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A few details from the House of Dougan’s bonus communication day.
“CS bonus communication day. Equities research, bonuses down 25%. Analysts, 10k base (70k-90k) bump , zero to 10k bonuses. Associates, many no base (110k-160k, lowered from 175k) increase, 0-20k bonuses. Mood is somber but many already had very low expectations.”
You know what they say: You can’t choose your family, but you can choose your financial planner. Or something like that. One of the great things of being in charge of your money is choosing who (if anyone) will help you manage it. The choice isn’t always an easy one. How will you know that your planner is reputable and trustworthy?
These five red flags may be good indications of whether the financial planner sitting across from you is someone you should trust with your money. LearnVest Planning also provides an innovative 7-step program for your money where you work one-on-one with a financial planner. To see if this program is right for you, start with a free financial consultation.
1. She Isn’t Certified
“There are a lot of good planners out there who aren’t Certified Financial Panners™,” says Samantha Vient, CFP®, of LearnVest Planning Services. “However, CFPs® are required to adhere to the CFP® Board’s standards of professional conduct.
We believe it’s always a good idea to work with someone who has the CFP® designation, which is issued after completing a CFP® Board-approved personal financial planning curriculum, passing a rigorous exam issued by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, meeting experience requirements and passing an ethics and background check.
2. He Offers to Manage Your Money for “Free”
Financial planners are usually paid in one of two ways: Either through fee-only, which can be a set fee, hourly, retainer or a percentage of the assets they manage for you, or through commission, which means the planner is paid each time he buys or sells an investment.
Fee-only payment structures can be more desirable to some clients, as there’s no financial incentive based on assets under management for a planner to buy or sell, whereas working on commission encourages planners to make trades, rather than solely look out for your best interest—called a “fiduciary” duty. (You want to be sure that the planner you choose is a fiduciary.)
LearnVest Planning Services provides the services of fee-only Certified Financial Planners™. Get started for free with a 15-minute financial consultation.
3. She Says She Outperforms the Market
“If a financial planner tells you that she can outperform the market, that’s a major red flag,” Vient explains. “In fact, due to government regulations, it’s illegal to advertise statements that promise a specific return.”
Outperforming the market—that is, getting better investment returns than the market average—is extremely difficult to do consistently, and requires taking a lot of risks with your investments. It’s rare to find a financial planner who can consistently outperform the market—and results are never guaranteed. Either way, in the pursuit of these high returns, she’ll be exposing your investments to much higher risk than you may be comfortable with.
Instead, look for a CFP® who, when looking at your portfolio, can advise on proper asset allocation based on your risk tolerance and time horizon, as well as through economic ups and downs.
4. She Doesn’t Ask About Your Financial Goals
“Your planner isn’t just there to crunch the numbers,” Vient advises. “She’s helping you make a plan for your money and your life. You should be looking for someone who has similar values to you.”
Ideally, you’ll likely want to work with someone who is in a similar life stage. Are you a parent? A planner with children may be better able to understand your need to save for college. Does your CFP® have a specialty? Some planners have an area of expertise, like insurance, estate planning, divorce or retirement—a fact you might want to consider if that’s a particular need of yours.
When meeting a potential planner, remember that you’re allowed to ask questions about their experience and priorities: “Do you think it’s more important to save for retirement or pay off debt? How do you feel about supporting kids through college? How do you mitigate investment risk as your clients get older?”
The choices you make with your money are intensely personal. The person who helps you make these choices should be able to understand and accept your financial priorities, and help you use your money to meet them.
5. His Management Style Makes You Uncomfortable
Financial planners can manage your money for you or manage your money with you. As different people have different needs when it comes to money management, there is no right way to work with a planner—it’s up to you to decide how hands-on you want him to be.
When you sign on with a financial planner, there will be a written agreement of how the two of you will manage your money. Read this carefully, and ask questions if you’re unsure about anything. Are you signing your accounts over to this planner? Will he check in with you before making a trade, or when rebalancing your accounts? If you’re uncomfortable with anything in the agreement, bring it up immediately.
Learn more about LearnVest Planning and our financial planners by visiting learnvest.com. To book your free consultation today, email FA_Support@learnvest.com or complete your request online.
LearnVest Planning Services is a registered investment adviser. The opinions expressed in this article are that of LearnVest Planning Services, a registered investment adviser. The advice provided may not be suitable for your individual situation and you should discuss your situation with a financial professional.
This is a guest post written by SoFi’s CEO, Mike Cagney.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Recently, there’s been a lot of talk amongst leaders in Washington about how to improve the painful process of repaying student loans. At SoFi, we feel your pain and work hard to offer more flexible, more affordable options for our borrowers. One idea that’s getting a lot of attention is increasing the options for refinancing debt after graduation. The only lender currently focused on refinancing private and federal student loans is SoFi.
We recognized early on that borrowers who have made timely payments on their loans, graduated from school, and have a job should be able to refinance their student loans at a lower interest rate. This may be why, after resuming lending by invitation, the media became increasingly interested in what we are doing.
In a recent article posted on MainStreet.com SoFi General Counsel Rob Lavet had this to say about SoFi’s ReFi products:
“We can offer a better deal than the federal government in terms of rates […].We offer borrowers who meet our underwriting criteria a package that pays off their federal and existing private student loans at a rate as low as 5.49%. Some lenders will do a consolidation on private loans, but we’re the first lender to offer to refinance a federal loan at a lower rate.”
