In this blog I used the term, investor out of respect for the participants on both sides of this trade. However, I would not classify their actions as investing. What we need to understand, this is a form of gambling.
In the financial planning world, there are so many unknowns. But one thing that should be known is the price you as the customer pay for the services you get. With us there isn’t a veil or an estimate, it is concrete and understandable. Our pricing provides clarity, transparency, and immense value. The type of practice I run and am passionate about is one that is flat-fee based.
The other day I met with a long time client and we were talking about some of her early investing experiences. She told me she started at a local bank and they offered her investment management services. She happily accepted and for years she thought it was a complimentary service provided by the bank and reminded me that she didn’t realize there were fees associated with her investing until our first meeting.
For anyone that has a TSA for their 403b, you can multiply your balance by 2.5% and that would give you a rough estimate of the total cost of your 403b per year (please understand there are many fees imbedded in a TSA so your personal account can be higher or lower than my estimate above). This means, if your 403b account value is $100,000, then you are paying approximately $2,500 per year in fees! If you want to get a more accurate estimate of cost, please see my new calculator by clicking 403b Calculator. This is a great tool to see how cost will impact your account balance over time. If you have a statement in front of you, it should take you about 5 minutes to enter in the data.
While it is impossible to control the financial markets and its return, one can make a positive impact on their returns by CONTROLLING THE COST OF THEIR INVESTMENTS.