People like my mother are what made me realize financial advisors can have real value for some specific individuals. Mainly because they need some kind of wall or protection from themselves. For those of us who keep up with the literature and read about this stuff all the time, yes, we can just buy and hold passive broadly diversified low cost index funds and understand why we do so. But for people like her, they need some kind of person who will dissuade them from just panic selling or altering their strategy constantly on a whim or otherwise gambling their money. Some people just aren't cut out to manage their own portfolio even if it's kept simple and they will never read up on what they're doing as it doesn't interest them. Now, for me (and those of us here probably) a financial advisor -- at least outside of a one off consultation in case of a windfall/tax situation type thing -- doesn't hold a lot of value.
@@BenFelixCSI Your videos are awesome! UA-cam finance is an area with a lot of mess but I really appreciate the work you do to help us all out and for free. Much appreciated! Have a good rest of your day Ben, thanks for the vid.
I'd also add that "people like us" represent a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of the population. On top of that, the number of people who rationally understand that markets are volatile and you should buy & hold for the long term is itself far greater than the number of people who can emotionally process that and stick to their plan in the middle of a 30% market dip... and there's no way to know you're in the latter group until it actually happens.
My secret hobby is browsing all the way down to the bottom of the Ben Felix videos page, and then scroll up the thumbnails and see how Ben's outfit and videos both improve over time. Top notch.
My mom is 85 and has a pretty nice portfolio. She has been with the same guy at BMO Nesbitt Burns for decades. I recently met with him and reviewed not just the investments, but also the cash position, tax/drawdown strategy and estate plan. This guy is a rock star. My mom never would have pulled this off. He's been worth every penny.
@@dman7106 I think you might be missing the point. The question is if the mom could have achieved better return than what she got less advisor's fee. And the answer is likely no based on the poster's comment. So, it does not matter what she paid if the alternative was less wealth
Here in Austria it's basically impossible to hire a trustworthy financial advisor as a retail investor, the sector is entirely dominated by shady bank and insurance salesmen. So I had to learn everything myself and I'm glad I did. But in a country with no noteworthy investment culture, most people get stuck with a shitty retirement insurance and/or flock to real estate
In the US, I know more unmarried childless people who have been sold "life insurance" as a retirement plan than I know people who talk about having any kind of stock or bond investments.
I think the issue most knowledgeable investors have with financial advisors is that while their input might be necessary/appreciated, their incentives and fee structures are in conflict with the best outcomes of their clients. I can get competent tax and legal help as needed for what I deem to be a reasonable fee structure. Why not the FA industry? Because it’s far more lucrative to charge on a percentage of assets a fee that most don’t understand the impact of. I do appreciate your honesty Ben, and I believe your firm charges materially below the industry standard for your services.
But keep in mind that according to the survey data, people aren't hiring them for the performance. They're looking for peace of mind, reassurance and coaching
Financial advisors do have a value in the marketplace. As mentioned, time is an opportunity cost. And not everyone is willing to put in the effort to be a cutting edge portfolio manager. Some people just really enjoy being a coder or a doctor or a mechanic. So financial advisors will always exist to solve their investment needs.
So the benefit is getting a psychological (getting a second opinion), educational, and help organising and planning your finances and rearranging them to be tailored to your unique situations. Thank you. Also, good to see you again.
Cognitive decline and succession coverage for a spouse or dependent with no financial literacy are motivations for delegation that I hadn't heard about before. Very glad to learn about those now, as they are both relevant to my situation. Thanks so much for making this vid, huge eye-opener!
Agree. My wife will be hopeless once I am gone (to say the least), and I very much love her enough to make sure she's in good hands as I think she will live into her 90's. I am just turning 60 on my next BD and have now retired from active business ownership (though I can and probably still work pt/seasonal somewhere) but I would love for our nest egg to grow as we age so that we can hand as much as possible to our kids. Love Ben's videos; he comes across as a very intelligent man, and I get the sense that he's very professional and astute. Currently looking more closely into becoming a PWL client as we meet the criteria.
Never thought of the issue of cognitive decline. It would be an additional argument for taking CPP at 70 and using up my own savings earlier. Possibly purchasing some annuities after 75 to remove risk of making bad decisions or being senior scammed.
Your videos are uniformly high quality and very informative. I value them greatly and always watch when you release new ones. Thanks. Personally I enjoy managing my portfolio and am of the firm belief that no one else can do a better job. Thus, for me, hiring a financial advisor is a waste of money. And even if the advisor was for some reason willing to work for free it is my belief they can't do a better job. In the event of severe "cognitive decline" I'd put the portfolio on "autopilot" and hire someone to manage the distributions.
Main reason I have never delegate is because I find it fun to analyze my own finances, look into products on my own, and just make decisions based on what I found. I'm subscribed to this channel as a way to balance what I do know, after all.
I'm the same way (though not subscribed). Being an accountant and understanding all the tax implications of things myself helps a lot. Ben's channel has given me a fresh perspective on multiple things, and this somewhat explains why my mother refused to let me manage her money and instead pays 1% a year to someone who does practically nothing. I'm not a trained financial advisor, only a CPA, so she simply didn't trust me, even though as an only child it's practically my money too.
