Just A Thought About Investing

Good post.

 

I have a few questions-but want to make sure you are ready.

 

Would a red minus a loss right?
Would I have to make monthly payments to keep the investment alive? I want to be clear on that.
Is their a cost to pull out?
What site did you go through? I want to do this.

 

@Ockydub, thank you for continually highlighting that our folks can take advantage of investing and the financial market without being ballers. Picking individual stocks is in some folks' swim lane even if they don't have a large portfolio to manage. Others have a sizable portfolio, but don't want to pay a significant management fee. I would like to throw an idea out there for non-ballers and ballers alike, consider a robo-advisor: The Best Robo-Advisors - NerdWallet

I have a Certified Financial Planner. Yet, I will be throwing some free cash in a robo-advisor fund this month to see how the return compares when I'm not paying 1% of my portfolio to my advisor. Over time, a .25% - .45% fee compared to a 1% fee (or higher for a smaller portfolio) can make a significant difference.

There are wealth creation vehicles out there that most folks don't know about. I make all of my charitable contributions through a donor advised fund (We can get into the specifics later.). When I found out about funds like this, I was like WTF?!? I have a formal education, including an advanced degree, why didn't I know about this "ish?" I didn't know because these perks were created for a different sub-set of the population even though they are available to us all.

I am writing this novella merely to say please invest in yourself if you have any spare cash. Fifty ($50) dollars a month is $600 a year. Trust me. It may not sound like a lot, but the money grows if you let it sit in your account without touching it (through the good times and the bad). *climbing off of my soap box, but want to say thanks again to Ocky for pointing out that investing doesn't have to be a burden or scary.

The Best Robo-Advisors

ARIELLE O'SHEAMarch 14, 2016 Advisors, Investing

In the space between DIY investing and personal — but expensive — financial advisors sits the robo-advisor, a crop of companies that manage client portfolios via computer algorithms, cutting costs and passing the savings on to investors. These online advisors have taken off over the last several years: There are currently a couple hundred firms in the race.

The bones of the services are often similar: Most use low-cost exchange-traded funds to build a portfolio, then rebalance that portfolio on a regular basis. Many provide elevated features, like tax-loss harvesting on taxable accounts. A few offer access to dedicated financial advisors. To help you identify which robo-advisor is best for you, we’ve selected the top services for each type of investor.

The best robo-advisors overall
These robo-advisors have inexpensive management fees, a diversified ETF portfolio and reasonable account minimums.

• Offers superior tax efficiency on accounts over $100,000. See our Wealthfront review.
• Management fee: 0.25%, waived on first $10,000 in account
• Account minimum: $500
• Promotion: NerdWallet readers get the first $15,000 managed for free

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• Goal-based tools motivate investors to save more. See our Betterment review.
• Management fee: 0.15% to 0.35%
• Account minimum: $0
• Promotion: Up to six months of free management

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Two robo-advisors stand out from the crowd: Betterment and Wealthfront. Both have low account minimums, easy-to-use interfaces and innovative features. The services differ in their fee structure: Betterment uses a three-tier pricing system, under which balances below $10,000 pay 0.35% (or $3 a month without auto-deposit). The fee drops to 0.25% for balances between $10,000 and $100,000, and to 0.15% for balances of more than $100,000. Wealthfront manages the first $10,000 completely free, then charges a flat fee of 0.25% on the rest. That free management makes the service cheaper on balances under $100,000; investors who cross that threshold will pay less at Betterment. But Wealthfront also offers direct indexing, a tax strategy that can close that fee gap on taxable accounts (more on this below).

Best robo-advisors for free management
These online advisors charge no management fee.

• Offers management free of charge, though additional services like tax-loss harvesting are paid add-ons. See our WiseBanyan review.
• Management fee: $0
• Account minimum: $10 to open, but no balance requirement

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• Free management from a trusted leader in financial services. See our Charles Schwab Intelligent Portfolios review.
• Management fee: $0
• Account minimum: $5,000

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Let’s make one thing clear: Very little in financial services is completely free. Both WiseBanyan and Charles Schwab Intelligent Portfolios offer portfolio management free of charge, but the investments used — primarily ETFs — still carry expense ratios. But that’s true of all investments. Overall, you’re likely to pay less at these robo-advisors, but you should carefully consider features. WiseBanyan makes its money from paid add-ons: Tax-loss harvesting, which is beneficial for taxable accounts, is part of the package deal at many other advisors (including top choices Wealthfront and Betterment) but costs 0.25% here. Schwab uses many of its own funds in client portfolios, meaning those aforementioned expense ratios add to its bottom line — but it gives investors access to an impressive selection of 20 asset classes. Schwab also offers free rebalancing, and tax-loss harvesting is included on taxable accounts with balances of $50,000 or more.

