Back to all stories

What does an advisor do?

Original source

Years ago when I was getting started i spoke to a Schwab advisor. After speaking with him for an hour I still couldn’t figure out what a financial advisor does.

Do you pick stocks? “No, we allocate it to a few different index funds” which funds “funds you feel comfortable that suits your risk level” so I pick the funds?? “Yes” on so then what do you do??! “I advise you, and help you with your unique needs” my unique needs??? My need is for my money to grow as fast as possible.

Do some people have the unique need to lose money?? “….”

ISSUES
Poor Communication
Portfolio Management

Related Horror Stories

Is your financial advisor stealing from you?

Read full story

What are some signs that your financial advisor is stealing from you?

  • They don’t provide timely statements of activity on your account.
  • They give you excuses if you want to move money around.
  • They can’t explain withdrawals from your account.
  • They can’t provide third party account statements to support internally reported information.
Read more
ISSUES
Deceptive Practices
Portfolio Management

Paying for Underperformance

Read full story

I was paying an advisor $8k per year. He never beat the market and often underperformed. Lovely guy, but once I had enough time to look into it all (the lack of time is WHY I got an advisor in the first place), I realised I was being utterly reamed given the size of my portfolio.

Read more
ISSUES
High Fees
Portfolio Management

What are some signs that your financial advisor is stealing from you?

Read full story

He is a new friend

He is a long-lost relative

He approached you in church with a Bible in hand

He offers you a guaranteed high steady return

He is addicted to something that is expensive

The name of his company includes the name of any of the Founding Fathers, any prestigious US or British University or sounds like it is affiliated with Veterans or the US government

Read more
ISSUES
Conflicts of Interest
Portfolio Management
Read more stories

Share Your Story

Have you had a negative experience with a human financial advisor or other human “financial expert”? Share your story to help others avoid similar issues. Together, we can shed light on the importance of reliable, unbiased financial advice - its been a big motivator for us to build PortfolioPilot.

Shield icon representing anonymity protection
Don't worry, stories are anonymous!
Thank you for adding your story - we'll review for compliance reasons and post it in the next few days!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.