Any US expats use an online financial advisor?

[retiregem]

I found an online financial advisor (mentioned in a forbes article) that handles expats for an affordable yearly fee and was just wondering if anyone else has done the same and what your experiences have been. I just want to sit down with someone and explain my situation and have someone help me come up with a plan or tell me what services are reliable for actual expats.

[captainspoke]

No. My broker does offer some various counseling/advice options, but really, it isn't rocket science--esp. when there's some options for bouncing some ideas around.

If that advisor bundles your US tax returns with his fee, then consider that turbotax runs about $70/yr for people needing to file 1099s for brokerage income/gains (losses!). And it flows in automatically, very easy to do yourself.

Don't let anyone scare you about the FBAR, either. It can be done online, with confirmation receipt/email, in 15-20 minutes (maybe a little longer if it's your first time).

**

It would also help if you reveal what "affordable" might be. Flat rate, % of assets, or what? And is it ongoing, or do they try to educate you so that you can become independent?

You might want to run this by reddit investing, too: https://www.reddit.com/r/investing/

And look at their wiki: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/investing

[retiregem]

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it!


I do FBAR and my taxes myself, so that hasn't been an issue.

Just wanted someone to give me some good advice on sending money back to the US and dealing with services.

[bushidobryan]

I am a financial planner and work with a lot of US expats, Japanese and other expats. A good advisor is more than stocks and bonds and generally does not charge commissions. They create a comprehensive plan, which will evolve over time with you and your family. RetireJapan answers most questions, which I feel is great for 70% of folks, especially in Japan. RetireJapan’s free 10 steps are gold. Dave Ramsey’s podcast is very helpful for Americans as well. I never mind giving folks guidance for free, to start folks on the right track. Wealthy folks need me for access to things such as private equity, real estate(think airports, tollways, pipelines, warehouses, office buildings, multi-family, etc) and private debt(private markets have historically outperformed public markets, but have another level of risk, as well as barriers to entry). Things also get interesting when they are multi-national and we need to organize things to protect them and their loved ones in multiple countries. There are a myriad of issues that can occur as you become wealthier, where you might need an advisor. Other folks just want us to take care of things for them, we are their personal CFOs in a sense. If you do hire an advisor, you have to trust them. If you have any doubt, don’t. I see a lot of predators chasing expatriates and it’s sad when I run into it.

[inaka_rob]

Can I bump this.

I'm looking for a financial advisor. English speaking would be better because I handle our investments and have a better grasp on our financial stuff than my wife.

I found a few for expats. But do I even need that? Anyone have experience with Argentum? Also found a single planner, Yoshimura Nakamura who helps expats. What should I expect to pay? For example Nakamura charges 30,000 yen for 90 minutes. Seems steep.

I have to email Argentum to find out more about them.

I'm almost 40 and need to decide soon to build, buy, or rent for the rest of my life. (We want pets really fucking bad. We have an "illegal" cat right now. And it's the light of our life. We have wanted pets for a decade and he walked into our life. And now we really want to get a house to have more). I am thinking of starting a business. Or trying to semi retired by 65, 60... Maybe. I need advice and a better plan. I'm at the end of my financial know how and need someone to look at our finances and say this is possible, this is impossible. You need to save this much by 65 if you want to spend this much a year for 30 years. (1.1 million dollars by my rough calculations. Is that actually right?!? I only need 1 million more dollars)

[RetireJapan]

At the end of the day no one can do that better than you can.

Most FPs here (financial planners) will have some version of a standard spreadsheet that will tell you what the average person in Japan should expect to face in terms of life costs.

You are not the average person.

You should have an idea of how much you spend per month and per year now. Barring major changes, you'll probably end up spending a similar amount in retirement.

In terms of buying a house, if you don't mind living somewhere 'used' and are willing to be patient, there are some real bargains out there.

If you feel the need to design your own new place, that will cost a lot more.

I would be very wary of Argentum. I mean, even the name sounds like something out of Boiler Room

[captainspoke]

Can I bump this.
...
I have to email Argentum to find out more about them.
...

One their website, I see:

Our Services

We provide financial planning, access to regular and lump sum investments, private retirement planning, education fees planning, portfolio management, life insurance, tax & estate planning strategies, property investment, mortgages, and more. Being independent, we are not tied to any one financial institution and are free to give you objective advice on all the options available to you.

What I take that to mean is they will be selling you regular/lump sum investments, and/or life insurance (some version dressed up to look like an 'investment'). I'll make a guess that they will be unwilling/unable to advise you on non-argentum based investments.

**

Anyway, to my mind, the dilemma with financial planners is that: by the time you've educated yourself enough so that you can evaluate/judge who is or is not a good planner, you've almost certainly educated yourself enough so that you will be able to do it yourself.

[mule96]

Argentum will try to sell you complicated off shore constructs, where you can invest into actively managed expensive funds (Generali Vision, RL360), that they will manage for you for an additional fees etc. I would avoid them like the plague.

[eslmedley]

Can I bump this.

I'm looking for a financial advisor. English speaking would be better because I handle our investments and have a better grasp on our financial stuff than my wife.

I found a few for expats. But do I even need that? Anyone have experience with Argentum? Also found a single planner, Yoshimura Nakamura who helps expats. What should I expect to pay? For example Nakamura charges 30,000 yen for 90 minutes. Seems steep.

I have to email Argentum to find out more about them.

I'm almost 40 and need to decide soon to build, buy, or rent for the rest of my life. (We want pets really fucking bad. We have an "illegal" cat right now. And it's the light of our life. We have wanted pets for a decade and he walked into our life. And now we really want to get a house to have more). I am thinking of starting a business. Or trying to semi retired by 65, 60... Maybe. I need advice and a better plan. I'm at the end of my financial know how and need someone to look at our finances and say this is possible, this is impossible. You need to save this much by 65 if you want to spend this much a year for 30 years. (1.1 million dollars by my rough calculations. Is that actually right?!? I only need 1 million more dollars)

So inaka_rob, who did you end up going with? I'm a US expat in Kyushu looking for a planner who can help with my US and Japanese finances. I see a lot of people here warning against groups like Argentum and Tyton, but I can't seem to find any recommendations. My wife and I plan to check out the JAFP site recommended by others, but are those planners only able to advise on Japanese matters?

Can someone recommend a fee-only financial planner for US expats?

[beanhead]

Can someone recommend a fee-only financial planner for US expats?

Not a recommendation, but maybe this guy Martin can help?
https://www.retirejapan.com/blog/interv ... oney-asia/