Conference nyoss1::market_investing

    I second this recommendation. I include this here although she is mostly
    a tax accountant because  a) tax planning is part of financial planning,
    and b) I do not want to create a second topic on such a similar subject.

    ========================================================================
    Note 888.2       Can anyone recommend a good accountant?          2 of 3
    OFFHK::SCANLAND         -< A recommendation >-         12-JAN-1989 10:41
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

    I would like to recommend the accountant I ended up choosing for counsel-
    ing, tax planning, and preparation. 

	Kathleen Winston, C.P.A
	Sudbury, MA
	(508) 443-2589

    This recommendation is entirely objective as I stand to gain nothing for
    it; however please feel free to tell her that I recommended her services.
    I found Kathy to be  extremely knowledgeable  and competent in  personal
    and family tax matters, and her rates are reasonble.

    Regards,
    Chuck Scanland
    dtn 291-0128

    What do people think of using IDS for financial planning?

    I would assume that IDS would recommend (at least in the mutual fund
    area) that you buy IDS mutual finds.
    
    A quick glance at the Kiplinger's Mutual Fund rankings (Sept. 1991)
    reveals:
    
    . Like any other house that has a large number of funds, some IDS funds
    did pretty well, others not so hot
    
    . They charge a 5% load pretty much across the board
    
    Hope this helps,
    
    Dick

    I use a IDS Finasil Planner he was very good I told him what I wanted
    and he put me in the IDS group New Deminsions fund It is doing very
    well. It is a grouth fund and is rated A.
    
    In the last issue of Money magazine it is listed as on of the best 1170
    top mutual funds (IRA) investments.
    
    One year average - 50.7, Three year - 27.9, Five year - 21.1
    
    The value of $10,000 invested 5 years ago (net of sales load) would be
    $24,777. From Money magazine.
    
    Frank

    
    There were several large topics on IDS in the old Investing notesfile.
    Perhaps they should be transferred here?
    
         I believe the general consensus was that if you did a little bit
    of homework here and at the library you could do for yourself what 
    they would do at no cost.
    
    
    Tim

    	I was called the other evening about my "free" IDS 
    	planning consultation as a result of a planning guide
    	I ordered for free from a piece of junk mail I received
    	probably from a mutual fund mailing list. In any case,
    	I agreed to meet with the guy and hear him out on my 
    	situation. I assume he would try to sell me some funds
    	that would be "perfect" for me that just happen to be 
    	loaded IDS funds. But, I'm not one to leap before I look
    	so I figured it's worth the effort.
    
    	Anyway, has anyone been thru these free planning things
    	that can let me know what I'm in for? Also, is everyone
    	that has IDS and IDS funds still happy with performance?

    	Bob
    	

Hi Bob,

I'd go to the library and look at the Lipper insert of the Feb. 20, 1992
Barrons magazine.  There you'll find the returns for all the IDS funds,
some good, some not so good, but you'll also find over a thousand more
funds, load and no load, to compare the IDS funds with.

Also, in my experience with IDS they wanted to sell me annuities and life
insurance as part of the package.   I ended up not using IDS.

Mardy

    I guess it all depends on the sales person or should I say financial
    planner. I did use one and he was one of the nicest guys I ever met no
    pressure at all.
    
    He didn't push anything my way, I do agree you can do just as good on
    your own with some research and reading with no loads, but overall I'm
    happy with the return on my IDS New Dimension so far.
    
    Frank

IDS is not "free".  You will find out shortly.

    Going with IDS is better than doing nothing (i.e. not having a
    financial plan).  IDS will work with you to create a financial plan 
    for you.  From that plan they then will try to sell you the IDS products 
    to meet the goals of that plan.  These products are loaded mutual funds 
    and you run the risk of being led toward products that give the FP a high
    commission.
    
    I'd think you'd probably do better to go to an Independent FP, do a
    little research and invest on your own.
    
