Amerprise Advisor???? NSR

[SummerSux]

I know I'm gonna get Jonged but need some advice ASAP.
Long story short- met with a Ameriprise financial advisor (friend of wife) to help us with finances. Tries to sell us both big cash value life insurance policies, which I declined after some researching. Now wants us to put our life savings into some loaded mutual funds he chose for us.

So, my gut tells me these guys guys are crooked salesmen and I should fire him stat and get my $500 back. I feel this is just a disguised high pressure sales job. Found some negative stuff online, but not enough to really blast this guy for. Any insite would be helpful to this naive Jong.

Gracias

[davey]

Get your money back and get a real financial advisor that isn't trying to sell you his/her shitty products. I think the point is for you to get the best return on your investment, not for him to get the most commission he can.

[Brock Landers]

Get the details on the mutual funds that he has lined up. If they fit your needs for the long term, do it. Thats what he does- if the 500 bucks is just a flat fee and he works on some sort of %of the gains you make, thats good- he is going to make you money in an effort to make himself money. Which isnt bad.
But I wouldnt go for a FA just trying to sell me his bullshit either. See what his suggestions have done in the past and ask a ton of questions. Past performance is not indicative of furute gains, but you may be able to find a FA who invests a bit better than your average one. Still, if you dont like the answers, bail.
Dont just dismiss him though because you think he may be a crooked salesman at first glance- a) they all are and b) if hes trying to make a buck by making you money, its all good.

[nopainnojane]

I would never pay a sales loan on a mutual fund. They are strictly there to pay the sales guy, and eat into your return. There are so many options to invest in mutual funds without those fees through places like Schwab and Vangaurd. If you are motivated to use online tools, you can learn just as much as what the broker is trying to do for you. The other thing that makes me leary is that he tried to sell you the insurance stuff first, that is high return to the salesguy- with a high cost structure on distribution and should not your first investment option, more like a last option after you have tapped out your IRA/401K savings.

[SummerSux]

Got the morningstar evals on the funds last night.
1 fund was better then average, 1 worse, 2 average, and 2 no data on.
I feel like I could do this on my own and not pay for the loaded funds.

His entire 1st proposal to us was based on the Universal CVLI, with our whole life savings going into it. I have heard that this company always tries to sell these to every client no matter the needs. After I shot that down then he came back with these funds and some pricey disability income protection insurance that I'm not wild about either.

I know he needs to make his money too, but the whole pitch seems shady.
Think I'm gonna try and let him down easy, but I think it could get nasty.
But I'd rather do it now then in 2-3 years and my money hasn't made any gains.
If anything it's giving me a crash course on finances.

[Brock Landers]

I wouldnt put my life savings in anything on my own, but you can certainly do some investing on your own, especially in index funds. If it really smells like hes selling you shit, then bail. I would have no idea what to tell the guy, and maybe his products would make you money, but you have to be comfortable with a FA. Thats one of the more important things- to know that youre being taken care of. Itll ease your mind a ton knowing that you can trust the guy. You dont marry the first person you date, and you dont give your life savings to a friend because hes a friend. Develop a relationship and see a bunch of FA to get a feel. Defintley ask around from friends, family etc and see a few of them and go with one that you dont need to get background on TGR for, cause if youre asking us questions about the situation, its probably best to move on to a more comfortable FA.

[El Chupacabra]

I know he needs to make his money too, but the whole pitch seems shady.
Think I'm gonna try and let him down easy, but I think it could get nasty.
But I'd rather do it now then in 2-3 years and my money hasn't made any gains.

What others said. Sounds like high-pressure sales tactics.

That said, Ameriprise as a company is OK. It's American Express -- they changed the name of the financial/insurance division last year (weird, seems that AmEx would be better known and an established name).

[FJ62]

Run, don't walk.. .away from this guy. This is your life savings and you already have a bad feeling about the guy. How are you going to feel if the market has it's normal ups & downs with your money invested... you'll always be doubting him and his motives.

I don't think you should do it yourself (there are some great pros out there and you sound like a money jong) but find someone who has been recommended as being successful by friends/peers/etc. Not a friend of the family. This shouldn't be hard.