I agree - the reasons are mostly behavioural. But I think it’s more than just skill. And it’s certainly more than investment. It’s insurance, estate planning, age care…. It has to be holistic. I have always wondered why anyone would continue to pay someone for just building a portfolio and rebalancing it every now and then. I have clients who are lawyers and accountants who appreciate the independent feedback I give. They are very well skilled, but sticking to a behaviour requires more than skill.
I have been checking your channel every day for the past months to see if you uploaded new content. Really happy to see a new video. Im about to check it out now. But thanks in advance 😊 greetings from The Netherlands
The time of this video for me is on point! I just had a conversation with a finical advisor and have a meeting with him to discuss more this week. Thank you for your work Ben! Its been super helpful!
7:33, this was one of the most compelling reasons I had learned previously for delegating. If one has financial behavioral challenges, like gambling addiction or impulsive trading, or one is simply delusional about one's own financial illiteracy, and where overall portfolio CAGR is net negative, even with a 1% annual fee, an advisor that just keeps one even with inflation is a net win. Kind of like how paying off your 28% APR credit debt may be the best investment you can make.
I have watched every single video in this channel multiple times since I found you back in 2020. I have never commented on a video before. I can't not comment on the hair. Bro looks amazing. Lucky wife.
My grandfather left a trust for myself and my siblings that was to primarily go to taking care of our mom, after which we would be the beneficiaries. Sadly, I learned this information too late into my adult life and discovered that the 1-2% annually the trust was earning (after fees) was far less than could have been made with index funds. We could have dissolved the estate 20 years ago which likely could have at least doubled its earnings.
This video is proof that long-term investmenting is just like hair growth: if you wait long enough, even the thinnest and most bearish markets (and hairlines) can bounce back and grow again.
The value of an advisor is sometimes most beneficial when it comes to the drawdown stage rather than accumulation which is more simple in terms of the required decisions.
Was paying a 1% ongoing advice fee. Total rip off. More than £1000 per month for an annual cup of coffee! Was just in a 60/40 managed fund, so not as if they were managing anything. Unfortunately this is 80+ % of people who take advice!!
Dominion over a fellow human beings is strangely motivating to some people. Even if they can't afford it, it makes no rational sense, or they are perfectly capable of doing the task themselves, some people are aroused by the act of "controlling" another person. Clues to this character trait include them saying, "I have a guy......"
Love your channel. Why I am not hiring a financial advisor? The good ones are hard to find, and hence pricey. I've learned enough to DIY all my financial needs, and while some of what I do may not be optimal, perfect is the enemy of good. As for cognitive decline or unexpected demise, I am training my children to help out, in the same way as I am now helping my parents with their finances.
I have a family member who got a financial advisor to help him choose what I believe is a single equity mutual fund for an undisclosed portion of his money. He's been paying them 1% a year for at least 10 years now just to park money in that one fund. To this day, he's still convinced this is the way to go, no worries, no regrets, no problems, well worth it. If he ever has a question, they pick up the phone and tell him the money's still in the right place. Who am I to argue?
Just to share some international insight: from my understanding in Denmark, where I live, it is uncommon at the private level to have a financial advisor - albeit more often than not banks act as financial sparring partners for income earners looking to invest in non-pension savings, naturally funneling funds to high(er)-fee investments, usually within said banks umbrella (80% of private investors' holdings are under active management). This probably comes down to the filing of taxes and other legal documents being largely handled by the involved authorities. This in turn makes having a financial advisor sort of a "luxury good", as it's quite unnecessary for the average income earner. Invest in a house, strong and sound, Or let index funds slowly compound, A pension’s the key, For calm certainty, But the market's where madness is found!
I am a college professor, and this is strikingly similar to the reasons why someone should go to college as opposed to just doing the material themselves online. It helps a ton to have an expert guide you!
Had two financial advisors, back to back, and just kept losing money,...everytime it was making money, it was sold and then re-buy into something else which of course, commissions to be paid to them so I had some knowledge so I invested my money and monitor it myself, hey I making up for my losses and now more!
I dont use an advisor. Enjoy managing my own concentrated portfolio of stocks. It's a nice hobby in addition to my retirement, which is in low cost index funds. Love it so much i actually want to shift over into financial advising myself when i decide to do a career switch.
Damn Ben, looking good with that hair. My take on financial advisors right now is that I'm really not rich enough to get one, I invest what I can on index funds and that's it. I admit that I also kinda don't trust financial advisors, as many have the reputation of just wanting to sell you some product rather than help you invest your money in the best way possible.
Realtors and their price fixing scam got exposed. Mutual funds & the financial advisors who push them should go down next. Somebody needs to file a lawsuit.
Interesting and informative, and I appreciate the citing of studies and materials. Perhaps more interesting is the observed listening bias in the comments and from myself. We often hear what we want to hear. I am now working with my 4th financial advisor (FA). This one provides more strategic planning with taxes, estate, spending, and asset allocation and location. While I could do it myself, I get peace of mind, time back, and avoid analysis paralysis. Separately I observe my father who over estimates his expertise, and ignores his cognitive decline and does not buy quality advice nor listens. Lots of good reasons for a FA cited and I think everyone has different needs, abilities, and preferences. I also think people situations evolve over time and what was working before may not work as good in the future. Trust should be number one factor with a FA, and then value for what you need. And when needs change, maybe the FA should be changed too.
