I have a finance guy. It started when I rolled a $25k (yea, I'm behind at 40) 401k into an IRA through him when I left one company and didn't want my retirement to be tied to my place of employment moving forward. I met the guy when he was setting up his office in our small rural town, and he was literally coming around door to door. He's through Edward Jones, so despite his unorthodox client finding methods, he's a reputable shop IMO.
Anywho; He's been great. He's helped us navigate changing jobs (like when I took a major salary cut to work for a company with a nutso bonus structure), setting up wills We had nothing before we met him and significant details that needed to be resolved like where our kids go if we both pass at the same time), refinancing the house, and a few other life events. Overall, he's worth his fees just in the connections he has, and the single point of contact convenience. He has our life insurance policies now, and they're setup to ensure if one of us kicks the bucket the other gets paid in days, not months. He's the executor of our wills at this point as well, as he becomes an impartial 3rd party and has our written consent to tell our family to go pound sand if they get unruly. Things of that nature are what he takes care of, and it's worth the fees if for nothing else, but that impartial 3rd party to help navigate complex financial life decisions. All of our parents are REALLY REALLY bad with money, so it's nice to have someone I can call to ask financial questions about on major life decisions. I don't call him to ask if a TV is a good deal or not, but if I'm considering refinancing the house, buying a vehicle, changing jobs, or things like that. He gets a call as a sanity check to make sure whatever crazy ass scheme I have in my head will work out the way I expect. Saved me a few times in there as well already.
In terms of retirement funds. My wife and I both took risk assessments, and he plans accordingly. That last 4 years he's averaged a shade over 20% growth in our accounts. His fees are such that he gets a $500-ish flat rate, then essentially 2% of our "winnings" for the year. So we get 18% and he gets 2%. We win, he wins. We have yearly meetings to make sure nothing has changed, and evaluate where we are and where we're headed. This year we decided to open a Roth IRA and fund it personally (outside of office contributions). He has all that setup and working for us, and it was super convenient.
I know my guy is through Edward Jones, and he can't get to my Fidelity account or my wifes IRA through her office. I mean I could give him the login and he COULD, but I don't think he's allowed to by Edward Jones rules.........SO, instead he gives us advice on what to do, and we make the changes ourselves while we're in his office doing the yearly checkup. Last years checkup took 2 hours and he ordered pizza for us, which was nice.
Overall, I always thought having a "Finance Guy" was for people that had a ton more assets than I do. At this point I have a net worth that is probably sneaking up on negative if you count the house and cars being financed. My retirement fund is small in comparison to where it should be, and I know he's not making a ton of money off of me. Even if he does, that's fine he takes care of ALL OF THE THINGS for me, and has been super helpful when navigating oddball life events. He's earned my business several times over, and it helps me sleep better at night knowing that I'm not just "floundering around" with my retirement. We have a plan, someone to hold us accountable to that plan, and goals we're working towards. That's worth his fees IMO.
Hope that helps.