Best robo-advisors for 401(k) management
These advisors will manage your employer-sponsored retirement plan.

• Manages Fidelity 401(k)s that are enabled with BrokerageLink completely free. See our FutureAdvisor review.
• Management fee: 0.50%; several services are free
• Account minimum: $10,000 for premium service
• Promotion: Three months of free management

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• Manages employer-sponsored plans for a flat monthly fee. See our Blooom review.
• Management fee: $1 or $15 a month
• Account minimum: $0

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Most robo-advisors manage IRAs and taxable accounts but leave you in the dark about your 401(k). These two advisors attempt to fill that hole. Blooom specifically focuses on management of employer-sponsored plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s, charging a flat monthly fee of $1 for balances under $20,000 and $15 for balances of $20,000 or more. The company works within the investments offered by your plan, and offers free analysis so you can test the service before signing up. Accounts are rebalanced every 90 days. FutureAdvisor manages an array of account types held at Fidelity or TD Ameritrade for a 0.50% management fee, but Fidelity 401(k) and college savings plan management is completely free.

Best for access to a financial advisor
These robo-advisors combine the lower costs of online investment management with a dedicated financial advisor.

• Portfolios are built on a client-by-client basis. See our Vanguard Personal Advisor Services review.
• Management fee: 0.30%
• Account minimum: $50,000

Get started

• Offers a number of tools completely free. See our Personal Capital review.
• Management fee: 0.49% to 0.89%
• Account minimum: $25,000

If you’re not comfortable with a computer taking the reins, but you’re intrigued by the lower management fees involved, you might be interested in a hybrid service that pairs computer automation with human financial advisors. The best of these hybrid services come from Vanguard Personal Advisor Services and Personal Capital. Both have high minimum investments — $50,000 and $25,000, respectively — but offer personal service with customized portfolios and dedicated advisors. Vanguard’s management fee is more in line with the rest of the robo-advisor competition at 0.30% (it is subsidized, at least in part, by the use of Vanguard’s own funds in portfolios). Personal Capital’s fee is tiered by balance but skews high: Accounts with balances under $1 million pay 0.89%.

Best for minimizing taxes
Investors with taxable accounts will want a robo-advisor that offers first-rate tax efficiency.

• Direct indexing service is available on accounts of $100,000 or more. See our Wealthfront review.
• Management fee: 0.25%, waived on first $10,000 in account
• Account minimum: $500
• Promotion: NerdWallet readers get the first $15,000 managed for free

Get started

• Offers individual securities for accounts of $100,000 or more. See our Personal Capital review.
• Management fee: 0.49% to 0.89%
• Account minimum: $25,000

Both Wealthfront and Personal Capital offer superior tax strategy for customers with taxable account balances that top $100,000. Wealthfront’s direct indexing service purchases individual securities rather than index funds or ETFs, zeroing in on tax-loss harvesting opportunities. The company says the service can add as much as 2.03% to annual investment performance (effectively canceling out the fee difference between Wealthfront and Betterment on taxable accounts of that size). Personal Capital also has the ability to use individual securities rather than funds on accounts with balances of $100,000 or more; it says its tax optimization services can increase returns up to 1% annually.

 

Vanguard is excellent!

I would also recommend funds that "rebalance" and employ "tax-harvesting" (Most Vanguard funds do.). Both mechanisms effectively and efficiently offset losses with gains, which takes a lot of volatility out of a portfolio.

 

Thanks guys. I am going to look into a hybrid. I think that I would be intimated by the robo.

 

This is cool. I'm an index fund + extras kind of dude. As they say, the market only goes one way- up. Get in now (or low...you know, just get IN) and leave it there for 15-20 years. And then relax.

And for the record, my "extras" are things I hold near and dear- pharmaceuticals, medical devices, rehab facilities, insurance companies (hey, if you're gonna pay them, they might as well pay you too!). Health care baby. I can't wait to actually get enough money to plow it into these areas-then it'll actually make a difference.