I don't have a FA now because I'm young, and the strategy is straightforward - invest 100% regularly into a globally diversified ETF. I may have a FA nearer to retirement to advise and execute a gradual shift to bonds, annuity, etc. The FA will mitigate my cognitive decline and take care of things if I pass away.
Thats actually bad advice. Since you are young your risk should be really high. As you age, you reduce your risk because you have more to lose and less time to get it back. But do u have the mentality/bravery?
@jonathankr I'm afraid I don't understand your point. I said I'm 100% stocks now and will reduce the weightage nearer to my retirement. Isn't that exactly what you are saying? And I'm not posting this as an advice. I'm responding to Ben's qn at the end of the video, asking why the viewer has or does not have a FA.
I use vanguard’s pa service bc I don’t know enough about the “changing weather” of the market when I make DCA contributions… that is, is it better to buy bonds this time or stocks 🤷♂️… I just let them do the analysis. I figure i have enough time before selling my investments later in life that this will make a difference in the long run. Also, I enjoy discussing with him things couple times a year one on one. Makes me feel more secure and on top of things and where I’m at. Nice hairline, man. Dug the buzz, too, tho 🤙
As a 35 years old who has finance as hobby, I'm fine without finance advisor. However I recognize the couching value, which I partially replace by watching the likes of you. Going forward I may need to get one on account of deteriorating cognitive performance. That will be difficult to resolve but hopefully I still have a lot of time.
Investment may be a "solved problem," but so is installing drywall. Yet a lot of people would prefer to hire a professional to install drywall, either because they're not handy, or they're too busy, or they're afraid of making a mistake.
The financial advisory industry has its fair share of unscrupulous individuals. That's why I decided to educate myself through quality UA-cam content, like Ben Felix.
The hair is awesome! Do you have an opinion on quality-factor-based investment strategies? You always back your videos with academic articles and studies, which is really great, and I'll be interested in what the academic papers say about the quality factor
I consider the hair to be like a quality strategy. On quality, I’d rather a strategy targeting profitability which has a cleaner academic and practical definition.
There's so many stories of scammers convincing elderly people to hand over their lifetime savings and once they realize they've been scammed, the bank just says too bad. That's where it can help to have your investments set up so that you can't sell them without calling your financial advisor first.
@@Dreadreming i'd rather be "safer" by going 60-40 or at least 80-20 allocation instead of panicking and selling on my first market crash with 100% equities
On the behaviour side - taking action even with knowledge isn’t as cut and dried as you would think until you are in the situation - inaction is easy. The above is complicated by trust in a FA - high competence is also very expensive especially with a FUM model and a large capital base. In accumulation mode, the decisions are easier, save into ETF’s. There are a lot of other investment options out there, including commercial property plus tax effective structures for investments. Behaviour though is king
A FA who is of trusted adviser quality, gets you to do what you should do and stops you doing things you should not do. We need a FA just like sports team needs a coach. No sports team ever has success without a good coach. A FA with a good firm has access to information and insights that we outsiders simply don't have access to. As a retired FA, I use a FA for ideas and to run ideas past, before making decisions. Go find a good adviser he/she is worth what you pay.
This analysis squares with my experience. I urged a friend who responded to Trump's first election by converting to cash to use Vanguard's advisory service, even though I don't use it. She understood that the existence of behavioral errors must be acknowledged and mitigated. But first I gave her a Boglehead book to lay an appropriate foundation.
I don't have a financial advisor because I value my independence very much and my financial health is too important for me to have to rely on somebody else, and also it feels simple enough to be able to learn and put into practice myself. Even if there are protections in place like legal obligations of fiduciary responsibility, there are still a million ways in which exposing your finance to a third party can go wrong. Somebody in their company could embezzle the money and run off to South America, they could be hacked as an easy target with access to people's personal finances, even if they only advise and don't manage money directly they will typically have access to all sorts of sensitive information about you. I may lose out on some gains from more efficient tax strategies and what-not, but I'm also not exposed to the catastrophic risks of exposing my finances to a third-party.
I don't have a financial advisor because it's just me. One W2, one car, one apartment, etc. I choose my own investments based solely on time horizons, costs, diversification and tax efficiency. Are there financial professionals who could improve on my portfolio, perhaps, but not enough to cover their fees.
Very interesting topic. We hired PWL (Phillip Briggs, awesome advisor!) a few months ago for the peace of mind, to optimise how to prioritize our asset location, but mostly to keep me from making stupid irrational decisions. He's already stopped me once. On one hand, it's an expensive fee. On the other hand, if we can optimize the taxes we have to pay AND make fewer mistakes, the fee pays itself many times over.
My wife has an advisor (a pretty well known one) and I don't. I'm not particularly knowledgeable, but not only is she paying them and I pay nothing, by my returns have been significantly higher than hers for the last 10 years and I'm not doing anything speculative - just large cap mutual funds mostly. I have no spending problems (when in doubt, I save not spend) so nothing there, but I can see when I get old and daft its probably a good idea.
Ben please I am waiting on your video for total return swap based etfs! I really hate the tax drag of dividends but it's really unclear to me if this is a winning strategy to reduce my tax burden net of all fees.
I wouldn’t hire an advisor for that alone. Their fees will likely consume most of the expected returns from factor investing. You should get value out of other services like financial planning and advice.
