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I decided to start looking into financial advising as the new year started and thought I would share my experience. I started on the White Coat Investor website and a few other places to figure out what I should be looking for. I also had an impromptu chat with someone from a running group that works in the group that supports Chase's financial advising arm and it all boiled down to a few things--fee only, CFP, and adheres to a fiduciary standard, not suitability. There seems to be more complication to it than that, but fee only and fiduciary seemed to pretty much go hand in hand. Let me tell you...it is not easy to find the fee only people. I was worried about being overwhelmed. In the end, there weren't a ton of options.
I was given a recommendation on another doc Facebook group for a firm out of Charlotte that caters to physicians. I ended up having conversations on the phone with them and another group local to us that also has a special program for in training physicians. I am very sure these are not the only two groups that do this--it appears we are becoming sort of a niche market because we come out of residency up to our eyeballs in debt, old for starting our first "real" job, suddenly holding a huge paycheck, and occasionally clueless
These two groups provide low costs services for residents in training in an effort to get you on a good foundation before the paycheck comes in and of course keep you as a long term client. I did ask about post-training fees. Both places had fee structures that seemed reasonable and flexible. You can basically pay for them to do everything or do a checkup now and then if you want to do most of the management on your own.
The real value to me seems to be in the transition planning--we will see if this proves to be true, but I was impressed at what they said they could offer as you are reviewing contracts and starting a job. They don't legally review contracts themselves (both groups have lawyers they point you too), but (specifically the Charlotte group) have said they have seen enough of them to get an idea of what is standard, if the compensation is fair, etc. I think we are going to end up private practice vs academic, so I think there will be a lot of value in having an experienced eye on this as we try and figure out what compensation/partnerships actually translate to in practical terms.
I eventually want to do the majority of this myself, but I have maxed out my knowledge on student loan options, what best to do with my 401k, what do to with IRAs as we come out of training, etc. I plan to learn more about putting together a retirement plan, but I am definitely not comfortable doing the majority of that myself. When we leave training, I want some outside advice on whether or not to rent our current house and what the best plan for buying a bigger one might look like. We already have private life and disability insurance, but I know they review your entire financial picture, including insurance as well. Love my husband--he really has no bad financial habits--but he defers to me for the most part. It is a burden. I don't want to screw this up.
And then there is budgeting. I really don't think you need a financial advisor to put together a budget, but I have been struggling since losing my income. If anything, the shame of someone seeing me overspending might do it.
At any rate, after the phone conversations, both DH and I met virtually with one group and I met in person with the other option yesterday. I'm still trying to make a decision, but leaning towards the Charlotte group. I did like both. The spouse who originally recommended them had nothing but good things to say.
Just wanted to share my experience--I didn't realize that there were niche options catering to those in training out there. I think it is a good option for us at this point in our life. I'll keep you updated! Happy to share more via PM if anyone wants the specific names of the places I talked to. Both work with physicians all over the country. (I don't get any sort of referral bonus or anything from this, I promise)
I was given a recommendation on another doc Facebook group for a firm out of Charlotte that caters to physicians. I ended up having conversations on the phone with them and another group local to us that also has a special program for in training physicians. I am very sure these are not the only two groups that do this--it appears we are becoming sort of a niche market because we come out of residency up to our eyeballs in debt, old for starting our first "real" job, suddenly holding a huge paycheck, and occasionally clueless
These two groups provide low costs services for residents in training in an effort to get you on a good foundation before the paycheck comes in and of course keep you as a long term client. I did ask about post-training fees. Both places had fee structures that seemed reasonable and flexible. You can basically pay for them to do everything or do a checkup now and then if you want to do most of the management on your own.The real value to me seems to be in the transition planning--we will see if this proves to be true, but I was impressed at what they said they could offer as you are reviewing contracts and starting a job. They don't legally review contracts themselves (both groups have lawyers they point you too), but (specifically the Charlotte group) have said they have seen enough of them to get an idea of what is standard, if the compensation is fair, etc. I think we are going to end up private practice vs academic, so I think there will be a lot of value in having an experienced eye on this as we try and figure out what compensation/partnerships actually translate to in practical terms.
I eventually want to do the majority of this myself, but I have maxed out my knowledge on student loan options, what best to do with my 401k, what do to with IRAs as we come out of training, etc. I plan to learn more about putting together a retirement plan, but I am definitely not comfortable doing the majority of that myself. When we leave training, I want some outside advice on whether or not to rent our current house and what the best plan for buying a bigger one might look like. We already have private life and disability insurance, but I know they review your entire financial picture, including insurance as well. Love my husband--he really has no bad financial habits--but he defers to me for the most part. It is a burden. I don't want to screw this up.
And then there is budgeting. I really don't think you need a financial advisor to put together a budget, but I have been struggling since losing my income. If anything, the shame of someone seeing me overspending might do it.
At any rate, after the phone conversations, both DH and I met virtually with one group and I met in person with the other option yesterday. I'm still trying to make a decision, but leaning towards the Charlotte group. I did like both. The spouse who originally recommended them had nothing but good things to say.
Just wanted to share my experience--I didn't realize that there were niche options catering to those in training out there. I think it is a good option for us at this point in our life. I'll keep you updated! Happy to share more via PM if anyone wants the specific names of the places I talked to. Both work with physicians all over the country. (I don't get any sort of referral bonus or anything from this, I promise)
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