enticing. I am not sure I would have been confident to navigate the early retirement decision without my financial advisors help.
Like others here, I have landed with a flat fee advisor. I worked with a couple of AUM advisors, and was uncomfortable with the value proposition.
I heard Morningstar’s Christine Benz interview a representative from Abundo, and engaged one of their advisors. Not perfect, but good to work with. I have many questions, and they answer them all, and generally find the advice to be sound, often better than my own thoughts. They don’t make any trades, I have to execute them myself, so every option has it’s limitations.
With my kid’s help, my wife would be more than capable of managing our finances in my absence, but it is comforting to know there is a trusted advisor who knows us, ready to help through uncertainty.
This is not an endorsement or suggestion that my flat fee advisor is better than any other, just a recommendation to consider flat fee as an alternation solution.
Here is a useful link to flat fee financial advisors: https://saragrillo.com/2026/01/24/flat-fee-financial-advisor-list/
My husband passed away 2 years ago. I had many ‘to do’s’ with his estate – including a Form 706 and many administrative tasks that put a widow in a weaker position then when they were married. I engaged a CFP certified financial planner with a fee-based comp. Much cheaper than Vanguard for me and local. She prepares my taxes, does yearly tax planning. Found an error in the CPA prepared Form 706 – over $1M error in the Deceased Spousal Unused Exclusion (DSUE), recommended switching from mutual funds to ETFs to avoid capital gains (‘saved’ $17K in 2026 taxes) and have not had to touch my 401k (which I think I would have done solo) instead using dividend withdrawals off my investment account at the lower tax rate. I would have not done this on my own – despite managing my Vanguard account for over 30 years… I would encourage widows to get support – you don’t have your spouse to confer with or get advice. Yes, you need to be careful but the tax code is so complicated now that I do believe you need an experienced professional to assist..
We are fortunate to have a wealth advisor as a part of my professional network. We periodically (around milestone events, mostly, every 3-5 years or so) chat to share where we are and to get a 30,000 ft overview on whether we are missing anything major. This way, the advisor is aware of our holdings/plans/values should anything happen to me. She thinks that, at that point, she might hook my wife / kids us up with a Vanguard personal advisor given the composition of our funds.
Like everyone one else here I have been managing our financial affairs on my own, my wife has tried on numerous occasions to assist/ try to understand it, but she just gets too frustrated with it.
As others have posted I don’t want to pay a high AUM, but I don’t want to leave my wife in a tough situation either, should my demise occur (and being older it is more likely). Searched around for about a year and all the AUM’s were between .75 and 1% for our portfolio size.
Finally through some networking I was able to find a company that charges a flat fee based on your portfolio and it worked out to about .10%, they are fiduciary’s,and have been in business for about 20 years now, while we started with them 2 years ago.
For that fee, we meet 1 time a year to do a very detailed assessment of our holdings, they do our taxes both state and federal, I can call and meet with them at anytime. They have done Roth conversions, capital gains tax harvesting,asset allocation, discussed estate planning etc,etc, that a financial firm would do.
The only thing they don’t do is active management of the portfolio, they only do index funds through Fidelity, Vanguard or Schwab, which is all I do anyway- except for some fun money that I use for individual stocks that is about 2% of our portfolio. I have been very happy with their services, and although I would much rather not pay a fee, this way I know my wife has someone that she can trust and that she also is very comfortable with.
Sounds like you found a great provider.
Would you mind sharing the name for this outfit?
Yes, but before I do that is it ok to post a business name on here?
Unsure of the rules and don’t want to be doing something I’m not supposed to. Moderator– are we allowed to do this?
I considered an advisor a couple of years ago for the same reason. The first need is to get someone who is trustworthy. Not all advisors are and they may act that way with you but once you are gone, they may change their stripes.
I found a trustworthy local company who met face to face with me and my wife. That was an important consideration because remote would never work for my wife.
This company invested in a basket of high quality stocks and fixed income based upon your risk profile. They charged 80 basis points but also provided other services including having their CPA do your taxes and had a relationship with an estate planning firm.
Overall, it had a lot of appeal but I could never get past their 80 basis point charge which would have cost us around $15k a year for a return that would probably not surpass my diversified, low cost index funds.
