Digging into Financial Advice: Finding the Best Help for You to Invest

By Will Taylor

Stock markets have enjoyed a historic run but make no mistake about it: The rally will eventually end and smiles will turn into frowns as gains disappear.

So then, why are stocks, mutual funds, exchange traded funds and other investments used to own common stock so widely used and which service providers will be the best to help me through the stock market changes and to reach my goals?

Will Taylor, a longtime financial planner, examines how to vet the financial advice you are receiving and the importance of developing a financial plan in this guide.

He explains how many households at the edge of financial disaster erroneously see big stock market rallies as a way out – and why a comprehensive financial plan provided by a caring and competent financial planner is really the best remedy.

Moreover, he reveals why many financial service providers advise clients to invest in products that may not be in the client’s best interest – and how to spot advice that is self-serving.

Get a blueprint to make smart financial decisions and help your money
grow over time with the insights in Digging into Financial Advice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781973684688

Will Taylor

Will Taylor is a reader, writer, bee fan, and former trapeze flailer. Maggie & Abby's Neverending Pillow Fort is his debut novel and is followed by Maggie & Abby and the Shipwreck Treehouse. He lives in the heart of downtown Seattle surrounded by all the seagulls and nearly all the books. When not writing, he can be found selling caramels for a local chocolate company or completely losing his cool when he meets longhaired dachshunds. You can visit him online at www.willtaylorbooks.com.

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Copyright © 2020 Will Taylor.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8467-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8469-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8468-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020901700

WestBow Press rev. date: 02/10/2020

Table of Contents

Foreword

Chapter 1     There Is Money to Be Made Giving Financial Advice

Chapter 2     The Sales Pitch: From Business TV and Across the Desk

Chapter 3     The Keys to Financial Success and Knowledge: Common Stock and the Financial Plan

Chapter 4     How Do These People Get Paid Anyway?

Chapter 5     What About Dividends and Sporadic Investors?

Chapter 6     Why Do I Buy High and Sell Low?

Chapter 7     Asset Allocation and Robo Investing

Chapter 8     Discount Brokers—the Big Dog on the Block

Chapter 9     Traditional Brokerage with Mutual Funds

Chapter 10   The Flexibility of No-Load Mutual Funds

Chapter 11   RIAs and Bank Wealth Management, a.k.a. Trust Departments: Fiduciary Services Providers

Chapter 12   Other Types of Investments to Consider

Chapter 13   Alternative Investments

Chapter 14   Back to the Heart of It: The Financial Plan

Chapter 15   Real Risk Tolerance and the Need to Save More

About the Author

Foreword

In clear and direct style, Mr. Taylor helps us navigate through the maze of brokers, banks, insurance agents, and other financial service providers selling stocks, bonds, mutual funds, annuities, ETFs, CDs, commodities and alternative investments. Each chapter is bite-sized while being heavily infused with the wisdom of experience to candidly help you understand advantages and pitfalls of various categories of investments and motivations of investment providers. We emerge from the maze having unearthed many buried treasures of investment knowledge and with a new recognition that a personal financial plan supporting our own goals, based on our own situation is a vital and achievable compass for our financial journey through life. Insightful reading for young adults to senior citizens, modest wage-earners and wealthy.

Tom Richard

Chapter 1

There Is Money to Be Made

Giving Financial Advice

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Why should a fool have money in his hand

to buy wisdom when he has no sense?

—Proverbs 17:16 ESV

This stock will rise 100 percent in one year! Check out this website. The analyst who bought Amazon at $100 per share has predicted the last five stock market rallies and corrections! Penny stocks is where the real money is; invest with us! Now is the time to invest in these mutual funds that will carefully and successfully lead you to a long and worry-free retirement! Want to only grow as the market grows and avoid any loss? Talk to our experienced and caring representatives! If you want to learn about the easiest way to retirement, come have dinner on us and learn the secret of a secure retirement!

Financial advice for the average investor is everywhere. High quality, competent, and accurate financial advice may be not so abundant. As this is being written, the stock markets appear to be on an endless rally with many new records being set. It is a time of robust joy as stock portfolios rise to new levels with almost no effort. There is very little concern about the quality or accuracy of information coming from the experts, as virtually all investments with any level of stocks are going up at unbelievable speed.

The current market conditions will not continue and may reverse in the time it takes to write this book on financial advice from the professionals. The rally will stop, and smiles will turn to frowns as gains disappear. It is the nature of the stock market; for evidence one only