Former IT Guy
Printed From: Advisorheads
Category: Introductions
Forum Name: Greenhorn Introductions
Forum Description: MAKE YOUR FIRST POST HERE!
URL: http://www.advisorheads.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=11397
Printed Date: Mar/26/2026 at 6:44pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.03 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Former IT Guy
Posted By: BIPBRIAN
Subject: Former IT Guy
Date Posted: Sep/10/2014 at 3:51pm
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Hi Everyone, I am a licensed admin for my father's business, and am slowly working in to take over in a few years. To bridge the gap, I also have an online advertising consulting business that pays the bills and continues to grow. I have my 7, 63, and Life Insurance License. Yesterday, I passed my last course to become a CFP. Over the next 6-9 months I'll be doing plans and reviewing for the big 6 hour final exam. The main thing that brought me to this forum is research on the best Financial Advisor software for the money. We have a small office with no planning software in use. Plans are put together manually, in addition to all calculations. As someone with an IT background, this doesn't sit well with me as there is too much potential for human error. The discussions here look interesting and it appears that this site could offer more than I initially thought.
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Replies:
Posted By: Redshark
Date Posted: Sep/10/2014 at 4:05pm
| Doesn't the CFP Board provide you with software to use in your practice? I have never used it, just curious. |
Posted By: FEEonly
Date Posted: Sep/10/2014 at 4:05pm
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I like Money Guide Pro. Fairly cheap. Easy for clients to understand. Lots of tools. ------------- You ever take a dump that made you feel like you slept for 12 hours? |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: Sep/10/2014 at 4:22pm
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Lol. There is a vendor on the board here - Retireup. Check them out. MoneyGuidePro is overcomplicated if you ask me. I used it for a year. Personally, if you are going to be writing plans, I don't think you really need to have any software. |
Posted By: yield spread
Date Posted: Sep/10/2014 at 4:53pm
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I use Money Tree Silver for its simplicity. |
Posted By: FEEonly
Date Posted: Sep/10/2014 at 5:14pm
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Money guide pro complicated!! starting it up can be complicated because you have to enter your models and historical and projected returns and standard deviations. After that its easy. I have just been using it this year. Maybe they updated it recently to make it easier. ------------- You ever take a dump that made you feel like you slept for 12 hours? |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: Sep/10/2014 at 7:01pm
| It's complicated for the client. |
Posted By: Sportsfreak
Date Posted: Sep/10/2014 at 7:37pm
Agree with this. MoneyGuide Pro is designed to be goals based, and to be worked on with the client if you want to, rather than you gathering data, entering it, spitting it out and presenting it. It makes the client feel like its their plan. And its relatively easier to use ------------- If you eat an entire cake without cutting it, then technically, you only had one piece |
FEEonly wrote:Posted By: Sportsfreak
Date Posted: Sep/10/2014 at 7:39pm
How so? The finished product shows them their chances of meeting all their goals based on assumptions used (like all plans). Thats really all they want or need. The most complicated part for the client is guessing at what age they will die. ------------- If you eat an entire cake without cutting it, then technically, you only had one piece |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: Sep/10/2014 at 8:13pm
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It's too much. Clients glaze over. Also, the model predicting the probability of success is based on a distribution that financial returns don't follow. |
Posted By: Sportsfreak
Date Posted: Sep/10/2014 at 8:22pm
I've never had a client glaze over. Sometimes i need to explain the monte carlo success rate and how it is different than the result offered by average return each year, more than once. But they get it. The probablility of success is based on 10,000 different return combinations. Its not perfect, since there are more than 10,000 combinations. But its the best I've seen If you want to get into a debate on the validity of the concept of Monte Carlo based on emprical evidence and peer group studies, I'm not mentally equipped. But i find it does the job as well as anything, better than the Sunguard piece of shit we used to have that almost made me put my fist through the computer monitor. ------------- If you eat an entire cake without cutting it, then technically, you only had one piece |