    FWIW,
    John
        

    
    
    
    	I currently own shares in these funds:
     		Janus  - Lump sum
    		Janus 20  - Lump sum
    		20th Century Growth - DCA
    		20th Century Ultra  - DCA
    		20th Century Vista  - DCA
                                               
    	I also have my daughter (1yr old) funded in Ultra and Vista.
    	I'm now looking into the Berger 100 fund because of its stake
    	in the Mexican market. All these funds are NL and only Berger's
    	fees seem high (2.3% or more). I would love to have gotten into
    	the Biotech stock sectors but $2500 min investment is a tough
    	mental hurdle. Still, over the long term, biotech is headed up.
    
    	I am not familiar with IDS funds but I am concerned with the 
    	5% load. Since I am in this for the long haul (15-20 yrs) I
    	could accept the load if I thought the funds were upwardly
    	moble. Guess I can always listen then decide. Thanks for the 
    	advice and backround. And I'll do some homework on the IDS 
    	funds before the "planner" arrives.
    
    	Bob

They wanted to sit down with me and gather information about my
financial situation.  Then they would go away and do a 
personal financial plan to the tune of $300 bucks.

When I told them that I was all set, that I had term
life insurance and ira's with mutual funds they wanted to
know the name of the funds and insurance company and started
to bad mouth them.  That's when the conversation ended.

I too sent away for their 25 page financial planning booklet
only to get a 2 page listing of the whole ("hole") life products that
they had recommended for people.  There was a good article
in the paper recently, I think by Jane Bryant Quinn that 
said financial planners(90's) = insurance salesman(80's).

    I went through the IDS process a number of years ago.  We parted ways
    when they asked me to commit to them handling all our investing.  They
    have their own products which they would like to sell you.  On the
    other hand, there are people who have gone ahead with this and seem
    pleased with the results (one in this office, for example).

	Does anyone have any comments good or bad about 
Tucker-Anthony as a place to invest my pension money?

	I had a talk with them the other day to see if they 
could do something for me in a roll-over 401k if I take the lump sum
at my retirement against taking the monthly pension amount from DEC
when I SERP in May.

	 The person I talked to told me that with the
amount I would get from the lump sum that they could easily get me a 
monthly income higher than I would get from the pension. He is going
to put a proposal together for me to look over.

	Dave

> The person I talked to told me that with the
> amount I would get from the lump sum that they could easily get me a 
> monthly income higher than I would get from the pension. He is going
> to put a proposal together for me to look over.

Some red flags!!!

Pension payments are based on:

1. your life expectancy which in turn is determined by family history.
2. the expected rate of return of the investment.

Any one can fudge the assumptions so the payments look better.  I
would ask the following of the person:

1. What life expectancy were used in the calcuations? (Is that 
   reasonable give your own personal  family history?)  A conservative
   retirement plan assumes you live to you're 90+.

2. What rate of return was used for the invesments? Anything more
   than 9% has some degree of risk.  The DEC pension plan assumes
   8.05%. Treasury bonds are currently yielding 7.9% or so.


Gim

Consider that Tucker Anthony manangement is part of Tucker Anthony brokers.

My personal preference is to NOT have my money manager be financially involved
with my brokerage.

This is possible.  I used to use someone who I was VERY happy with but after
watching and learning for several years, wanted to stike out on my own.
(He did not tent to be as agressive as I feel I can be at this point
in my life).

If there is any interest, I can continue this via Mail.

Bill

    
    There's a whole note with 20-40 or so notes on IDS in the old Investing
    notesfile.  
    
    About a year ago when IDS was trying to get me to have a "meeting"
    with them I started mentioning 20th Century and Janus no-load funds
    similar to your allocation, dollar-cost AV, DEC term ins, Investing
    notesfiles, 401ks etc.. he immediately said: "Well, it seems you've
    been doing a lot of reading.  Why don't I call you back next week and
    we'll set up an appointment".  And then I've never heard from them
    again!!
    
    FWIW I'd stay with the setup you've got.
    