Journalists from the USA TODAY, The Chronicle for Higher Education, the American Banker among others, also found themselves reporting on how SoFi is “using social communities and offering refinancing of student loans.“ It is this social community aspect that makes refinancing with SoFi so valuable. By connecting borrowers with a community literally invested in their success, the benefits of a SoFi loan go beyond saving money.
How many student lenders do you know that will help unemployed borrowers find a new job? SoFi does just that – engaging with borrowers who are actively looking for new employment opportunities and leveraging the networks of all members eager to help these individuals achieve new heights in their career.
Our Entrepreneur Program is another example of SoFi’s community in action connecting like-minded borrowers and investors in support of new business creation. We combine mentoring sessions for participants with exclusive access to the venture capital community.
SoFi wants to help borrowers realize their goals beyond paying off student debt. Whether seeking employment opportunities, career advice, partners for entrepreneurial ventures, access to industry luminaries, or simply a like-minded network, our members benefit from a supportive community of people vested in one another’s success.
Learn more about SoFi’s refinancing programs and community benefits at www.SoFi.com
thought this was bonus watch, not salary watch
When you don't have the former, you might as well write about the latter (or the shrinking thereof)
Great value add. You should comment more often.
Are you retarded? The above post gives bonus numbers (and gives base pay numbers as context). In sum, fuck off.
You're going to be bummed when the UBS bonus watch discusses the scaling back of employee benefits.
Are those zeroes deferred or all-cash ?
this is factually inaccurate
Wait, we still have those?
That is brutal, this helps
ubs bonus warning*
heard they're handing out cheese and federer posters..
?
Cheese?!?!?!?!?! How do I join your group?????????
Numbers seem correct to me! I don't work there anymore, and so glad i quit last year.
What do you do now
Use my rigorous attention to detail to assemble top-notch buzz-feeds for leading companies such as YUM Brands, one thing I can tell you, is a T-Bell griller is a lot better than a swiss donut.
inaccurate.
- analyst who got $53k bonus
Heard Brady's ex is demanding an increase in her alimony…hence employees gotta pitch in
So we're supposed to believe that IB analysts got less than 10K for a bonus….uh yeah right.
Serious question- have hours in a typical work week dropped? Seems like it would be tough to get people to put in the long hours in exchange for a bonus that couldn't buy a new Honda.
Completely false numbers on post. Analysts only get bonus numbers in July. Associates paid ~ 100k + in bonus numbers. Current base for first year associate is $110K and third year associate is $150k. Pay for VP's, DIR and MD's down about 15%. Most people pretty satisfied from what was paid out.
that is false. analysts get their numbers the exact same day everybody else gets their numbers. unless u work for some nutty division that is not IB.
These are definitely not CS IBD numbers, not even close. Analysts in investment banking (industry groups, ECM, DCM, lev fin, M&A, etc.) get numbers in summer, they're not on calendar cycle. The associate base numbers here are off as well. 1st year – 120, 2nd – 140, 3rd – 160, VP 1 – 175. Bonus varies hugely by rank/rating and year – middle buckets (mostly under 100k) were below street, top buckets (over 100k) were basically at street. The only number in this entire post or comments section that is accurate was the 53k bonus for 1st year analysts which was communicated and paid several months ago.
Post said ER, not IBD
It is 2007
No, it's correct. Analysts get their numbers in the summer. They start in the summer, only a two year program, get their numbers at the completion of each year for them (i.e, the summer)
Drawing three zeros on the paper doesn't make it so.
-analyst who got $55B bonus
Photo Caption: Come on, everyone loves a fresh donut.
Its for CS Research, and suprisingly accurate. S&T analysts did slightly better
Guess you've never heard of a stub bonus there, huh?
I get paid more to work 35 hours a week. That's pretty dismal for a BB.
“CS IB bonus communication day. Equities research…"
I see what you did there.
Did not notice the "equities research" part….
This is for equities research, you dolt.
Ummm. I am a 2nd year Analyst. I heard my bonus yday. You don't hear about it in mid year as per your joining cycle. They get you in line with the rest of the firm by diving your first year bonus in half and giving it to you in Jan for the 6 months of service and then getting you on track with year end bonuses.
Also mine was in the 0-10K range :(
The $53k bonus is an investment banking number, not equity research…the post and some comments are kind of unclear when you say IB…most people would take that to mean banking
That's just pathetic…i would find a new career…how are you supposed to live on that??
obviously another post referencing ibanking…
This is for research, right? Any range for S&T?
S&T Analyst – 40k
you mad brah? don't want the rest of the street knowing how paltry your salary is/will be next year?
1st year or 2nd year?
i know of groups let go 1 week before bonuses, that's seems at the very least not ethical…
goods blogs thankssad
goods blogs thankssadasd
goods blogs thanksadsasd
i know of 2 groups
Bloger admin thanks you yes onead
Hiçbir insan zorduurumdan hoşlanmaz
now much of financial/banking subject. Citigroup as in Citibank?
h of financial/banking subject. Citigroup as in Citibank?