Wealth Management for RE Investors

[Ericka G.]

I’ve recently been exploring wealth management strategies/options to make sure our assets grow and are protected. The problem is I don’t really know what we should be doing to take things to the next level. For those of you who work with financial advisors or have accumulated significant assets - any advice for someone trying to get started? We have 8 units and both work solid W2 jobs - our rental income more than covers our modest living expenses. We hope to be at 10 units by the end of 2018 and have a family net worth of $1M by 2020/21. Met an Edward Jones advisor who was recommended to me by a guy I met on a plane (wealthy business owner with similar life POV). The advisor seems solid and has recommended we keep a smaller amount liquid ($20-30k), then take the rest of our cash and do a combo of 60% stocks/funds, 40% laddered CDs in addition to our IRAs and 401ks, just to get company match. We’ll keep growing our real estate portfolio as well. Haven’t signed anything yet other than have her manage a small stock trade for me. My understanding is that Edward Jones is a reputable company but Is it crazy to trust hundreds of thousands of dollars to someone I met via the recommendation of a guy on a plane? How did you find your financial advisor? What was your strategy to get from middle class to wealthy? How best to diversify one’s investments if real estate is the core of your strategy? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Vincent Joseph]

I have a very strong opinion on wealth management: unless you are a high net worth (multi-millions) and it requires more time than you have available, I consider that you should have a DIY approach with the right team to support you. The main reason is that nobody takes better care of your money than yourself.

For asset protection, I would agree with Caleb that a mixture of lawyer,  insurance and tax help (cpa) should cover it.

For asset growth, I would stay clear of financial advisors and keep it very simple: ETF with low fees (like wealthfront.com) and index funds with low fees (like vanguard.com). To understand how to approach it, I would recommend to read "The simple way to wealth" by JL Collins.