    
    Tim

================================================================================
Note X.0                      Financial Planners                     
DPE::MCDONOUGH                                       10 lines   7-APR-1992 15:35
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How much money and how much time should I expect to spend on a financial
planner in order to receive a good plan?

My situation is quite average having a few common stocks, a couple of mutual
funds, couple of IRA's, saving accounts, insurance, house w/mortgage, wife,
two almost grown children. I no private business issues to complicate things.

Also, how do I go about evaluating a financial planner?

Jim

    	Hiatt Enterprises
    	Frank Strange
    	Millis, MA
    	1-800-542-2057

    Financial management consulting, tax qualified pension "rollover" 
    accounts, business management, business start-ups, etc.
    Free initial consultation, reasonable rates.





    

    
    Has anyone had experience with James Sullivan in Acton? Would
    appreciate any info you can provide.
    
    Gary

    
    Any very good recommendations for financial planners in the Hopkinton,
    Ma. area?
    
    /Dave Morgan
    

    
    I met with a Merrill Lynch rep last night. He came out to my house
    which for me was convienient. Seemed to me to be pretty well informed.  
    
    Steve Gesualdi
    800 937 0849
    
    
    Steve

    Dave,
    You could try The Financial Service Center of New England.  They're in
    Franklin, and they are not affiliated with anyone mutual fund company
    so they don't push products. 508-528-1305.
    
    michael

    
    	re: .22
    
    	Steve Gesualdi...a blast from the past.  Steve used to work
    	for the high pressure sales firm of Hibbard Brown.  He sucked
    	me in for a big time loser while he was there...Maybe working
    	for a more reputable firm has changed his ways.
    
    	Robert

Speaking of Merrill Lynch, I've had an account with them for many years.
It's been pretty inactive lately.  Apparently my broker retired recently,
so I got a call from the broker who took over my account.  He wants to
sell me a financial plan called something like "Financial Foundation
Service" for $175.  According to him, it's a very good price.  They find
that by offering it, they retain clients and get some more business.

I've never done a financial plan, so I'm considering this.  Opinions?

    
    Business Week (December 14, 1992) had an excellent write-up in its
    Personal Business section about the perils of picking financial
    planners.
    
    The "fancy" initials behind a planner's name often mean almost nothing.
    In fact, while the letters may spell out something like "registered
    financial planner", the real meaning is just that the person is
    licensed to sell products.  Unfortunately, it's easy to put something
    like "RFP" or "CHFC" behind a name and convince others that those
    initials mean some kind of certification, training, or education.  
    
    In fact, the financial planning industry is almost without regulation.
    So don't expect a person calling him or herself a financial planner to
    be anything other than a SALESPERSON.
    
    To get the best trained advice, you'd need to pay the hundreds of
    dollars per hour that a true CPA charges.  If that's not in your
    budget, try interviewing a group of planners to cull some information,
    reading as much as you can about taking control of your finances, and
    taking courses at a good university's adult ed program.  

    Any recommendations for a CPA in the Bolton/Stow area?
    Thanks.

    
    There is a Certified Financial Analyst examination (several levels),
    which is the industry's stamp of approval that the analyst knows the
    essentials of the trade (as well as many not-so-essential things). 
    Certified Public Accountants and Certified Financial Analysts know
    about different things... I believe that what you're looking for is
    someone who knows about securities markets, security valuation methods,
    portfolio optimization, risk reduction strategies, etc.
    
    A CPA would be essential for running a business and for suggesting how
    you might minimize your tax burden, etc., but a CFA should be able to
    give you better investment advice (tax impact nonwithstanding).
    
    If you look at the reviews from investment banking firms, the people
    who author the reviews are (almost?) always CFA's.
    
       /jim
    

    Perhaps the expectations we have aren't reasonable. Up to now we have
    been working with a CPA person who just does our taxes. They make no
    recommendations on how to reduce our taxes...they just add up the
    numbers and put their stamp on the Return. We have recently gotten
    into Stock and Mutual funds, and retirement planning. The hope is to
    locate someone who could do our taxes and also provide us financial
    advice/direction...hopefully there would be some relationship between
    the two. 
    
