Can anybody recommend a financial advising firm geared towards physicians?

Can anybody recommend a financial advising firm geared towards physicians?

I'd recommmend a book. Financial advisors are always going to point you to buying investments where they'll make a comission. How else are they going to feed themselves. They'll also convince you to buy life insurance, and other investements when your money coudl be put to better use. There are some great books on personal finance, browse a bookstore for a respected author. I really got a lot out of Suze Orman's (from CNN) book.

I'd recommmend a book. Financial advisors are always going to point you to buying investments where they'll make a comission. How else are they going to feed themselves. They'll also convince you to buy life insurance, and other investements when your money coudl be put to better use. There are some great books on personal finance, browse a bookstore for a respected author. I really got a lot out of Suze Orman's (from CNN) book.

I don't have an answer to the question, but I wanted to respond to this comment. This is not true for all financial advisors. The financial advisors I use (Accredited Investors in MN) are paid based on a percentage of my portfolio's worth every year, not by commissions. Basically the more my investments grow in a year, they more they make, so they have the same motivations that I do. They have never tried to push any life insurance on me or done anything unscrupulous like that. In fact, in our initial meeting we even discussed how my moral values affect my investing philosophy and what types of companies I did not want to invest in (i.e. weapons manufacturers, tobacco, etc.).

I don't know about investment firms that specialize in physicians, but it doesn't seem like you would need a specialized firm--physicians have similar financial issues to other high-income professionals.

Edit: P.S. Sorry for intruding into the grad forum as a pre-med, but since I have some experience with financial advisors I thought it would be ok. :)

are paid based on a percentage of my portfolio's worth every year, not by commissions. Basically the more my investments grow in a year, they more they make, so they have the same motivations that I do.

So basically they take a percentage of YOUR profits. Investing and financial planning are daunting at first, but once you get going, you can make pretty decent picks yourself. Large discount brokerages like Fidelity will always give you rate that are everybit as good as a financial advisor, only you'll get to keep all the profit. Remember their ENTIRE income comes from a portion of your profits.

Hmm, we're residents folks, we're 4-6 years from making any money at all!! Then most (like me) have to pay back $150k in loans. As a former Morgan Stanley stockbroker, "financial advisors" will milk you to death. Like the earlier post, Investing for dummies or the fidelity site is all you need. Now with that said, when I was a broker, I found that docs new NOTHING about money!! So maybe they do need someone to hold their hand and guide their wealth??Now most brokers just want to hold your money as "asset managers" and take 2-3% commission. As for me, it will be Fidelity(or another fund company) and real estate!! Look up Modern Portfolio Theory management and dollar cost averaging strategies for your investments. These are proven winners as long as you have the time frame to allow it to work. Now get back to that Step 3 review book!! :D

agree with above... avoid any finanical help like the plague... you don't need it... read personal finance for dummies... open a vanguard account... maximize your roth-IRA the next 3, 4, 5, 6 years or whatever... invest in a fund of funds mutual fund... defer your loans as much as possible... it's really that simple...

when you need asset protection advice and an accountant to minimize your taxes and malpractice risk... then you can get a financial advisor a.k.a. a JD or CPA... avoid brokers like the plague... they are just salesman trying to swindle you out of money... and trying to have you make frequent moves... i.e. each trade = commissions for them...

While I agree on some aspects with some of the points made on this thread, I also think that that if you require the assistance of an advisor, don't forget financial planners.

http://invest-faq.com/articles/fplan-choose-planner.html

There are some circumstances where you can't do it all. Following finances can be a tedious job. Although CPA/JD can help guide you, that isn't their speciality. There are many resources out there for you to evaluate where you want to go with your money. I suggest self-education as well as evaluating your options.

agree with above... avoid any finanical help like the plague... you don't need it... read personal finance for dummies... open a vanguard account... maximize your roth-IRA the next 3, 4, 5, 6 years or whatever... invest in a fund of funds mutual fund... defer your loans as much as possible... it's really that simple...

when you need asset protection advice and an accountant to minimize your taxes and malpractice risk... then you can get a financial advisor a.k.a. a JD or CPA... avoid brokers like the plague... they are just salesman trying to swindle you out of money... and trying to have you make frequent moves... i.e. each trade = commissions for them...
question about.
so i just went to Citibank the other day. the financial advisor adviced me that investing as a Resident would just be STUPID. He's like you would barely be able to mk any dough at this point, esp with the market how it is today. However, he was trying to get me to invest in a 401 or 403 or ira...something like that. Basically, something where I put bits of money into it for later retirement. He also said, later on if I wanted to say buy a house or whatever, I could always borrow AGAINST the 401k.

