Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - I want to start investing, where to start?

Sho Nuff · 12-19-2003, 06:57 AM

Your best bet is to find a competent money manager that you trust and let them lay out a plan for you. I used to work in the financial services field and a good advisor can honestly make all the difference. There are a few key things to look at though:

1. Advisors are trained to usher you toward investment tools that will tie up your money. Place and emphasis on flexibility.

2. The advisor wants your business for commission. Some advisors will fade away once you are on the books as a client. Interview many advisors. Ask them every question you’ve ever thought of about investing and take notes. Bleed them dry. This will not only show you if the person knows their stuff, but you will also see what their character is. If they try to rush you out you know that person will bail on you, but if they stay and field all your questions and can communicate financial information to you in a way that you understand then that person may be a good choice. An investment relationship should last a long time and be based on good communication. Be sure to let them know in advance that you will need a lot of time because you have a lot of questions.

3. Don’t let them sell you the dream of an overly aggressive portfolio. They will tell you that this is the best time to get in the market aggressively while stocks are down, which may be true. But the stock market is always going up and down. If you are investing for the long term, slow and steady wins the race. As your relationship with the advisor grows then you can start testing the waters with some aggressive positioning but I wouldnt start by investing in an aggressive manner. If you still have 20+ years to retirement you'll have no problem saving more than enough to retire.

4. Educate yourself on the market. Once you are in, think of your investment advisor as the interim president of your money. Learn the market and bounce questions off the advisor but please keep it to a reasonable level. As an advisor I was more than happy to answer questions, but I had some people calling me every couple of days asking questions. If I had the time Id talk to them all day, but an advisor eats by adding more clients. Servicing existing clients is important but it has to be balanced with the workload of finding new clients.

5. GIVE REFERRALS!!! If you like your advisor, refer him/her to your friends. Advisors LOVE referrals and will sometimes offer you financial rewards. It will also make you a priority customer in their eyes and they will work harder to protect your money.

6. Learn about stock options. Stock options are high risk high reward investment tools that you can use on your own if you crave a little excitement and aggression in the market. The options industry council offers free training in trading stock options. Go to a few sessions and they will teach you how to make money regardless of the direction of the market. Many major firms send their new employees to these classes. They are high quality and tour many major cities.

Even though I have a degree in finance and have been an advisor and an equities trader, I still have 2 accounts with advisors that I trust. It’s always good to have as many opinions and people gathering intelligence as possible. I also play the options market when I see something hot on the horizon.

12-19-2003, 06:57 AM	#5 (permalink)
Sho Nuff Addict Location: Harlem	Your best bet is to find a competent money manager that you trust and let them lay out a plan for you. I used to work in the financial services field and a good advisor can honestly make all the difference. There are a few key things to look at though: 1. Advisors are trained to usher you toward investment tools that will tie up your money. Place and emphasis on flexibility. 2. The advisor wants your business for commission. Some advisors will fade away once you are on the books as a client. Interview many advisors. Ask them every question you’ve ever thought of about investing and take notes. Bleed them dry. This will not only show you if the person knows their stuff, but you will also see what their character is. If they try to rush you out you know that person will bail on you, but if they stay and field all your questions and can communicate financial information to you in a way that you understand then that person may be a good choice. An investment relationship should last a long time and be based on good communication. Be sure to let them know in advance that you will need a lot of time because you have a lot of questions. 3. Don’t let them sell you the dream of an overly aggressive portfolio. They will tell you that this is the best time to get in the market aggressively while stocks are down, which may be true. But the stock market is always going up and down. If you are investing for the long term, slow and steady wins the race. As your relationship with the advisor grows then you can start testing the waters with some aggressive positioning but I wouldnt start by investing in an aggressive manner. If you still have 20+ years to retirement you'll have no problem saving more than enough to retire. 4. Educate yourself on the market. Once you are in, think of your investment advisor as the interim president of your money. Learn the market and bounce questions off the advisor but please keep it to a reasonable level. As an advisor I was more than happy to answer questions, but I had some people calling me every couple of days asking questions. If I had the time Id talk to them all day, but an advisor eats by adding more clients. Servicing existing clients is important but it has to be balanced with the workload of finding new clients. 5. GIVE REFERRALS!!! If you like your advisor, refer him/her to your friends. Advisors LOVE referrals and will sometimes offer you financial rewards. It will also make you a priority customer in their eyes and they will work harder to protect your money. 6. Learn about stock options. Stock options are high risk high reward investment tools that you can use on your own if you crave a little excitement and aggression in the market. The options industry council offers free training in trading stock options. Go to a few sessions and they will teach you how to make money regardless of the direction of the market. Many major firms send their new employees to these classes. They are high quality and tour many major cities. Even though I have a degree in finance and have been an advisor and an equities trader, I still have 2 accounts with advisors that I trust. It’s always good to have as many opinions and people gathering intelligence as possible. I also play the options market when I see something hot on the horizon. __________________ I know Nietzsche doesnt rhyme with peachy, but you sound like a pretentious prick when you correct me.