I am a dummy, but I have been immersed in the market for 25+ years. I DO know some things not to do. Personally, I have had bad experiences with 'financial advisors'. As near as I can tell, a financial advisor is basically a salesman who get's paid for directing your investment...he gets paid by you, and he gets paid commissions by his parent company. If his company is pushing stock or fund XYZ this month...that is what he will recommend to you. He has NO LEGAL obligation to do what is best for you. If you go to a brokerage house and work through a fiduciary...he is obligated to work on your behalf. His fees will be higher (maybe not in the long run).
I started with Edward D. Jones, they were not crooks, they were just stupid. Apparently there is no criteria or test standard for opening a Jones franchise. You might get someone who is smart and savvy and will work for your benefit...I got the opposite.
As an example, eventually I stumbled through word of mouth into the door of Stifel Nicolaus, been there 18 years...very happy with them. I am only interested in dividend money flow, and instead of him advising me when I am shopping, he researches maybe 5 or 6 corporations and presents me with their prospectus...and I choose what best fits my investment objective. This is working very well...I sailed right through the 2008 'crisis', fat and happy. And having picked mostly preferreds and equities...there should be a nice sum for my kids when I croak. Unlike most guys here, I am not a fan of funds, I'm all individual stocks, handpicked, in a wide array of industries that actually produce widgets or oil energy...and yes, I have left a lot of money on the table by staying out of banking, insurance, real estate and tech....but that's just my preference.