 

It's all good if you find an option that works for you. Ocky put some information out there and the squad will, hopefully, offer some decent alternatives so everyone can find an option that works for them. The key is to get everyone thinking about the possibilities. Knowing that you're thinking about a hybrid puts a smile on my face (I'm not just being dramatic… We've got a lot of opportunity in this area. We simply need to believe that a little effort can make a huge difference in the LONG run.).

 

Index funds are a smart bet! Don't go for the ones tied to your retirement age, however. They are a crock of sh*t. Index funds tied to the major indices or certain markets are where it's at. Clearly, I don't need to tell you because your post says it all. You are clearly on top of your game!!! Serious props to you from the peanut gallery...

 

I am nervous but I want to do this. I am starting to cross over the threshold and it is time to get serious about my financial future.

 

excellent Ocky! also, in case some of y'all didn't know there is a commission free trading app called Robinhood. it is excellent!

 

The stock market has been doing unusually awesome in the past few years. if you dont know what to buy look up ETFs. also if you have more than $5,000 to "play" with look up trading on margin. Personally I like TD Ameritrade because their mobile software is better than anything else ive seen.

 

ETF = Exchange Traded Funds. These are another great option. Brothas on this site know their stuff! From what I've seen, some of you will be retired before me and I'm only looking at another 7 years and 10 months at most.

 

Thanks @Ockydub!! This is just another opportunity crossing my path. I think I'll start this summer, when I'll have more money!

 

This is highly informative.I've always been curious about this but didn't known an average person who had any experience with this.

 

great post!!!

 

My beau is an investment advisor so I've been learning a lot more about how investments work. I've tried to do penny stocks, but that was an epic fail for me (I'm toxic to the market apparently) but he did suggest me saving up a bunch of money and looking into IRA's and the like. Also municipal bonds are supposed to be pretty good. The only issue with those is you don't have immediate access to your funds. It's cool though. I've always been more about the long game.

 

Yeah I definitely need to get on that too. Healthcare is where its at

 

I'm bookmarking this page. Thank you for the information. This is something I was never taught in school, even after taking a required class called financial algebra. I want to be able to make money without doing anything lol.

 

Thanks @Ockydub . How much did you need to start? I've been trying to figure out how to invest my money and I've been looking at either the stock market or flipping houses.

 

This is a great subject. I've always been more on the Booker T-Marcus Garvey-entrepreurial side of the house, rather than the MLK-protest-and-beg the welfare state side. I largely got out of the stock market after the 2008 implosion, but prior to that, I always encouraged folk, even ones in the projects, to look at putting their pennies/dollars/whatever in dividend reinvestment accounts (DRIP). It was (is) a great way to get involved in stocks without having thousands of dollars. You buy stocks based on the dollar amount you can invest, rather than having to buy whole shares. So, if Google is selling for $300 a share and you only $100, you would get a third of a share of Google through a DRIP account.

Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) Definition | Investopedia

While you're not going to become Bezos/Trump/Gates/Zuckerberg off a weekly/bi-weekly contribution from your paycheck into a DRIP account, it beats the tens of millions of dollars that black (and white and Latino) folks waste on lottery tickets. It's also a great way to at least get folk to put their little toes into the shallow end of the investment pool. I remember Earl Graves did a column in a 1998 Black Enterprise issue where he examined just one ward (not even the entire black population) in Chicago and in one month about $10 million went to lottery ticket purchase. But, you know, we ain't got money (*eyeroll*).

Now, if you have just put a few hundreds of dollars from lottery ticket wastage into Apple stock at that time (when Steven Jobs had just returned and no one thought Apple would be around for long) even in a simple DRIP account, and just left that stock alone until now from 1999 until now, image the return on even a small investment.

 

yeah, i was thinking about house-flipping before too. My concern with it was the improvements I'd need to make in order to make the property more valuable (unless you're in a really, really great location and that doesn't matter), the real-estate/lawyer/etc fees and the inevitable taxes. Now, for me, all these potential complexities would melt away if I was a bank auction/REO shark...but I'm not. Now, making money off of rental properties? Hell yeah! But that comes after i get enough capital- so 10-20 yrs in the future, if ever.

You prob have an inside track on real-estate and regulatory knowledge-stuff that I just don't. Would you work with a business partner if you're doing real-estate? I've heard a lot people joining up to raise capital to break into nicer areas where the ROI would be greater.

 

I'm in the very early stages so not sure. I'm not inclined to work with anyone. For now I'm just gonna stack coins until i'm ready to make my move. My financial advisor but the bug in my ear