This would have been an excellent approach for my wife if I passed first, and I suggested to her to pursue that if I died first. Sadly, she passed away last year. However, I think this firm would be a good choice for my son once I pass because they would provide discipline and expertise my son would need to manage his inheritance.
Not paying fees for unneeded services is a smart decision. Leaving a spouse to fend for herself financially, after your demise…questionable to say the least. My wife, like yours, has zero interest in learning how to handle the investments, insurance, etc.
For that reason, I have two advisors. One is a Vanguard. CFP, 33 years old, paid by salary. Vanguard’s total fee for his services is 30 basis points a year, or .03%. His value to me is to advise my wife about our Vanguard Portfolio after my death. If he leaves the company, another qualified CFP will take his place, and the service will continue. My portfolio consists of VTI and VXUS, and I advised my wife not to change it after I am gone.
The second advisor is actually an insurance professional. His company services our annuity contracts. His staff is in their 30’s. He is 55 years old. They are credentialed and qualified to do the job for which I retain them. They charge no annual fees.
The only real change that might have to be made in the future would be the result of my wife needing LTC. She is not insured against the need for LTC because she could not qualify for a policy. Should that need occur, the annuities we have will increase their payouts by 505 annually, for up to five years, and then revert to lifetime payments at the standard amounts. She would also have access to RMDs, currently being used for QCDs, and the investment portfolio. We have no debts and no mortgage payment, and even without her social security check, my remaining social security check, which we will receive, will exceed her retirement expenses.
I also prepared a detailed letter, listing all accounts, account numbers, access codes, user names, passwords, addresses, phone numbers, etc. so all she has to do is make four phone calls.
I suggest you consider something similar.
30 basis points is 0.30%, and did you mean your annuities will increase payouts 50%?
Concerned, I too had similar concerns and knew that my spouse would find navigating the financial matters a bit overwhelming and wanted to set us up with an advisor that was aligned with our (Boglehead – BH) way investing (low cost index funds, etc.).
After some research (this also included Assets Under Management – AUM based advisors based on Fidelity recommendation), I have found a flat fee advisor that we are comfortable with.
What I learnt during this process
Most of the flat fee advisors have Schwab as their custodian (over 85%), about 10% have Fidelity and then there are some that use one of the following: Altruist, Apex or Pershing. If you like a particular advisor, make sure you’re okay with moving your assets over in order to work with them. Most of them mention this upfront on their portals, but it is also listed in the ADV for sure. Conversely if you’re not interested in moving your assets, then you need to narrow the advisor list to the custodian you prefer.
Lot of them have a model portfolio (not surprisingly the flat fee folks – at least the ones I researched have a simpler low cost index funds but the AUM advisors (again not surprisingly) have a more complex and lengthy list, this after I made clear that I am looking for low cost index funds). Why does this matter? Because the only way they can manage and measure is to “transition” your existing portfolio into their models. And if you have a BH approach with some additional funds, expect this to change a bit (or a lot). For example, I use VTI & VXUS (Vanguard total US market and International market respectively) and some of the advisors use alternative structures (like sp500 + extended or a combination of Large + Mid + Small cap, etc.). Depending on how strongly you feel, this is a conversation you should expect to have.
Most of the flat fee advisors seem to have a clear and quite transparent fee structure (including any potential hikes). Not surprisingly the AUM based seemed a bit more opaque, especially when they use SMA (separately managed accounts) and/or a combination of alternative funds (and these are more esoteric funds, mutual funds in some cases with high ER – expense ratio).
I did speak to a number of AUM as well as flat fee advisors. The only thing I found I lose with the AUM advisors (as opposed to the flat fee), is the additional complexity.
So I wouldn’t give up just yet, I would first write down your requirements, talk to at least 4-5 flat fee advisors (and make sure your spouse is part of this conversation to gauge their comfort factor with the advisor).
For what it’s worth, I too am a former Vanguard refugee (was with them for over 20 years). I have generally heard good things about their PAS (Personal Advisory Service and at 30bps), they are a good value.
I don’t know if it would be right for me to publish my list here, happy to help in your journey.