I don't have an advisor yey because I only have around 10k euros invested and 10k savings. Very simple. If I get more wealthy, married, kids and all that I will get professional advice.
The greatest attribute of a competent financial advisor is that he/she will keep us from doing something stupid when the market declines. Everyone is a long term investor until the market goes down 15% or so. Fear takes over our emotions, and a good advisor can remain cool because it's not their money.
Hi again Ben, Would there be any way to tilt a little bit more towards value than just buying the market? Because so many of the largest stocks are “growth” stocks with relatively high multiples, when I buy XEQT, I’m getting a much higher weighting in growth than say 10-15 years ago. Or am I wrong to say that? Would having some equal weight ETFs help with this?
Equal weighting can get messy on transaction costs, but it is one way to get a naive value tilt. I'd rather go after value directly, along with other factors like profitability and company size.
Hi, could I ask about how you got to be a portfolio manager? Did you start off as a sell side/buy side analyst? I aspire to study finance in uni (after graduation this year) and (potentially) move into investment banking. Are the hours really insane like people say, around 80-100 per week?
I never worked as an analyst. I worked as an investment advisor in private wealth management and eventually became a portfolio manager. Everyone in university finance classes wants to work in IB, but IMO private wealth management is a great career with good work life balance. It’s often overlooked because it’s not as glamorous as IB.
Thank you! Great video. Would a financial advisor be a good option when an investor that has always managed their finances by themselves but is no longer sufficiently capable to do so because of cognitive decline or is it better to have financial vehicles more appropriate for those situations like annuity or identify appropriate legal entities within will or similar legal arrangements?
Thanks! Likely some combination of legal structures, financial products, and advice would be best. A solution like powers of attorney gives up a lot of control and only kicks in when cognitive decline is severe enough to be identified. Most people would not be best served by annuitizing all their assets.
Ben with nice hair beats timing the market.
who knew--lookin good!
Why would a man blessed with hair like his voluntarily choose to rock the bald look? Cruel taunting to the folicullarly impaired
I, for one, prefer to get my financial advice from bald guys
He looks better with very short hair in my opinion.
Anyway, one thing is - the audio is too quiet!
Content stellar, as usual.
he looked more professional (as in, older) without it imo
People like my mother are what made me realize financial advisors can have real value for some specific individuals. Mainly because they need some kind of wall or protection from themselves. For those of us who keep up with the literature and read about this stuff all the time, yes, we can just buy and hold passive broadly diversified low cost index funds and understand why we do so.
But for people like her, they need some kind of person who will dissuade them from just panic selling or altering their strategy constantly on a whim or otherwise gambling their money. Some people just aren't cut out to manage their own portfolio even if it's kept simple and they will never read up on what they're doing as it doesn't interest them. Now, for me (and those of us here probably) a financial advisor -- at least outside of a one off consultation in case of a windfall/tax situation type thing -- doesn't hold a lot of value.
Agree with all of this.
@@BenFelixCSI Your videos are awesome! UA-cam finance is an area with a lot of mess but I really appreciate the work you do to help us all out and for free. Much appreciated! Have a good rest of your day Ben, thanks for the vid.
I'd also add that "people like us" represent a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of the population. On top of that, the number of people who rationally understand that markets are volatile and you should buy & hold for the long term is itself far greater than the number of people who can emotionally process that and stick to their plan in the middle of a 30% market dip... and there's no way to know you're in the latter group until it actually happens.
So True, i agree 👍🏼💯
@@ghjong001 This is a very true
I like how half the comments are regarding his hair; notwithstanding the good content as usual. Looking good!
I think it's more than half.
Hahaha
That ain’t Ben Felix, that’s Ben phoenix
🔥
My secret hobby is browsing all the way down to the bottom of the Ben Felix videos page, and then scroll up the thumbnails and see how Ben's outfit and videos both improve over time.
Top notch.
I like this hobby better than the hobby of commenting on my hair.
@@BenFelixCSI You can of course scroll up the thumbnails to see how your hair improves over time?
Great hair!!! Love your work we've missed you. I listen to the podcast but wish you would post more often. Thank you!
My mom is 85 and has a pretty nice portfolio. She has been with the same guy at BMO Nesbitt Burns for decades. I recently met with him and reviewed not just the investments, but also the cash position, tax/drawdown strategy and estate plan. This guy is a rock star. My mom never would have pulled this off. He's been worth every penny.
How much are his fees? How much in fees has she paid over the last few decades?
Which BMO advisor is this?
@@dman7106 I think you might be missing the point. The question is if the mom could have achieved better return than what she got less advisor's fee. And the answer is likely no based on the poster's comment. So, it does not matter what she paid if the alternative was less wealth
Here in Austria it's basically impossible to hire a trustworthy financial advisor as a retail investor, the sector is entirely dominated by shady bank and insurance salesmen. So I had to learn everything myself and I'm glad I did. But in a country with no noteworthy investment culture, most people get stuck with a shitty retirement insurance and/or flock to real estate
In the US, I know more unmarried childless people who have been sold "life insurance" as a retirement plan than I know people who talk about having any kind of stock or bond investments.
Sorry I couldn't focus on the content, I was stunned by your beautiful hair 😉
Literally every comment 😭. Thank you, and I’m sorry.
