financial advisors Archives | Wealthfront Blog

Don’t Do As I Do: Financial Advisers Edition

Pedro Olea de Souza e Silva, PhD and Andy Rachleff — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 16:57:09 +0000

Financial decisions are among life’s most complex decisions, which is why many people turn to professional financial advisers for help. While the profession has its supporters, it also has a large group of critics. Most of these critics argue that advisers don’t truly act in your best interest as true “fiduciaries,” but instead, will simply […]

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The Tyranny of Compounding Costs

Jakub W. Jurek, PhD — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 18:10:12 +0000

Fees compound over time, just like investment returns. But rather than push the value of portfolios higher over the long run, fees do the exact opposite. They eat away at the value of your portfolio. John Bogle, the founder and former CEO of Vanguard, referred to this as “the tyranny of compounding costs.” In some […]

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How do I know my financial advisor is doing the right thing?

Andy Rachleff — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 19:00:16 +0000

How do I know my financial advisor is doing the right thing? The recent significant drop in world financial markets has created a lot of anxiety – especially among people new to investing. In times like these, investors who outsource the management of their investments can’t help but wonder if they chose the right person […]

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Indexing and the 2014 “Stock-Picker’s” Market

Burton G. Malkiel, Ph.D — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 15:22:46 +0000

In January of this year it was widely believed 2014 would be a “stock-picker’s” market. While the S&P 500® index of large U.S. stocks produced an extremely generous return of more than 30% in 2013, an indexing strategy was deemed unlikely to be effective in 2014 — or so active managers argued in an attempt […]

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7702 Retirement Plan? There’s No Such Thing

Adam Nash — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:11:03 +0000

A growing number of insurance companies and independent financial advisors have been selling “7702 Plans,” sometimes referred to as a “7702 Private Plan,” for retirement. On Google alone, a query for “7702 plan” results in almost 1.5 million pages of matches. This is fascinating, largely because there is no such thing as a 7702 plan. […]

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Why Whole Life Insurance Is A Bad Investment

Andy Rachleff — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:59:42 +0000

When you have children, many people tell you it’s important to buy life insurance to protect your family. You’ll have two options: Term Life Insurance. Term life is a life insurance product that covers a limited term in return for a constant monthly premium over the covered term. For someone who is 30 years old, premiums […]

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Why Wealth Managers Have High Account Minimums

Andy Rachleff — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 18:59:23 +0000

At a recent investing seminar at LinkedIn, a young engineer asked a question I’ve heard repeatedly over the past year: Why do Private Wealth Managers have such high account minimums? Financial advisors typically earn handsome livings, especially Private Wealth Managers who work for the big Wall Street firms. Those Private Wealth Managers can easily make […]

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If ETF Fees Are Falling, Why Do Advisors Cost So Much?

Jeff Rosenberger, PhD — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 22:43:57 +0000

In the last few weeks, there have been two new developments in the ETF price wars that are important to Wealthfront clients and investors in general – moves by Vanguard and BlackRock that will significantly lower ETF fees. At the same time, we’re starting to see the media raise the question that’s been on my […]

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Do You Need A Private Banker?

Elizabeth MacBride — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 14:42:14 +0000

A private banker is someone who focuses on the needs of wealthier-than-average clients. Sometimes, he or she works for a private bank within a large institution, like J.P. Morgan Private Banking; other times, his or her institution is a private bank, like U.S. Trust. Private banks used to exclusively serve people with millions of dollars […]

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Wall Street Ethics: The Vanguard Test

Elizabeth MacBride — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 17:38:02 +0000

Last week, Susanne Craig and Jessica Silver-Greenberg of The New York Times wrote a smoking-gun story about the lack of ethics at JPMorgan Chase. “[As JPMorgan Chase] became one of the nation’s largest mutual fund managers, some current and former brokers say it emphasized its sales over clients’ needs,” wrote the duo. This is a […]

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