I speak from experience. When I was younger and dumber I had a Merrill Lynch guy screw me over and lost what was a lot of my money at the time. In hindsight (and now having met a couple of other, better advisers) I realized that he was giving me the hard sell on some exclusive funds that he was getting extra commissions on. He's probably still enjoying the benefits of my money...

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to be a financial adviser for these places... in fact, it requires very little training. So train yourself enough to have a good BS detector and get some real referrals and ask the awkward questions about what sort of returns friends are getting, how long they've been with someone, etc.

[SummerSux]

I wouldnt put my life savings in anything on my own, but you can certainly do some investing on your own, especially in index funds. If it really smells like hes selling you shit, then bail. I would have no idea what to tell the guy, and maybe his products would make you money, but you have to be comfortable with a FA. Thats one of the more important things- to know that youre being taken care of. Itll ease your mind a ton knowing that you can trust the guy. You dont marry the first person you date, and you dont give your life savings to a friend because hes a friend. Develop a relationship and see a bunch of FA to get a feel. Defintley ask around from friends, family etc and see a few of them and go with one that you dont need to get background on TGR for, cause if youre asking us questions about the situation, its probably best to move on to a more comfortable FA.

Good analogy. I guess if I havent slept in 2 nights, feel awful about this and I have resorted to getting some advice from the mags then this isn't the thing for me.

I think they changed the name 2 years ago after a security breach and a bunch of people's info got taken.

[patrickski]

Historically, mutual funds don't even consistently beat the market over 5-10 year periods. You're probably better off just investing in index funds and skipping the mutual funds. There's no reason to be paying fees to a mutual fund that doesn't even beat the market consistently.

The ratings you referenced on the funds probably don't mean much.

What my finance degree taught me is basically that trying to beat the market is futile, and very few do it consistently. Certainly not some Ameriprise advisor....

What you do need to know how to do is properly diversify and allocate your assets. You should probably be taking advantage of a 401K through your employer if they match your contributions. You should have some money in index funds, with some exposure to international markets as well. REIT's can be good investments and offer a way to expose some of your money to real estate without putting a ton of money in.

What it comes down to:
Your financial advisor could be very helpful to you in terms of keeping you aligned with your goals. The biggest way the advisor will probably help you out is in terms of tax stuff that is complicated and you probably don't want to deal with. If you read a couple of good books and get an understanding of asset allocation, this is something you could do yourself. Check out www.investopedia.com. They have some good articles/tutorials to help give you a basic understanding of some of this stuff. There's probably an article about compensation of financial advisors as well, so you can understand what you're paying for. Choose an FA with a compensation structure that rewards both of you for good returns, so they have something at stake, just like you do.

Hope this rambling helps.

[TyWebb]

Yep - get out fast! Ameriprise has a reputation for terrible sales and service. They've come a long way in the past few years, but are still famous for high pressure (family and freind sales) a la Northwestern Mutual and others.

If you feel that you would benifit from a Financial Advisor - ask around and get a reputable person who works on a flat comission fee only. My advisor gets paid 1% of the total of my investments annually. So, if I had $10,000 invested with him for example, he would get $100 annually. $100,000 = $1000 etc... The idea is that they pay for themselves because their knowledge and expertise will earn you at least 1 percentage point more than you would have earned on your own.

[Benny Profane]

Index funds for now, mixed in with a lot of patience, and read this, too: http://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Co...3042165&sr=1-1 - He is wise.

And you're right to be skeptical of any salesman selling products like that. There is a lot of free advice out there, beginning with your family and friends. Talk to older people who have been through some hard times investing.

[The Reverend Floater]

Just my $.02 and something to think about: UL and/or VUL life products are not at all necessarily bad at all. It totally depends on the product. Yes, you pay a cost of insurance but with any decent product, the tax savings far outweigh the COI and in the long run, you can do very well--better than if you had invested in the same funds outside of a policy. Having said that, you should be maxing out your 401K and Roth IRA first.

[philippeR]

< Insert nigerian scam joke here >

[philippeR]

I'm in a different country, but my 0.2$ anyway :
Friend of the family + paid on commission + bad guts feeling = run away !
Especialy if we're talking about your life savings.