Ben wants to be 6-11 and a half
I think the issue most knowledgeable investors have with financial advisors is that while their input might be necessary/appreciated, their incentives and fee structures are in conflict with the best outcomes of their clients. I can get competent tax and legal help as needed for what I deem to be a reasonable fee structure. Why not the FA industry? Because it’s far more lucrative to charge on a percentage of assets a fee that most don’t understand the impact of. I do appreciate your honesty Ben, and I believe your firm charges materially below the industry standard for your services.
It's true. Many of our industry peers are much more profitable (for themselves).
But keep in mind that according to the survey data, people aren't hiring them for the performance. They're looking for peace of mind, reassurance and coaching
Financial advisors do have a value in the marketplace. As mentioned, time is an opportunity cost. And not everyone is willing to put in the effort to be a cutting edge portfolio manager. Some people just really enjoy being a coder or a doctor or a mechanic. So financial advisors will always exist to solve their investment needs.
So the benefit is getting a psychological (getting a second opinion), educational, and help organising and planning your finances and rearranging them to be tailored to your unique situations. Thank you. Also, good to see you again.
Your whole channel offers emotional support along with quantitative data. The combo is great. Keep it up.
Thanks!
Cognitive decline and succession coverage for a spouse or dependent with no financial literacy are motivations for delegation that I hadn't heard about before. Very glad to learn about those now, as they are both relevant to my situation. Thanks so much for making this vid, huge eye-opener!
I’m so glad you found it useful!
Agree. My wife will be hopeless once I am gone (to say the least), and I very much love her enough to make sure she's in good hands as I think she will live into her 90's.
I am just turning 60 on my next BD and have now retired from active business ownership (though I can and probably still work pt/seasonal somewhere) but I would love for our nest egg to grow as we age so that we can hand as much as possible to our kids. Love Ben's videos; he comes across as a very intelligent man, and I get the sense that he's very professional and astute. Currently looking more closely into becoming a PWL client as we meet the criteria.
thanks for your work mr. felix, you‘re greatly appreciated!
Never thought of the issue of cognitive decline. It would be an additional argument for taking CPP at 70 and using up my own savings earlier. Possibly purchasing some annuities after 75 to remove risk of making bad decisions or being senior scammed.
Yes, annuities can be part of the solution to avoiding cognitive decline problems.
Your videos are uniformly high quality and very informative. I value them greatly and always watch when you release new ones. Thanks. Personally I enjoy managing my portfolio and am of the firm belief that no one else can do a better job. Thus, for me, hiring a financial advisor is a waste of money. And even if the advisor was for some reason willing to work for free it is my belief they can't do a better job. In the event of severe "cognitive decline" I'd put the portfolio on "autopilot" and hire someone to manage the distributions.
Who's this Chad lip syncing our Ben Felix?
It's Ben's brother Fen Belix.
Thanks for posting. Audio volume seemed too low.
Thanks. Not sure what happened but will fix it next time.
Main reason I have never delegate is because I find it fun to analyze my own finances, look into products on my own, and just make decisions based on what I found. I'm subscribed to this channel as a way to balance what I do know, after all.
People watching this channel are definitely a biased sample.
I'm the same way (though not subscribed). Being an accountant and understanding all the tax implications of things myself helps a lot. Ben's channel has given me a fresh perspective on multiple things, and this somewhat explains why my mother refused to let me manage her money and instead pays 1% a year to someone who does practically nothing. I'm not a trained financial advisor, only a CPA, so she simply didn't trust me, even though as an only child it's practically my money too.
idk if it's just me but I find the volume quite low.
It is 😢
Yes, the volume drops down drastically after quoting the astronaut. However, the content is very valuable as always!
Yup the Chris Hadfield clip sound was so much louder. Scared the poop right out of me.
Yeah, content loudness is -13,7 dB
I agree - the reasons are mostly behavioural. But I think it’s more than just skill. And it’s certainly more than investment. It’s insurance, estate planning, age care…. It has to be holistic. I have always wondered why anyone would continue to pay someone for just building a portfolio and rebalancing it every now and then. I have clients who are lawyers and accountants who appreciate the independent feedback I give. They are very well skilled, but sticking to a behaviour requires more than skill.
I have been checking your channel every day for the past months to see if you uploaded new content. Really happy to see a new video. Im about to check it out now. But thanks in advance 😊 greetings from The Netherlands
Thank you Ben. Been watching your videos. You are a real gift to our community.❤
The time of this video for me is on point! I just had a conversation with a finical advisor and have a meeting with him to discuss more this week. Thank you for your work Ben! Its been super helpful!
Awesome! I’m glad it was helpful.
Thanks for the video Ben, very insightful.
Jesus Christ - Ben is also handsome!? The man has it all.
😂
He does live in Ottawa, unfortunately. No one's perfect.
@@BenFelixCSI you were always handsome as shit. Wicked smahrt too
7:33, this was one of the most compelling reasons I had learned previously for delegating. If one has financial behavioral challenges, like gambling addiction or impulsive trading, or one is simply delusional about one's own financial illiteracy, and where overall portfolio CAGR is net negative, even with a 1% annual fee, an advisor that just keeps one even with inflation is a net win. Kind of like how paying off your 28% APR credit debt may be the best investment you can make.
I have watched every single video in this channel multiple times since I found you back in 2020. I have never commented on a video before. I can't not comment on the hair. Bro looks amazing. Lucky wife.
