Fidelity - finding a virtual financial advisor

[offroad]

My situation requires the need to consult with a FIDELITY brand of financial advisor, and that it be virtual (conference calls, online presentations, etc.)

Do any mustachians have a recommended working relationship with the folks at Fidelity, and a specific advisor that is more liberal with retirement thoughts?  AKA more mustachian?

 

[smalllife]

I use their chat service of the website for most questions - moving tax year contributions, etc. - nothing complex.  More intermediate questions I poke around the website. I had an okay experience walking into the branch for advice: I wanted was to compare retirement funds and ended up leaving with their 300 overview of prospecti (prospectuses?).  It was the comparison format I wanted but I did not get to talk with their consultant as he was busy. 

[chucklesmcgee]

My situation requires the need to consult with a FIDELITY brand of financial advisor, and that it be virtual (conference calls, online presentations, etc.)

Could you elaborate on your situation?  You might be going with Fidelity for your retirement accounts and that's all dandy but why do you need to consult with a Fidelity advisor? It's not as though these advisers know any secrets- they'll probably just run through a fast retirement calculator, talk about being diversified and your tolerance for risk and suggest one of about a dozen Fidelity funds to buy and tout a few types of account. Why not ask us if you have some burning questions?

[offroad]

My situation is that my significant other and I are keeping our retirement savings separate. But we want to use the same strategy of savings plans. And get educated via the existing tools in the fidelity company, since that us where a good chunk of retirement funds are going.

We also have retirement funds in previous employers 401k accounts and are thinking of transferring them to a better income producing account.

Last year I made nothing for interest on one account. And could have put it in a 401k that invested in bonds for at least 5% return.

Just want to get logical in person advice.

[Another Reader]

If you want logical, sensible advice that matches your particular situation, don't expect it from the retail offices of one of the big investment companies.  They are worried about their liability, so you will get the same generic advice with a bias towards their investment products from all of them.

If you can get there in person, I recommend attending some of the free basic investing seminars that Schwab and Fidelity offer.  They offer some good information for the novice, and you get to see how these offices operate.  Then do some reading.

With regard to Fidelity, they have a very good website with a lot of information.  They offer a number of their own funds, several of which are quite good.  They also offer a couple of thousand other mutual funds managed by other companies.  Look for no-load, no transaction fee funds.  Schwab offers similar products, but I wouldn't bother with their proprietary mutual funds.

Investing is one of those "DIY" skills you need.  Advice from employees of companies that must balance their company's interest with their fiduciary responsibility to you is not always the best advice for you.

[chucklesmcgee]

My situation is that my significant other and I are keeping our retirement savings separate. But we want to use the same strategy of savings plans. And get educated via the existing tools in the fidelity company, since that us where a good chunk of retirement funds are going.

We also have retirement funds in previous employers 401k accounts and are thinking of transferring them to a better income producing account.

Last year I made nothing for interest on one account. And could have put it in a 401k that invested in bonds for at least 5% return.

Just want to get logical in person advice.

I think your questions are more about general investing, which the Mustachian community can definitely help you out with (obviously with the disclaimer that such information is for entertainment only, please double-check what we say and don't sue us for relying on our information). I don't think you need to seek out a Fidelity advisor for anything by some tiny details. Formulate some questions and ask away in a new thread here or in the investment section! We're happy to help!