American Express Financial advisors?

[dorkwood]

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Has anyone tried an Advisor from American Express? My understanding is that they do have people that specialize working with medical residents and doctors....of course they want $500 a year (tax deductible). But whats the point of hiring a financial advisor if they are just going to recommend that I buy AMEX products?

 

[neilc]

i actually was an Amex financial advisor a few years back...using amex is a bit better than using a broke, as they work a bit harder getting an overall plan for you. so, the $500 bucks pays basically for them to do asset allocation, look at what you make, whayt you owe, what you need to save for, etc. and develop a nice overall plan for your entire financial health. lots of brokers just say "how much do you have to invest", and ignore the rest.

also, they do sell lots of non-amex products...so, i would say it is a great idea, especially as you are likely in a financially diverse stage of your life. incomes and needs will be changing a lot over the next few years, and the advisor can really help you develop a good plan to get you a few years ahead of where you may be on your own.

some advice: go with the mid level advisor, that has been there a couple years. he is still hungry enough to really work for you, and has been there long enough to know the business. the field has a high turnover, so be careful with the really new folks. also, ask about commision free products. there is almost always a good, commision free product that will fit your needs. he is working for a fee (a small fee for 1 year of work though) so don't let him try to fleece you with a ton of commision products. there are some that you will likely need, but not all of them. also, listen to the insurance pitches. sometimes, insurance products are great deals. these guys want you to be rich and safe over the years so listen to them.

good luck!

 

[medschool]

I met with an American Express advisor and I found them to heavily premote their own products like annuities, life insurance, etc. Luckily I found a site that told me how to get my money back for the financial plan. This site was Amexsux.com. You can also read more about American Express at this site.

Hope this helps.

 

[GeneralTso]

Originally posted by dorkwood
But whats the point of hiring a financial advisor if they are just going to recommend that I buy AMEX products? [/B]

Yup. I wouldnt throw any of these brokers a bone for investment advice unless they showed me their tax returns for the last couple years and they were doing better than if I managed my money alone on a consistent basis (>10 years).

Dont get caught up with the names like Merril, Morgan Stanley or any of the others. Their average joe brokers are little more than salesmen that want to churn your money or collect a % of your assets.

The level of advice and service get a little different once you're eligible for the private client services division and you become an accredited investor but not by that much.

 

[medschool]

That's the problem with the whole industry. You never know if this person is recommending this product because it make sense for you or it makes sense for the advisor or the company they represent. If someone makes more comm. off of a product over another, it's for a reason. The company stands to make more money and the client ends up paying for this.