What do you guys think? Is this valid?

question about.
so i just went to Citibank the other day. the financial advisor adviced me that investing as a Resident would just be STUPID. He's like you would barely be able to mk any dough at this point, esp with the market how it is today. However, he was trying to get me to invest in a 401 or 403 or ira...something like that. Basically, something where I put bits of money into it for later retirement. He also said, later on if I wanted to say buy a house or whatever, I could always borrow AGAINST the 401k.

What do you guys think? Is this valid?

As painful as it sounds, a 403b or 401k or preferably a Roth is actually a good idea. Initially I was thinking, "Why worry about retirement now, when I know I"m poor, when I'll be able to save a ton of moey whn I'm an attending in just a few years?" I made some nerdy spreadsheets on Excel and plugged in a bunch of scenerios... Bottom line, putting a little cash in a Roth now can still make 10s of thousands of dollars of difference in the future. Stuff like life insurance as an investment, etc, is just garbage, of course.

For those who insist on getting a financial advisor or planner. If you still don't want to take an afternoon to learn to do it yourself, I'd strongly recommend someone who extracts a fee every month or year, rather than a "free" one. Nothing is really free. Better yet, use that money you would use to pay your advisor and put it in a Roth, and then let the whole thing go on autopilot.

Two EXCELLENT sources:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1573222976/sr=8-1/qid=1143124679/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-5230206-4113432?%5Fencoding=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0609808931/sr=8-5/qid=1143124679/ref=pd_bbs_5/103-5230206-4113432?%5Fencoding=UTF8

The first one really hits home to residents. Young very educated people anticipating large increases in income soon, but currently under a ton of debt.

The second one is mroe applicable to you as an attending.

Along the lines of recommending books, I highly recommend this one, which even has a chapter on working with financial planners (whether you need one, avoiding the pitfalls):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764525905/qid=1143131036/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-0216589-6524818?s=books&v=glance&n=283155


Also you can't go wrong with a tax book:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593152744/qid=1143131662/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-0216589-6524818?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

question about.
so i just went to Citibank the other day. the financial advisor adviced me that investing as a Resident would just be STUPID. He's like you would barely be able to mk any dough at this point, esp with the market how it is today. However, he was trying to get me to invest in a 401 or 403 or ira...something like that. Basically, something where I put bits of money into it for later retirement. He also said, later on if I wanted to say buy a house or whatever, I could always borrow AGAINST the 401k.

What do you guys think? Is this valid?

i do not agree with this. it is all about the time value of money. you need to get money working for you early. you can invest in individual stocks, mutual funds, or index funds through a roth. 4K a year in a roth for the 4-5 years you are a resident can really turn into some serious cash in 30 years. "barely make any dough at this point, esp with the market how it is today" i could not disagree with this more. my father is a money manager in the investment world. he laughs when he hears statements like this. you INVEST for long term growth. if you want to make some money quick, go to vegas. no one knows how to time the market. why do you think 90% of mutual funds can't beat the S&P? do not withold investing because someone tells you the market is "bad" right now. put your money in, let it grow, don't worry about returns, you invest for the long term.

You can withdrawal IRA for first time house buying penalty fee. I would never touch an 401K for a loan.

The best advice I can offer you max out your IRA every year because you won't have them after you are a resident. There are IRA limits for income (http://www.quicken.com/cms/viewers/article/taxes/25850). This is money that will be tax free after you retire because you've already paid taxes. Then in your employment retirement fund, match whatever your employer will match up to. The rest, invest on your own when you can spare the funds.

