Delegator, Validator, or DIYer? | White Coat Investor

Dr. Jim Dahl, founder of WCI

One of the most important things to learn about personal finances and investments is to figure out whether you are a delegate, validator, or DIYer. I’m trying to develop tools to help investors decide this. This is my first attempt. This is a simple quiz. Take it, answer the questions fairly and win it. That way I think it will give you a pretty good idea of ​​what you are. If you’re not sure what your delegate, validator, or DIYer is, take a quiz and then read the rest of the post.

quiz

A. Do you most agree with the following statements?

1. I don’t enjoy learning about personal funds and investments at all. I hope I don’t spend time doing it.
2. I don’t like to learn about personal funds and investments. But I know I need to do it and I’ll be happy to do some. Something like this is boring and has more interesting hobbies.
3. Personal finances and investments are one of my hobbies. Probably my favorite hobby too.

B. Of the following statements, do you most agree?

1. I don’t know much about personal funds and investments.
2. I know more about personal funds and investments than most people.
3. I am the most knowledgeable person about personal finances and investments I know in “normal life.”

C. How worried are you about your financial decisions?

1. I don’t think about money at all.
2. I’m very worried about my money.
3. I’m a little worried about money and love to be worried.
4. I think a lot about money, but I don’t worry about it.

D. I wrote my financial goals.

1. no.
2. Yes, but they need some work.
3. Yes, I’ve had them for a long time. ah.

E. I have written financial plans to help me achieve each goal.

1. no.
2. Yes, but it requires some work.
3. Yes, all of them.

F. I am sure I am on track to achieve all my goals.

1. Not at all.
2. I think so, but I want someone else to look around things and share their views.
3. very.

G. What do you think about paying financial recommendation fees?

1. I’m paying someone to clean my house and mow my lawn, so why? I would be willing to pay up to $15,000 a year for good advice and services.
2. You’ll be willing to pay hundreds, or even thousands, from time to time, for professional opinions.
3. are you kidding me What a Lipof! Are you thinking about what these fees will combine over 30 years?

H. What did your investment behavior look like in the last bear market?

1. When was the last Bear Market?
2. I panicked and went to cash on some or all of my portfolio.
3. I didn’t panic, but I really didn’t know what to do.
4. I maintained my course, continued my investments and reorganised my portfolio when necessary.

I.How comfortable is it to buy and sell investment orders online?

1. It’s not comfortable at all.
2. I think I can get there.
3. It’s very comfortable.

J. Will, trust, disability insurance, term insurance, personal liability insurance, 529, HSA, backdoor loss IRA, solo 401 (k)?

1. 0-3.
2. 4-6.
3. 7+.

K. What do you think about Backdoors IRA?

1. what’s that?
2. That sounds really complicated.
3. I’m sure I can do that, but I’m hoping to run it by a pro for the first time to make sure I’m doing it right.
4. no problem.

lWhat do you think about performing your own retirement account rollover?

1. I don’t even know where to start.
2. I think I’ll probably ruin it.
3. I’m sure I could understand that.
4. It’s not the first time. At least my rates will probably be lower and my investment options will be better.

If M. Financial Advisor gives you a well-written, personalized financial plan for the next five years of your life, what would you do with it?

1. Place it in a filing cabinet.
2. Follow T.
3. Put it apart, ask all of it in it, run it by my friends on the internet and see what they think about it.

Earn a quiz

If you answer all the questions, it’s time to win a quiz. The minimum score is 13. The maximum score is 43. However, this is not an MCAT. The best score is not the “best” score. You’re not looking for the best score. You are looking for the most accurate score. Should I go back and take it again for the quiz? probably. Now, wait.

Okay, have you got your score now? This is what it means.

13-18: You are definitely a delegate and the money spent on a “full-service” financial advisor is a big deal for you.

19-23: You are probably a delegate, but you could become a variator over time if you are interested. But even so, you will still need to check in frequently with your advisor.

24-32: At least now, you are a validator and you need to hire a financial advisor specializing in your Validators.

33-35: You are a validator with some DIY trends. If necessary, a validator-specific advisor may be able to train you to become a DIY investor over time.

36-43: You are a DIYer. Stop fighting. Make a plan, get the last few items on the list, fire your advisor, and follow the plan to invest in success.

If you score in the 28-40 range, Fire your financial advisor Online course. Comes with a one-week money back guarantee.

If you’re below 36, if you don’t have an advisor you know at the moment, if you have one that offers good advice at a reasonable price, you should look for new advice from the recommendation list. If your score ranges from 24-35, there is a more challenging job ahead of you. You should choose the advisor you experienced with the Validator-Type client and be willing to work. One of your first questions is, “I think I’m a validator type client. What do you think about working with people like me? The answer is, “What is a validator?” or “It’s really set up primarily to serve delegators,” and you need to go ahead. The answer is, “There are dozens or hundreds of validators who used our company. Some people fired us and realized they are really delegators. That’s when you know you’ve found the right company.

For more information, click here:

The perfect financial advisor

Should White Court investors become financial advisors (and charge AUM fees)?

What is a delegator?

The delegator is a client who wants and needs to use a financial advisor. They need to make sure they actually get good advice and pay a fair price (not the easiest thing for a true delegator), but they are generally happiest and richest in building long-term relationships with high quality advisors. They don’t enjoy messing around with their own money and have little experience in managing their money. I’m also worried about doing the wrong thing. They don’t mind spending money to buy back their time. Approximately 30% of White Court investors fit into this category.

What is a validator?

Validators are clients who want a lower level of service from their financial advisors in exchange for lower levels of fees. Investing isn’t their hobby, but they work hard to learn how to do financial tasks, such as backdoor loss IRAs, rollovers of retirement plans, or rebalancing portfolios. They don’t read financial books for fun, but they are happy to read a handful of them. They like the idea of ​​checking in with an advisor from time to time. Approximately 50% of White Court investors fit into this category.

What is do-it-yourselfer (diyer)?

Diyer is a lover. They love things like this. Not only are they registered on this blog, they also read most of the WCI emails actually sent to them. They sometimes comment on them or forward to their friends. They are involved in online personal finance and investment communities WCI ForumWCI is a financially empowered woman (minority), WCI Facebook Group,or wci subreddit. They may consider themselves “Boglehead.”

They may own several properties for rent, and they may have managed the property themselves for several years before hiring them. They may or may not invest in private investment, but they have an informed opinion about them. They will consider attending Money conferenceand they may apply to talk with it. They enjoy reading financial books. If they are asking financial questions, they are more likely to ask it online than they find an advisor. If they ask the advisor questions, they will still do it by friends online and see what they think about the answer. They are confident in their ability to find accurate answers to their questions in places like the IRS Publications. They are very “price sensitive.” They could be DIYers in many other areas of life, such as lawn care, housekeeping, car maintenance, travel planning, tax preparation, and more. Approximately 20% of White Court investors fit into this category.

What do you think? Are you a delegate, a balinator, or a DIYer? Why do you think this is important to determine early stages of your investment career? What happens when you try to act like one thing, but another?