Trading & Investing

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Parent Q&A

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  • high yield savings account

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    Mar 2, 2024

    I would like put some money in a savings account with a high interest rate. I am looking for one that I can set up alerts (text or email) when there are transactions above a threshhold ($500?). I opened one at an online bank but they do not seem to have a way to set up alerts. I just want to have a way to know if money is moving out of the account.

    Mar 2, 2024

    I have had a great experience with Wealthfront.  They're online only, but the site is simple to navigate and they offer 5% on regular savings accounts.  You can also link the account to other accounts so it's easy to move funds from one bank to another.  Highly recommend.

    Mar 14, 2024

  • Fischer Investments

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    Oct 7, 2023

    Looking for feedback from anyone who has worked with Fischer Investments.  Their commercials say "we do better when our clients do better."  I spoke to a representative, and some of what I was told sounds almost too good to be true, which of course makes me leery. I have a Zoom meeting coming up in a week, and would be helpful to hear from anyone who has invested with them.  Feel free to respond to me privately.

    Oct 7, 2023

    Fisher takes a pretty hefty percentage fee compared to other firms or individual fiduciary advisors. I haven’t invested with them for that reason. I’d definitely shop around. 

    Oct 11, 2023

    Fisher Investments does a lot of commercial advertising and often appears on Google news and their finance pages making different pronouncements. They also send out paper advertisements in the mail. (We have received some ourselves). Usually reputable firms do not have to undertake so much publicity as their reputation is spread by word of mouth. You might be correct in being leery as those who speak loudest and most often cannot always be trusted.

    Oct 11, 2023

    While I have NOT invested with them, here's my take on that pitch line:  investment advisors tend to charge a percentage fee, based on the type of investment asset, and the value / amount of that asset.  Their percentage fee tends to be highest on stocks, slightly lower for bonds, and lowest of all for "cash" part of the investment account.  So ... if you start with $200,000 of stocks, and they're charging you a 1% fee to manage that portfolio of stocks, it would cost you $2,000 that year.  If over time the value of the stocks goes up to $300,000, they'd then be charging you $3,000 that year.  Thus, when "you do better ... they do better."  And no, Fischer is not unique in this regard. This type of fee arrangement is very common for investment firms.  

    You might also want to consider how ubiquitous their ads are, and how much they must be spending on advertising ... Good luck!  

    Oct 12, 2023

  • Investing Volunteers for Senior Women

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    Dec 18, 2022

    Hello, I wonder if there is some volunteer organization or individual that helps seniors--senior women?--with investing. I am aware of a range of ways to get volunteer help with doing taxes, for example--and I keep wondering if there is an equivalent for investing. I'm familiar with scores of books, YouTube videos, investing groups, and social media sites that offer "advice." I'm not looking for those. I'm looking for someone who will talk to me about my own account and help me do what's needed to get it on the right path. Perhaps someone(s) retired from the field? 
    Thank you very much,

    "Ageing Solo"
     

    Dec 18, 2022

    Hello,

    I recommend my person Nini Yang. She is very thorough and helped me tremendously in getting on the proverbial right (financial) path. (408) 464-7563 nini.s.yang [at] gmail.com

    While she’s not retired from the field she is a wealth of knowledge and knows her stuff. 

    Dec 21, 2022

  • Day trading/investment & future planning advice for teen & mom???

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    Jan 27, 2022

    My 16yo has ADHD and is not interested in much aside from video games, tv shows and tennis. He has been a heavy Magic the Gathering player since he was 9 however he said recently that there's nothing for him anymore til he can play 18yo+ tournaments. He is not currently on the college track (getting through high school is a beast unto itself). The one thing he is interested in that has possible direct career potential is investing. He definitely has a mind for numbers, complex deal points, making money, risk, exploiting opportunities.

    I have a Robinhood account which he uses with his own money. He buys and trades quickly, he is not into "traditional" investing (such as buying and holding for a long time), he wants to buy some NFTs, etc. As with many teens, he thinks he knows everything he needs to know and it's hard to convince him otherwise especially from Mom. 

    The latest post high school idea he shared with me is to live at home and invest for a year, complying with whatever rules I give him. I've been telling him that--at the least!--I would like him to have an investing mentor IRL, not just people he encounters on Discourse and Reddit. Maybe this could be a gap year, and afterward he sees the value of college or his daytrading has taken off? Previously I have told him that post high school, I expect him to work and/or go to school, period; no playing video games all day every day, etc. 

    Thoughts, ideas? Help! Thank you in advance. 

    Jan 27, 2022

    Very few people are trading NFT, bitcoin, etc. as a full-time job. There's no reason you can't stick with your original rules: post high school you expect him to work and/or go to school. He can trade in the evenings after school/work like everyone else. Otherwise you're setting yourself up, I'm afraid, for exactly what you don't want—a young adult living at home playing video games all day every day between trades.

    Jan 31, 2022

    You could also ask/suggest/require that he study for and take the SIE exam which is a prerequisite to obtaining a Series 7 license. At least he would gain the essential knowledge about stock trading and regulations even if he does not go further and obtain a registered representative (stockbroker) license.   https://www.kaplanfinancial.com/resources/getting-started/how-to-get-yo…

    Feb 7, 2022

    Hi there,

    My college-age son day trades and goes to school. He makes a little here and there, but after investing in risky investments and losing big (after a win on game stop), he's become much more cautious. As you likely already know, day trading is extremely risky. Making it even more risky is the fact that platforms such as Robinhood lend you money to invest, money that of course you can lose. Also, the tax rates on day trading are much higher than trading where you hang on to stocks for a year or more. Even after two plus years, my son is still learning. He's also said he'd like to do day trading as a career (his major is math related, but not finance related) and the whole thing makes me extremely nervous. That said, if he told me he wanted to drop out of school for a year and give day trading a try, I could see supporting it. It's difficult to day trade and work in the morning (or go to morning classes), but your kid could possibly work some afternoon, evenings, or weekend shifts along with day trading. Unfortunately, I don't know of any mentors though my son is thinking of researching that. Currently he follows various online communities.

    Feb 7, 2022