I would recommend you establish a relationship with an hourly fee advisor. Someone like Allan Roth of daretobedull.com. You pay for what you get, but is saving money everything? Peace of mind that your spouse has a good source of advice is very valuable.
Timothy Financial is another firm to consider.
I have read lots of Roth’s stuff, especially his TIPS ladder.
I don’t know if you read one of his most moving articles recently about his major health scare with what sounds like an aortic dissection that required major surgery. He has great ideas and I was thinking of talking to him but I am a bit concerned about small firms and who steps up if he cannot anymore. Something to look at for sure.
Allan Roth isn’t taking new clients
Mark Zoril at PlanVision also has an advice only offering but I thought OP wanted more than a planning/sanity check. I have worked with Mark and his team, if you’re (OP) is looking for advice-only, they are excellent but you (and/or your spouse will have to manage the portfolio). Their fees are very reasonable.
Concerned,
Great first post.
Your first two paragraphs describe our situation.
I only rarely consult with a fee only financial advisor for significant issues such as confirming we had sufficient investments to retire, receiving an inheritance, and to confirm my plans for Roth conversions. I do my own investing and have used Vanguard funds in the past (but only ETFs now). I also have a very basic asset allocation so I feel that utilizing someone to manage my investments could not do better. One significant reason I think a financial advisor could not do better is my expense ratio is 0.03% (PS that is not an error). We have lived off of our retirement assets for six years with no significant change in our asset balance. I can’t image that if we were paying a 1% fee for management we would be significantly better off.
I live by John Bogle’s saying you get what you don’t pay for.
I think Vanguard and the other similar personal advisors are great for people who have some basic knowledge of their finances. But I have friends whose spouses took total charge of the household finances, and when those partners died, the survivors were simply lost One had to hire someone to pay her monthly bills. She is a smart, college educated woman, but she tells me she just doesn’t understand money, I’ve tried to help, but it’s like talking to the wall.
My husband is also uninterested in our finances, but after seeing the problems my friends have encountered, I’m working to bring him up to speed. Once a month, we review our finances— we look at the monthly bills, quarterly charges, and annual expenses like property taxes, We also review when our pensions, SS, and other income are credited to our checking account. I do our income taxes, but after I finish, I take him through the whole procedure. He doesn’t enjoy these reviews AT ALL. But his questions do show he’s getting better.
I am sure that it takes a lot of patience on the part of both of you.
He is very lucky, and you are thoughtful, by sharing that important information in case he needs to do it on his own.
I have been doing the same with my spouse in terms of me sharing the financial information with her, and I have tried to take on additional involvement in all of the wonderful cooking for us she has done over all of our years together.
I switched from a wealth advisor to a Vanguard personal advisor and he is excellent. I split my funds across the two for 3 years and the Vanguard index portfolio beat the active funds from the wealth manager by 2% a year and had 1/3 the fees. Vanguard has disciplined guardrails on retirement strategies and keeps the client’s interest foremost. The wealth advisor recommended a high risk hedge fund that I turned down and later lost money and pushed leveraged investments that I didn’t need.
The .3 that Vanguard Personal Advisor charges is reasonable. And if you use their ETFs, won’t those fees be well under .1?
Am I missing something?
All I can say is that my husband Jonathan Clements suggested if I ever needed to get expertise on various aspects of my investments, IRAs or other accounts, Vanguard Personal Advisor was the way to go. And I trust him.
Thank you Elaine and best wishes. I have read JC’s stuff since his early WSJ days. He was always a great help!
I soured on Vanguard a few years ago when they made multiple mistakes in account statements and their technology seemed to fail.
Are they better? Do they help with RMDs and the like?
I also asked them for a proposal for our finances but they said, while they would be able to custody our existing stocks ( with sig embedded capital gains) they would ignore them in their recommendations and asset allocations. This seemed contradictory.
I have used Vanguard for 12 years and Vanguard Personal Advisor for about 3 years. They do help with RMDs and QCDs and they did identify that a Form 706 had not been filed after my wife’s death. I have been very satisfied. Bob
I have not used them yet. But, when the time comes and I need advice, Jonathan told me to use them, which I will. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
You have been of great help here continuously, keeping us informed about HD and JC’s legacy.
Thanks again!