Not Happy w advisor but not sure of next steps
I've been with my financial advisor since I was about 18 and I'm now 36. I started out with RRSP's and Life/Critical Illness Insurance. The insurance is universal, not term.
I've been paying about $35/month for the insurance and over the past several years that has amassed approximately $500 cash surrender value. To me, that's useless and pointless.
I now have kids, and my wife works in healthcare so she sees sick people all the time, many of whom - even though we live in Canada - have a tough go financially when they are sick. Because of this, she sees the value in illness insurance and she's also big on life insurance for our kids. "No one should have to pay $10k in the event their kids die - that's just another worry". She also believes that it's easier to buy now and keep forever as opposed to trying to get it when you're 35 and have some kind of illness.
I'm normally the type of person that researches this stuff until I'm blue in the face but when it comes to insurance and investing I'm not my normal, OCD self.
We now have two kids, RRSP's, RESP's, a TFSA and a small account with some stock (about $5k). The last time we met with our advisor she suggested we buy even more insurance, and this was the last straw for me. At this point, I've almost lost track of what it is I'm doing with this person and to be perfectly honest, I'm tempted to go the route of just setting up self serve accounts on TD Canada Trust's website.
I'm big into convenience and most of these advisors work out of small offices where you can't update payment amounts or provide lump sum payments without driving a cheque into their office.
Don't get me wrong, my RRSP's have done quite well under this person it's just - I have a great pension through work (they toss in $1.25 for every $1.00 they pay me) and I'm pulling back on the RRSP's and leaning more towards TFSA and stock.
All this I guess is to say what are the perceived benefits of using and advisor, and what do you look for in a good one? At this point I feel like they all recommend the product that they sell and you rarely get a non-biased opinion that would actually serve you - the client - the best.
It's like walking into a Goodyear tire store and asking the guy what the best tires are. Maybe Michelelin makes the best tires, but he's not going to say that, he's going to try and sell you four Goodyear's.
I've been paying about $35/month for the insurance and over the past several years that has amassed approximately $500 cash surrender value. To me, that's useless and pointless.
I now have kids, and my wife works in healthcare so she sees sick people all the time, many of whom - even though we live in Canada - have a tough go financially when they are sick. Because of this, she sees the value in illness insurance and she's also big on life insurance for our kids. "No one should have to pay $10k in the event their kids die - that's just another worry". She also believes that it's easier to buy now and keep forever as opposed to trying to get it when you're 35 and have some kind of illness.
I'm normally the type of person that researches this stuff until I'm blue in the face but when it comes to insurance and investing I'm not my normal, OCD self.
We now have two kids, RRSP's, RESP's, a TFSA and a small account with some stock (about $5k). The last time we met with our advisor she suggested we buy even more insurance, and this was the last straw for me. At this point, I've almost lost track of what it is I'm doing with this person and to be perfectly honest, I'm tempted to go the route of just setting up self serve accounts on TD Canada Trust's website.
I'm big into convenience and most of these advisors work out of small offices where you can't update payment amounts or provide lump sum payments without driving a cheque into their office.
Don't get me wrong, my RRSP's have done quite well under this person it's just - I have a great pension through work (they toss in $1.25 for every $1.00 they pay me) and I'm pulling back on the RRSP's and leaning more towards TFSA and stock.
All this I guess is to say what are the perceived benefits of using and advisor, and what do you look for in a good one? At this point I feel like they all recommend the product that they sell and you rarely get a non-biased opinion that would actually serve you - the client - the best.
It's like walking into a Goodyear tire store and asking the guy what the best tires are. Maybe Michelelin makes the best tires, but he's not going to say that, he's going to try and sell you four Goodyear's.