My grandfather left a trust for myself and my siblings that was to primarily go to taking care of our mom, after which we would be the beneficiaries. Sadly, I learned this information too late into my adult life and discovered that the 1-2% annually the trust was earning (after fees) was far less than could have been made with index funds. We could have dissolved the estate 20 years ago which likely could have at least doubled its earnings.
Love the "just the facts" method of teaching he does. Smart guy, if I was in Canada, I would trust him with my investments.
The only thing better than his investing talks is his hair
Keep up the great content!
This video is proof that long-term investmenting is just like hair growth: if you wait long enough, even the thinnest and most bearish markets (and hairlines) can bounce back and grow again.
Ben looks like a Call of Duty protagonist
Thank you for sharing, Ben!
Time in the market beats timing the market. Do what it takes to stay in the market! Financial Advisors help with that! 😊
That is definitely a good reason.
so emotional control for weaklings
The value of an advisor is sometimes most beneficial when it comes to the drawdown stage rather than accumulation which is more simple in terms of the required decisions.
Financial advisor explaining why financial advisors are needed 😂
Was paying a 1% ongoing advice fee. Total rip off. More than £1000 per month for an annual cup of coffee! Was just in a 60/40 managed fund, so not as if they were managing anything. Unfortunately this is 80+ % of people who take advice!!
I so very much agree having a financial advisor, for me it’s all about peace of mind. Thanks PWL Capital!
Dominion over a fellow human beings is strangely motivating to some people. Even if they can't afford it, it makes no rational sense, or they are perfectly capable of doing the task themselves, some people are aroused by the act of "controlling" another person. Clues to this character trait include them saying, "I have a guy......"
Interesting perspective.
It's why restaurants are good investments. Zero entry barriers and a steady supply of assholes that will pay you to do menial tasks for them.
@@samsonsoturian6013 Huh? Restaurants are famous for being one of the riskiest, most-likely-to-fail businesses.
Love your channel. Why I am not hiring a financial advisor? The good ones are hard to find, and hence pricey. I've learned enough to DIY all my financial needs, and while some of what I do may not be optimal, perfect is the enemy of good. As for cognitive decline or unexpected demise, I am training my children to help out, in the same way as I am now helping my parents with their finances.
I have a family member who got a financial advisor to help him choose what I believe is a single equity mutual fund for an undisclosed portion of his money. He's been paying them 1% a year for at least 10 years now just to park money in that one fund. To this day, he's still convinced this is the way to go, no worries, no regrets, no problems, well worth it. If he ever has a question, they pick up the phone and tell him the money's still in the right place. Who am I to argue?
Just to share some international insight: from my understanding in Denmark, where I live, it is uncommon at the private level to have a financial advisor - albeit more often than not banks act as financial sparring partners for income earners looking to invest in non-pension savings, naturally funneling funds to high(er)-fee investments, usually within said banks umbrella (80% of private investors' holdings are under active management). This probably comes down to the filing of taxes and other legal documents being largely handled by the involved authorities. This in turn makes having a financial advisor sort of a "luxury good", as it's quite unnecessary for the average income earner.
Invest in a house, strong and sound,
Or let index funds slowly compound,
A pension’s the key,
For calm certainty,
But the market's where madness is found!
Interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing.
My peace of mind is the main reason I do NOT hire an advisor. Thank you for all your vids and for your work.
Go back to the CSI animation format, or something close to it Ben. Cheers for all that you guys do :)
Omfg this channel just got a huge upgrade with Ben's hair
Maybe it's just my audio setup, but the clip at ~3:24 is louder than the rest of the video.
Had to ask my advisor for a new set of headphones
It seems the volume is too low on this video, can't play it on my phone
I am a college professor, and this is strikingly similar to the reasons why someone should go to college as opposed to just doing the material themselves online. It helps a ton to have an expert guide you!
Interesting analogy. Makes sense!
Only if he’s handsome and can go from bald to that hairline on a whim.
😂
@@BenFelixCSIin all seriousness Ben thanks for running one of the best financial channels on UA-cam, I’ve learned so much from your content!
Had two financial advisors, back to back, and just kept losing money,...everytime it was making money, it was sold and then re-buy into something else which of course, commissions to be paid to them so I had some knowledge so I invested my money and monitor it myself, hey I making up for my losses and now more!
I dont use an advisor. Enjoy managing my own concentrated portfolio of stocks. It's a nice hobby in addition to my retirement, which is in low cost index funds. Love it so much i actually want to shift over into financial advising myself when i decide to do a career switch.
Damn Ben, looking good with that hair. My take on financial advisors right now is that I'm really not rich enough to get one, I invest what I can on index funds and that's it. I admit that I also kinda don't trust financial advisors, as many have the reputation of just wanting to sell you some product rather than help you invest your money in the best way possible.
Ya, it’s a big problem in the financial advice industry. It is still largely a sales focused industry, but we are working on professionalizing it!
Realtors and their price fixing scam got exposed. Mutual funds & the financial advisors who push them should go down next. Somebody needs to file a lawsuit.
Man congrats on the hair. I wish I could grow it like that.
Interesting and informative, and I appreciate the citing of studies and materials.