[mnflyfish]

I went down this road when I was younger, still tied up with a couple products I can't unload but managed to get everything else out. Run away, but good for you for thinking about your future, far too few people do. I wish I had some good advice on who to send you to for help, but unless you're in MN I really can't help you out.

Good Luck,
Jay

Get you're $500 back, I wish I had.

[mnflyfish]

Good analogy. I guess if I havent slept in 2 nights, feel awful about this and I have resorted to getting some advice from the mags then this isn't the thing for me.

I think they changed the name 2 years ago after a security breach and a bunch of people's info got taken.

That's not why they changed the name, they did make the shift two years ago though. They were a client at the time and it was my understand that they wanted to separate the investment side from the American Express Credit card side, so they re-branded the investment services.

Jay

[tex1230]

+1 for the Bogle Book that Benny recomended.

[irul&ublo]

I know I'm gonna get Jonged but need some advice ASAP.
Long story short- met with a Ameriprise financial advisor (friend of wife) to help us with finances. Tries to sell us both big cash value life insurance policies, which I declined after some researching. Now wants us to put our life savings into some loaded mutual funds he chose for us.

So, my gut tells me these guys guys are crooked salesmen and I should fire him stat and get my $500 back. I feel this is just a disguised high pressure sales job. Found some negative stuff online, but not enough to really blast this guy for. Any insite would be helpful to this naive Jong.

Gracias

Run, don't walk, away from this guy.

If you want an investment advisor, get a fee based person who either doesn't sell you stuff for the load, or bases compensation on the value of the portfolio...it does well, he/she does also.

[Black Market]

pssssttttt......quality cfa's generally dont run commercials on TV.......

[shmoesmith]

At Ameriprise, it really depends on the advisor that you get. Honestly, I doubt he is crooked, but I would go as far as saying stupid. I have worked there, and I can vouch that even after not working there anymore, they have some of the best products out there...they also have some of the shittiest advisors. I can tell you that putting your entire savings into a CVLI policy is absolute crap though. Give me a call, and I can probably go over his recommendations in greater detail than he could and give you and idea of whether or not he is compeltely off base or not(cause even if he sucks, I'm damn good). I'll PM you my number

edit: if he only charged you $500 he is a newbie.

[mnflyfish]

At Ameriprise, it really depends on the advisor that you get. Honestly, I doubt he is crooked, but I would go as far as saying stupid. I have worked there, and I can vouch that even after not working there anymore, they have some of the best products out there...they also have some of the shittiest advisors. I can tell you that putting your entire savings into a CVLI policy is absolute crap though. Give me a call, and I can probably go over his recommendations in greater detail than he could and give you and idea of whether or not he is compeltely off base or not(cause even if he sucks, I'm damn good). I'll PM you my number

edit: if he only charged you $500 he is a newbie.

Shmoesmith,

I was wondering when you were going to join in. Say, PM me if you get a chance. I have a client looking for a candidate with your background. It would involve you moving to MN but it would be located at the VERY nice end of town and there is a spot on my boat any day you want to go wakeboarding or waterskiing. Our skiing sucks, but there is a ton of pluses here as well.

Jay

edit: It's not with your former employer, but a small wealth mgt firm that won't take me because I don't have enough-they specialize in mgt for major families in the midwest. If that doesn't work out, my advisor-who does the same thing and only handles me because I fish with him, is setting up offices out west-as a way to get to Montana, WY, etc to fish. He might be worth talking to as well, thing is, he won't pay my fee.

[dogwonder]

Amway. That's what I'm doing with my life savings.

[ski_pdx]

This makes me mad. Ameriprise makes the rest of us look bad. You should be stoked about the next steps with a planner...
Sorry for the situation. There are good planners out there.

[bostonjohn]

get away from that guy.... max out ur 401k..... open an td ameritrade account (they have the best fees for trades), do some home work, ask yourself how aggressive you want to be....... tnh is a sik stock with a great yeild, buy on any pullback, buy 1 stock from each sector, DO NOT BUY ALL AT ONCE,,,,,,,, set you position step by step, vodaphone is lined up to lock in the iphone contracts for eroupe i bought jan 08 calls, sub prime meltdown is hurting a lot of banks now so look to buy them on pullbacks also...
im doing alot of day trading but i only started about 8 months ago so im still getting dialed in but if you have any questions feel free to pm me