Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community
Old 02-06-2017, 01:56 PM   #1
Slava
Franchise Player
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Exp:
Default Clients should be asking about fees

This is a letter written to give to your advisors by Tom Bradley of Steadyhand Investments. I think he notes quite correctly, that now is the time to ask and get some answers.

I know from experience that a lot of people don't know what they pay for advice, or have no idea that there is a cost, that there is a fee for selling investments or things like that. You should know, and this letter (which he encourages you to use and "cut and paste from it, liberally")can help you do that.

https://www.steadyhand.com/globe_art...ent_manifesto/
Slava is offline  
Old 02-08-2017, 11:08 AM   #2
Ace
First Line Centre
 
Ace's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Exp:
Default

Honestly that letter seems to come across with a heavy tone of suspicion/accusation , and seems pretty silly to me.

Is it really so hard to say:

Hi Joe,

Could you please send me a summary of how i'm being charged fees.

Thanks
__________________
Ace is offline  
Old 02-08-2017, 11:36 AM   #3
Slava
Franchise Player
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Exp:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ace View Post
Honestly that letter seems to come across with a heavy tone of suspicion/accusation , and seems pretty silly to me.

Is it really so hard to say:

Hi Joe,

Could you please send me a summary of how i'm being charged fees.

Thanks
Oh I don't disagree, and its not unlike the Questrade commercials which paint advisors in a poor light (IMO). But it's good for people to know what they're paying, and hopefully this encourages a few people to ask the question(s).
Slava is offline  
Old 04-05-2017, 11:11 AM   #4
Imranm
Draft Pick
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Default

This letter in nonsense.

As part of the industry's push to CRM2 (client relationship model), fees, performance, etc are all mandated to be on statements.

PLUS - if you really do feel like you need to send that kind of letter to your advisor - you should probably be looking for another one.
Imranm is offline  
Old 04-05-2017, 11:32 AM   #5
Slava
Franchise Player
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Exp:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Imranm View Post
This letter in nonsense.

As part of the industry's push to CRM2 (client relationship model), fees, performance, etc are all mandated to be on statements.

PLUS - if you really do feel like you need to send that kind of letter to your advisor - you should probably be looking for another one.
Of course the new requirements are for all of this information to be on the statements, but there are still some portions which aren't disclosed. For many mutual funds the value paid to the dealer is there, but the remainder of the MER (which is almost surely the more significant figure) is not.

I kind of agree that you should be able to call your advisor and chat about these things, and really they should be disclosing everything anyway. That said, there are many clients who have no idea about what they're paying for advice. So while it's one thing to say "these are all disclosed now" people should feel comfortable asking the questions and having the costs explained to them in full.
Slava is offline  
Old 05-04-2017, 12:32 PM   #6
MoneyGuy
Franchise Player
 
MoneyGuy's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Exp:
Default

I have nothing to add but am just posting so that Slava replies and I get to see his awesome avatar again. He's obviously reduced his posting to the bare minimum.
MoneyGuy is offline  
Old 05-04-2017, 01:42 PM   #7
Slava
Franchise Player
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Exp:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by MoneyGuy View Post
I have nothing to add but am just posting so that Slava replies and I get to see his awesome avatar again. He's obviously reduced his posting to the bare minimum.
I really haven't reduced my posting, but I am seriously busy working!
Slava is offline  
The Following User Says Thank You to Slava For This Useful Post:
Old 05-21-2017, 09:28 PM   #8
Johnny199r
First Line Centre
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Uzbekistan
Exp:
Default

I have an assante advisor I've used for 7ish years. I have substantial assets with him. He provides me with absolutely nothing of value to justify his fee. I have a lot of investment knowledge from my own research now.

I recently opened a questrade account and purchased some etfs. So easy and so much cheaper than the .80% my assante guy charges me to own an etf and a mawer fund through assante.

I'll pull my assante money within the next year and transfer it to my questrade and save thousands.

Last edited by Johnny199r; 05-21-2017 at 09:32 PM.
Johnny199r is offline  
Old 05-22-2017, 05:55 PM   #9
Slava
Franchise Player
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Exp:
Default

I can see that line of thinking for sure and the Questrade ads have made that clear. I would suggest that it's kind of an oversimplification though. What I mean is that of course you save money because you aren't getting any service over that period. While I can't say what your current/former advisor does, there should be a lot more than just holding the funds.
Slava is offline  
Old 05-22-2017, 08:54 PM   #10
Johnny199r
First Line Centre
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Uzbekistan
Exp:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Slava View Post
I can see that line of thinking for sure and the Questrade ads have made that clear. I would suggest that it's kind of an oversimplification though. What I mean is that of course you save money because you aren't getting any service over that period. While I can't say what your current/former advisor does, there should be a lot more than just holding the funds.
What other services are there? I don't need tax planning, I have disability and life insurance through work, I don't think there's anything he can actually offer me to justify his take.

Obviously this argument wouldn't be applicable to someone who has no investing knowledge and uses an investor. There's value in that situation.
Johnny199r is offline  
Old 05-22-2017, 10:09 PM   #11
Slava
Franchise Player
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Exp:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny199r View Post
What other services are there? I don't need tax planning, I have disability and life insurance through work, I don't think there's anything he can actually offer me to justify his take.

Obviously this argument wouldn't be applicable to someone who has no investing knowledge and uses an investor. There's value in that situation.
Yeah I am not here to convince you to stick with some other advisor who I don't know and can't tell you anything about. I have no idea.

The insurance aspect is one to be careful with though. I have seen cases where people are relying on coverage through work and it's not quite what they think it is. Sometimes the coverage is shockingly low (for life insurance) and there are a lot of clauses on the disability side that you want to be aware of. Unfortunately though, people don't look and see until there's a claim...and I probably don't need to mention that's too late.

And on the investment side the role of an advisor isn't always to nail the market outlook and make the perfect investment. It's about building a prudent portfolio so that the risk adjusted returns (which are appropriate for you as investor), perform at a level to meet your goals and required return.

Anyway, like I said I am certainly not going to convince you to stick with a guy who might be terrible or amazing.
Slava is offline  
 

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:39 PM.

Calgary Flames
2023-24




Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright Calgarypuck 2021