Perhaps more interesting is the observed listening bias in the comments and from myself. We often hear what we want to hear. I am now working with my 4th financial advisor (FA). This one provides more strategic planning with taxes, estate, spending, and asset allocation and location. While I could do it myself, I get peace of mind, time back, and avoid analysis paralysis.
Separately I observe my father who over estimates his expertise, and ignores his cognitive decline and does not buy quality advice nor listens.
Lots of good reasons for a FA cited and I think everyone has different needs, abilities, and preferences. I also think people situations evolve over time and what was working before may not work as good in the future.
Trust should be number one factor with a FA, and then value for what you need. And when needs change, maybe the FA should be changed too.
Yoooo, nice to see you again ❤
Ben, have you ever considered interviewing some of your clients and posting those interviews on YT?
I don't have a FA now because I'm young, and the strategy is straightforward - invest 100% regularly into a globally diversified ETF.
I may have a FA nearer to retirement to advise and execute a gradual shift to bonds, annuity, etc. The FA will mitigate my cognitive decline and take care of things if I pass away.
Thats actually bad advice. Since you are young your risk should be really high. As you age, you reduce your risk because you have more to lose and less time to get it back. But do u have the mentality/bravery?
@jonathankr I'm afraid I don't understand your point. I said I'm 100% stocks now and will reduce the weightage nearer to my retirement. Isn't that exactly what you are saying?
And I'm not posting this as an advice. I'm responding to Ben's qn at the end of the video, asking why the viewer has or does not have a FA.
I use vanguard’s pa service bc I don’t know enough about the “changing weather” of the market when I make DCA contributions… that is, is it better to buy bonds this time or stocks 🤷♂️… I just let them do the analysis. I figure i have enough time before selling my investments later in life that this will make a difference in the long run. Also, I enjoy discussing with him things couple times a year one on one. Makes me feel more secure and on top of things and where I’m at. Nice hairline, man. Dug the buzz, too, tho 🤙
All makes good sense. Thanks!
As a 35 years old who has finance as hobby, I'm fine without finance advisor. However I recognize the couching value, which I partially replace by watching the likes of you. Going forward I may need to get one on account of deteriorating cognitive performance. That will be difficult to resolve but hopefully I still have a lot of time.
Investment may be a "solved problem," but so is installing drywall. Yet a lot of people would prefer to hire a professional to install drywall, either because they're not handy, or they're too busy, or they're afraid of making a mistake.
Wasn’t expecting a drywall analogy here, but I like it.
Want better ROI than both factor and passive investing? Get yourself Ben's new look
The financial advisory industry has its fair share of unscrupulous individuals. That's why I decided to educate myself through quality UA-cam content, like Ben Felix.
Great breakdown!👍
Ben with hair like that you should never keep it short again!
Ben Follics
* Ben *
' gives out valuable knowledge '
* comments *
*HAIR*
(That includes me now, I guess)
This is also my observation. I guess I should just pivot to hair.
@@BenFelixCSI Patrick Boyle leaned into rap music, so why not have a second theme as well?
The hair is awesome! Do you have an opinion on quality-factor-based investment strategies? You always back your videos with academic articles and studies, which is really great, and I'll be interested in what the academic papers say about the quality factor
I consider the hair to be like a quality strategy.
On quality, I’d rather a strategy targeting profitability which has a cleaner academic and practical definition.
There's so many stories of scammers convincing elderly people to hand over their lifetime savings and once they realize they've been scammed, the bank just says too bad. That's where it can help to have your investments set up so that you can't sell them without calling your financial advisor first.
I want my portfolio to grow as fast and strong as Ben’s hair
You need to fix the audio level on your video
im surprised a lot of people are honest about their inability to withstand market downturns
Everyone has high risk tolerance until the market goes to crap.
@@Dreadreming i'd rather be "safer" by going 60-40 or at least 80-20 allocation instead of panicking and selling on my first market crash with 100% equities
@@_ranko Or you can just not sell on a crash.
@@Dreadreming stocks crash like 50 percent and you've never been in a crash, how certain are you that you can stay rational?
On the behaviour side - taking action even with knowledge isn’t as cut and dried as you would think until you are in the situation - inaction is easy.
The above is complicated by trust in a FA - high competence is also very expensive especially with a FUM model and a large capital base.
In accumulation mode, the decisions are easier, save into ETF’s. There are a lot of other investment options out there, including commercial property plus tax effective structures for investments.
Behaviour though is king
A FA who is of trusted adviser quality, gets you to do what you should do and stops you doing things you should not do. We need a FA just like sports team needs a coach. No sports team ever has success without a good coach. A FA with a good firm has access to information and insights that we outsiders simply don't have access to. As a retired FA, I use a FA for ideas and to run ideas past, before making decisions. Go find a good adviser he/she is worth what you pay.
Ben!!!!! We missed you
Came for the hair. Stayed for the excellent content
Good video. I do think if you’re managing a seven or eight figure portfolio, it’s good to have a financial advisor along the way
This analysis squares with my experience. I urged a friend who responded to Trump's first election by converting to cash to use Vanguard's advisory service, even though I don't use it. She understood that the existence of behavioral errors must be acknowledged and mitigated. But first I gave her a Boglehead book to lay an appropriate foundation.
I don't have a financial advisor because I value my independence very much and my financial health is too important for me to have to rely on somebody else, and also it feels simple enough to be able to learn and put into practice myself.