     - Leisha 
    
    
    

    
    Our accountant does advise us on how to reduce our tax burden... 
    that's what we're paying him for, as far as I'm concerned; that's how
    he can justify his fee.

    Anyone dealt with Lance Financial Associates of Woburn Mass?  I got
    a blind call from them a week ago.  The BBB has nothing on them.  Is
    there any other agency (SEC?) or whatever to check for problems before
    inviting them into your house?  Responses can be mailed to
    EMDS::Dalrymple.    Thanks,
                                                               David

    Does anyone have a recommendation for a financial planner in the 
    Arlington/Lexington area.  We are looking for someone who can not
    only be a financial planner, but can also make recommendations
    on insurance policies and do our taxes as well.  
    
    Please send responses to AKOCOA::DDAVIS.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Donna
    

    Has anyone had any experiences (good, bad, indifferent) with
    "Allmerica" out of Waltham?    We've had them help us do a financial
    analysis (free, of course) and now they're going to be giving us the
    'pitch' for their funds in a couple of weeks.
    
    The consultations are free and I feel comfortable with the investing
    strategy that they helped us arrive at (both in terms of
    diversification and 'reality' of the numbers).   However, I'd still
    feel better if I did a little 'due diligence' on them before we decide
    to commit any $$ with them.  
    
    Any input appreciated.

 /doug

    
    Can anyone recommend a financial planner in the Boynton Beach, Florida
    area (or Ft. Lauderdale area)?  I'm asking on behalf of a relative who
    lives there.

    I am looking for information about the Chronicles Group.  If anyone has
    had dealings with them (good or bad), would you please send me mail at
    SMURF::BENTLEY.
    
    Thank you.

    What is the normal and customer charges for a fee only CFP.
    
    I received a cost estimate for:
    
    $150 per hour. For a plan to include new home decision, tax deductions, 
    insurance reviews, and wills/trusts the estimate is $750-$1200
    
    Annual adviser fees for assets under management custody = 1% of assets.
    
    

    
         I would like any suggestions for an independant planner in the 
       southern N.H. area. My father has retired and I would like to take
       him to see a planner to ensure he is getting the most income for
       the amount of risk he's comfortable with.
         Also I would like any recommendations for a medicad attorney in
       the same area for the same reason's
    
                                                 Thanks,
    
                                                       Randy

      Does anyone have any experience with Jim Murphy in W. Boyalston?
      He's affiliated w/Cornerstone Financial Planning.

      Thanks.
      Doreen

Anyone know anything about the Boston Universtiy CFP program?
I understand  that to sit for the CFP exam in MA, you have to
have completed courses, *and* have a certain number of hours 
of related work experience.  Anyone know any more about that?  
Or how someone making a career change might manage to get the 
"work experience" necessary to sit for the exam?

Thanks.

Diana

Does anyone have experience working with financial planner Tim Grimes of
Worcester?  I'd appreciate hearing any comments.  You can send me mail at
mpgs::aggarwal.

Thanks,

Geeta Aggarwal

Hi -

Has anyone worked with Informed Resources, Inc of Salem, NH?  If you have
any feedback, I'd love to hear it (mail to CPEEDY::MOTYL if you would rather).

Thanks -
Sandy

	Saw this in Jane Bryant Quinn's Staying Ahead newspaper column.
	For the names of true fee-only planners in your area call NAPFA
	at 1-888-FEE-ONLY (and 888 is one of the new toll-free area
	codes just like 800).

    Does anyone have any experience with Bay Planning Associates in Nashua? 
    We are meeting with Martin Fabian tonight, and I'd like some opinions. 
    I do NOT believe they are fee-only, and thus am hesitant to use them. 
    My SO is very gung ho to use them, because his best friend uses them,
    and he likes Martin.
    
    
    Susan