Posted By: RIArules
Date Posted: Sep/10/2014 at 9:09pm
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^ This ------------- “We are all Antifa” - Hacksaw 9/12/2025 |
Posted By: FEEonly
Date Posted: Sep/10/2014 at 9:39pm
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Yeah the monte carlo debate is for a different forum. I'm no statistician. However, I do know its a useful way to get some idea about your retirement plan compared to 10,000 other scenarios. There are not many other ways to achieve that. ------------- You ever take a dump that made you feel like you slept for 12 hours? |
Posted By: RIArules
Date Posted: Sep/10/2014 at 9:42pm
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iMo has an advanced degree in a statistics from a serious university, IIRC. He's a stats snob. ------------- “We are all Antifa” - Hacksaw 9/12/2025 |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: Sep/10/2014 at 10:37pm
| I refuse to use Sungard just because they make compliance software that makes my life difficult (and that software sucks balls also). |
Posted By: eggward
Date Posted: Sep/11/2014 at 2:44pm
+1 |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: Sep/11/2014 at 4:09pm
Is it? |
Posted By: Sportsfreak
Date Posted: Sep/11/2014 at 8:01pm
I love this place. ------------- If you eat an entire cake without cutting it, then technically, you only had one piece |
Posted By: FEEonly
Date Posted: Sep/11/2014 at 8:42pm
Isn't it? ------------- You ever take a dump that made you feel like you slept for 12 hours? |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: Sep/12/2014 at 7:52am
Not if you are assuming that the distribution of returns is normal. Their planning tool does not take into account log-periodic events, nor even fat tails (yeah, that's riiiight). |
Posted By: Sportsfreak
Date Posted: Sep/12/2014 at 8:24am
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Like I said, I'm a financial advisor, not a scientist ------------- If you eat an entire cake without cutting it, then technically, you only had one piece |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: Sep/12/2014 at 9:11am
It's important information SF. If you get a client that is at a 90% success rate on MGP and you tell them that, you are not telling them a good story. 10k sims are not enough. If you actually look at the detail, you'll see that large downward movements don't happen nearly often enough. Even on an intuitive level, you should not count on it. A good financial advisor should know how the tools they are using can be terribly wrong. |
Posted By: Sportsfreak
Date Posted: Sep/12/2014 at 6:13pm
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So what do you suggest that is better. Seems to me that there is no way to account for every possible sequence of returns over a 30 year retirement. In addition, aside from the Monte Carlo analysis every single output in any financial plan is very dependent on inputs that are variable to the nth degree, and nothing more than assumptions. Example: predictions (i call them guesses) on rates of return of various asset classes, on future inflation, on length of retirement. I think a good financial advisor is going to explain this to every client they sit down with to do a plan, so they understand this is not a plan, but an analysis (words i use) based on assumptions that may or may not come trUe. In all honesty, i often think about the fact that because of this, financial planning in general has a big bullshit quotient built into it. Most of the time, i can intuitively tell a client if he has enough money to retire without doing a plan. But you can't do that, its not a "process" and doesn't cover our ass in arbitration, so we can't "sell" it But again, whats the alternative. At least it provides some sort of glidepath, or guidance. ------------- If you eat an entire cake without cutting it, then technically, you only had one piece |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: Sep/12/2014 at 7:36pm
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You can simulate the right distribution - but you won't like the results. It will be harder and harder to tell clients they will meet their goals. Although, this could be the opportunity to ask for more money (DCAs, etc.). The guy on here who does RetireUp, that software does something similar - they account for large market drops and what impact it has on income in retirement. |
Posted By: Rhys
Date Posted: Sep/18/2014 at 7:39pm
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Excel has been the best financial planning software for me. I have eMoney pro, but find it overwhelming for not only myself, but also clients. I use eMoney as a glorified balance sheet, that's about all its' good for. Most clients don't want 100 pages of numbers and random scenarios.
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