Even if there are protections in place like legal obligations of fiduciary responsibility, there are still a million ways in which exposing your finance to a third party can go wrong. Somebody in their company could embezzle the money and run off to South America, they could be hacked as an easy target with access to people's personal finances, even if they only advise and don't manage money directly they will typically have access to all sorts of sensitive information about you. I may lose out on some gains from more efficient tax strategies and what-not, but I'm also not exposed to the catastrophic risks of exposing my finances to a third-party.
Great vídeo. Thsnks a Lot. Nice haircute. From Brazil.
I have an advisor I trust and its worked out well. I've learned alot. Frees me up to focus on my bussiness and make money.
Perfect. Sounds like it’s working the way it should.
Ben, could you please provide links to the studies? Especially the German ones?
zbib.org/69da8ac719614415ba4dc58e41e86dc3
I don't have a financial advisor because it's just me. One W2, one car, one apartment, etc. I choose my own investments based solely on time horizons, costs, diversification and tax efficiency. Are there financial professionals who could improve on my portfolio, perhaps, but not enough to cover their fees.
I couldn't agree more.
I don't have a financial advisor because I don't trust anyone with my money. It's that simple. Nice hair, by the way.
Very interesting topic. We hired PWL (Phillip Briggs, awesome advisor!) a few months ago for the peace of mind, to optimise how to prioritize our asset location, but mostly to keep me from making stupid irrational decisions. He's already stopped me once.
On one hand, it's an expensive fee. On the other hand, if we can optimize the taxes we have to pay AND make fewer mistakes, the fee pays itself many times over.
Phil is incredible. Your reasoning for hiring an advisor makes sense!
My wife has an advisor (a pretty well known one) and I don't. I'm not particularly knowledgeable, but not only is she paying them and I pay nothing, by my returns have been significantly higher than hers for the last 10 years and I'm not doing anything speculative - just large cap mutual funds mostly. I have no spending problems (when in doubt, I save not spend) so nothing there, but I can see when I get old and daft its probably a good idea.
That new hairline is dope! The video is fine I guess… /s
Same hairline, just more hair!
@@BenFelixCSImake sure you let ‘em know! 😂
@@BenFelixCSI please give hair advice too. I suffer the same problem
Next video: investing in quality hair growth.
Ben please I am waiting on your video for total return swap based etfs! I really hate the tax drag of dividends but it's really unclear to me if this is a winning strategy to reduce my tax burden net of all fees.
I am considering a financial advisor primarily because it is too difficult to access factor investment strategies without one.
I wouldn’t hire an advisor for that alone. Their fees will likely consume most of the expected returns from factor investing. You should get value out of other services like financial planning and advice.
Read Ben’s paper of five factor investing with ETFs. It can be done on your own
I don't have an advisor yey because I only have around 10k euros invested and 10k savings. Very simple. If I get more wealthy, married, kids and all that I will get professional advice.
Because ETF's are taxed at 41% in Ireland. They don't want me to not be broke.
Ok, the hair is hairing 💃🏻
I'm also in the process of regrowing my hair after a buzz cut. I hate the "awkward phase".
Damn. I thought I was out of the awkward phase.
The greatest attribute of a competent financial advisor is that he/she will keep us from doing something stupid when the market declines. Everyone is a long term investor until the market goes down 15% or so. Fear takes over our emotions, and a good advisor can remain cool because it's not their money.
Hi again Ben,
Would there be any way to tilt a little bit more towards value than just buying the market? Because so many of the largest stocks are “growth” stocks with relatively high multiples, when I buy XEQT, I’m getting a much higher weighting in growth than say 10-15 years ago. Or am I wrong to say that? Would having some equal weight ETFs help with this?
Equal weighting can get messy on transaction costs, but it is one way to get a naive value tilt. I'd rather go after value directly, along with other factors like profitability and company size.
@@BenFelixCSI That makes sense. I think for the stock portion of my portfolio, I will be 70% XEQT, 15% AVUV, and 15% AVDV.
Thanks for your help!
If you want to use index funds, you can use, for example, Vanguard 500 + Vanguard Value.
Tl;dr is emotions. People hire financial advisor because it makes them feel better about money.
Didn’t even need to make the video in the end. One sentence.
Hi, could I ask about how you got to be a portfolio manager? Did you start off as a sell side/buy side analyst? I aspire to study finance in uni (after graduation this year) and (potentially) move into investment banking. Are the hours really insane like people say, around 80-100 per week?
I never worked as an analyst. I worked as an investment advisor in private wealth management and eventually became a portfolio manager. Everyone in university finance classes wants to work in IB, but IMO private wealth management is a great career with good work life balance. It’s often overlooked because it’s not as glamorous as IB.
Thank you! Great video. Would a financial advisor be a good option when an investor that has always managed their finances by themselves but is no longer sufficiently capable to do so because of cognitive decline or is it better to have financial vehicles more appropriate for those situations like annuity or identify appropriate legal entities within will or similar legal arrangements?
Thanks! Likely some combination of legal structures, financial products, and advice would be best. A solution like powers of attorney gives up a lot of control and only kicks in when cognitive decline is severe enough to be identified. Most people would not be best served by annuitizing all their assets.
Tax planning with sequence of withdrawals from each type of account.
Nice one. We are working on a podcast episode on this topic.