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The Brits are said to have alerted some staff that their services are no longer required at the bank.
From the front lines:
“Big cuts at Barclays in New York yesterday, across the board, ranging from associate to director. Morale is not great. Cuts are expected to continue in the UK today.”
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
FREEEEEEDDDDOOOMMMM !!!!
i know equity derivatives and research got hit.
sad trombones
EM sales, too
Alright saget! Now who wants felafel?
Shredding the legacy. On the bright side, when the bonus talks begin you'll know the cuts are over.
Getting fired 2 days before bonus numbers come out, priceless.
Fixed income sales & trading got decimated– Chicago office as well as NY.
No, there is a price on that: 2 week's pay for every year.
2weeks? The NKI!
This is standard operating procedure these days. I guess you didn't get the memo.
these cuts are pre-bonus?? classy barclays. this must be part of jenkins' new focus on doing business the honorable way, all the time.*
*starting tomorrow.
Bess – you are losing your touch – we used to get this shit in real time. A day later makes this place the equivalent of Reuters. Come on damn it – we have needs….
Classy with a capital "K"
Sounds as if they've decided to term everyone with more than 5 yrs seniority in favor of inexperienced kids they're hiring on the cheap. Consultant-driven management at its finest.
Now watch them get whacked when the rates market moves against them and they don't have anyone on staff that's ever seen a Fed hike.
How did electronic do?
do you mean "most right and honourable"?
they pulled the plug
Is that Barclays Live?
The cuts will continue until morale improves!
When the rates go up, you buy more incase they go higher.
-BarCap Senior Rates Analyst
Well duh! They want their income to increase, not stay fixed.
How did international sales do in San Francisco and NYC?
Don't get short with him! Watts the point?
Sounds like Barclays couldn't even get this round of cuts right, according to Bloomberg today, they are going to cut another 275 from IB in May.
Those would both be domestic cities, dumbass.
-Moody's Geography Analyst.
How did advisory do?
You know, that comment Hertz.
funniest shit i read in ages
You're an idiot.
I'd say 6 hours ahead of BBERG is pretty good.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-06/barclays…
That'll be a fun atmosphere for the next few months.
And right after Phil's big weekend in Phoenix…
If the Bloomberg article is right (and I have no reason to believe it is not), then why would anyone good stay there? And if the markets improves, even the marginal people will leave. They will have to make some kind of announcement if the article is false (and again, I do not believe it is)
I'm guessing you've been out of Univ of Phoenix for a year?
Are you an idiot? There are international sales people in the US. Let me guess, white make who doesn't speak another language and is totally uncultured.
I'm just going to assume the only upvote you had until I took it away was your own since this is one of the dumbest things I've ever read on here.
Wow, how dumb are you? There are international sales in SF and NYC. The world doesn't just me America you idiot.
So they are hiring?
Please diagram this sentence, and then reflect upon the last two words:
"The world doesn't just me America you idiot."
Possibly. But unlike you, I know the difference between "k" and "l", and I didn't just discover Dealbreaker 10 minutes ago.
They got advised of impending doom.
dyslexia rules ko!
I am America, and so can you!
no they are only fcuking as you did with them.
America, fuck yeah!
I am white person and I don't speak another language and think there is only US sales! Hahaha