For a resident, it may not be worth it for a financial advisor, but I just forewarn that the financial market can be very overwhelming. Having and advocate on your side can help you avoid many traps with the financial market.

barely make any dough at this point, esp with the market how it is today


Its a GOOD thing that the market is doing poorly (at least for us at this time) We'll buy when the market is crappy, and sell whe the market recovers. That translates to huge gains.

i do not agree with this. it is all about the time value of money. you need to get money working for you early. you can invest in individual stocks, mutual funds, or index funds through a roth. 4K a year in a roth for the 4-5 years you are a resident can really turn into some serious cash in 30 years. "barely make any dough at this point, esp with the market how it is today" i could not disagree with this more. my father is a money manager in the investment world. he laughs when he hears statements like this. you INVEST for long term growth. if you want to make some money quick, go to vegas. no one knows how to time the market. why do you think 90% of mutual funds can't beat the S&P? do not withold investing because someone tells you the market is "bad" right now. put your money in, let it grow, don't worry about returns, you invest for the long term.

Look for very low 'load' funds or ETFs if you want 'fire and forget' investments. Don't bounce from equity to equity.

Also may consider disability (either through work or supplemental) and life insurance (term, not whole). But maxing Roth should be 1st priority, because none of us after residency will be able to qualify for it again.

at many residency programs, you can have access to financial advisors who will meet with you for a consultation free of charge, as long as you are a resident.

it wouldn't hurt to hear what a financial advisor has to say, especially if the consultation is free.

Roth IRA all the way. Get it in a mutual fund like Vanguard Index (never buy a mutual fund that is "managed" because that "managing" means someone is "working" and therefore taking some of your investment). Index funds manage themselves and will follow the stock market on a large scale (market goes up, your money goes up).

You're limited right now to $4K per year I think which should be managable on a resident salary (come on guys, I do it as a second year med student by working part time).

Dollar cost averaging as mentioned above is a wonderful way to get started (it basically allows you to set a certain set dollar amt you can afford per contribution and when shares are low your money goes further so you end up with more shares, when shares are high your set amt buys less - so your averaged cost should be overall less than if you just dumped a bunch of money in one day).

If you want a BOOK that you can literally read in a day AND UNDERSTAND, take a look at ***"The Automatic Millionaire."*** Sit down at Barnes with your PDA, this book, and a cup of coffee and jot down your notes on how to finish rich!

-J

So basically they take a percentage of YOUR profits. Investing and financial planning are daunting at first, but once you get going, you can make pretty decent picks yourself. Large discount brokerages like Fidelity will always give you rate that are everybit as good as a financial advisor, only you'll get to keep all the profit. Remember their ENTIRE income comes from a portion of your profits.

No, they take a cut of your portfolio's value. Thus, they always make money, they just make a little more if it goes up, but it isn't very much. Their real incentive is to keep you from walking. I've been doing one of these for almost ten years. If I had sold in 2000, I would have walked away with a 200% increase. I had some great paper gains and was paying higher fees because of it. Today, I'm doing OK, but once you acount for the 2% a year that I'm losing, my acount isn't beating the indexes.

Ed

I'd recommmend a book. Financial advisors are always going to point you to buying investments where they'll make a comission. How else are they going to feed themselves. They'll also convince you to buy life insurance, and other investements when your money coudl be put to better use. There are some great books on personal finance, browse a bookstore for a respected author. I really got a lot out of Suze Orman's (from CNN) book.

Absolutely not true. Check out financial advisers from NAPFA. If you go with a financial adviser, go with a fee-only adviser. They can't make any commissions because you do the buying yourself. Here is the website of fee only advisers:
http://www.napfa.org/

I don't have an answer to the question, but I wanted to respond to this comment. This is not true for all financial advisors. The financial advisors I use (Accredited Investors in MN) are paid based on a percentage of my portfolio's worth every year, not by commissions. Basically the more my investments grow in a year, they more they make, so they have the same motivations that I do. They have never tried to push any life insurance on me or done anything unscrupulous like that. In fact, in our initial meeting we even discussed how my moral values affect my investing philosophy and what types of companies I did not want to invest in (i.e. weapons manufacturers, tobacco, etc.).

I don't know about investment firms that specialize in physicians, but it doesn't seem like you would need a specialized firm--physicians have similar financial issues to other high-income professionals.

Edit: P.S. Sorry for intruding into the grad forum as a pre-med, but since I have some experience with financial advisors I thought it would be ok. :)

just curious, but what % are you paying? I happen to strongly dislike %age based payments. True, they get paid if you increase your portfolio, but they ALSO get paid if you lose. Until they get paid ONLY if you beat a set index, should you pay a %. At least, that's my $.02.