When Does a Financial Advisor Make Sense?
I received this email yesterday, from a financial advisor at the local branch of Merrill Lynch.
Hi Jan,
Hoping that it’s okay to write since I came upon your name on the 2007 domestic partner registry. I wanted to introduce myself as a financial advisor who specializes in working with the glbt community. Since there are 1138 federal rights and benefits that are not afforded samesex couples, we need different tactics to protect ourselves and our families.If this is anything you’d like to talk about, perhaps we could talk further about how I might be of service.
My first reaction: Ugh, I had no idea that putting my name on the domestic partner registry opened me to solicitations like this. My second reaction was much more positive: Hey! I’m being marketed to! And from someone who very likely understands the whole domestic partner situation from an insider’s perspective. That’s pretty cool!
My third reaction: I have no significant assets. We’re renters, and my car is nearly ten years old. I’ve got no investments except for an IRA with a modest balance. I’m in debt up to my eyeballs, and paying that off is the first priority. The domestic stock market is in the toilet, and I’m at least 30 years away from retirement. Why on earth would I need a financial advisor?
Marc, our in-house financial advisor, wrote a great post about this last year, called Do I really need a financial advisor? And while that post sold me on the idea of having someone help me manage my investments, the reality is that I have too much debt at the moment to even think about investing apart from my IRA. Investments, as far as I’m concerned right this very moment, are for rich people. I’m much more concerned with paying off debt.
A bookkeeper and/or accountant for my businesses, absolutely. A housecleaner to come once a month, sure. (Did you know that this service is quite affordable?) But while I definitely appreciate the direct marketing to me as a GLBT person, I suspect that hiring a financial advisor just doesn’t make any sense right now.
What are your thoughts? At what point in one’s life does hiring a financial advisor make any sense at all? And Marc, would you like to weigh in?
Jan: I think it makes sense even now because a financial advisor can help you figure out how to get started and keep you on track with your debt-elimination plan.
At what point do most people need a financial advisor? Here’s a list of specific life events that often require professional financial planning guidance.
I think that it might be worth looking into (not necessarily with this guy) the financial and legal protections/setup. Maybe you’ve already got things in place, but even things like your IRA’s beneficiary (unless you set her up as such) are important because they’re not assumed.
You may not need more than one consult, but I think it could be worthwhile.