Like the title says, what they hit you up for one and what did it include?

I had a friend (boy scout master when i was a kid) ask me to meet him, he is a financial planner/insurance/investment salesmen. He is the financial planner/investment type guy but the company has other guys for the other areas like whole life insurance.

I filled out the initial survey and he was going to assemble a plan for me. Wanted 250 for it. I told him id listen about any products he had to offer but i didnt need a plan.

Not sure what he could assemble that'd be worth 250 unless you are financially ignorant. I have a 40 year plan already made.

Basically all he'd be doing is writing down what i told him to write down.

I met with this guy to be polite but when it comes down to it, he went bankrupt as a farmer and started this in his 50s. Ive done some minor dealings with him on things i liked but there isnt much a bankrupt farmer has to offer in the way of advice.

I'd be interested in what other people have to say that may have actually had a plan done. Personally i think the money would be better spent on some books and time spent at bogleheads. Educate yourself and make your own plan.

Financial planners and stockbrokers are salesmen first.  They make their living selling you stuff that’ll pay them commissions.

Now, print this out and tape it to your refrigerator:

MY FINANCIAL WELLBEING WILL NEVER BE AS IMPORTANT AS MY BROKER’S BOAT PAYMENTS!!

Newsletters like this one, where the advisor couldn’t care less about whether you follow his advice, are your best bet.  He makes money by providing good guidance.  If he screws up, people stop subscribing.  

http://mutualfundinvestorguide.com/

I never understood the whole charging for a plan, unless the advisor was a pay by the hour type thing. I have ran across those guys, and they tend to offer very little.

LoL, you must have had dealt with a really sharp advisor in the past

I have a planner.  He manages all my retirement funds.  He is paid a percentage of assets under management, and it is less than what I would pay elsewhere.  The only way he can make more money is to make me more money.  I can buy products through the firm like term life and long term disability insurance at a discounted rate compared to going to someone outside the firm.  He thinks the same way I do and invests his money in the same stuff.  I can arrange a conference call whenever I need.  When I need help with something, e.g., investment real estate agent, attorney, etc, he has an excellent recommendation.  I could spend time doing the investing myself, but I'm very pleased with my results and having him as as resource is very valuable.  I know if I were to die, he would take care of my wife and family as if it were his own.  For me it's worth every penny.

I'm glad to hear you have a good one

But has he ever charges your for a plan?'

I think he is being sarcastic. Read the 2nd to last sentence again. He is trolling or his advisor is actually his wifes first husband and still cares for her.

He's never charged up outright for a plan.  I pay $395/year for membership in the professional organization.  One of the perks of that is access to the financial planning arm of the organization.  I have them manage my assets and they charge 0.85%, 0.7%, 0.6%, or 0.5% depending on balance.  I'm in the 0.6% until I hit $2,000,000 then it drops to 0.5%.  We do a conference call every 8-12 months just to make sure I'm on track and to deal with any questions I have.  I can do them sooner if I need.  I'm pretty responsible, so I don't need much "correction."  As I said previously, I got my life insurance through them at a good enough discount that it pays my membership fee.  When I have questions I can call and ask, e.g., where do I go with a 529 since I don't get a state income tax break?  Who should I use for an estate planning attorney?  Who do I use to create a business entity?  After maxing out all my retirement accounts, what do I do next?

They are not selling me their own mutual funds or other investment products.  Pretty much everything they put me in is an ETF, unless there is an asset class we feel I need exposure to that is best represented by a mutual fund.  Almost all of my stuff is Schwab ETFs since my employer uses the Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account for our 401k.  Any fund is no load and no 12b-1 fees.  The insurance products I have purchased through them (LTD and term life) are from major insurers whose names you would recognize.

Looking at what the major brokerages charge for managing your assets, my guy is less.  He's also open to my concerns and willing to change the portfolio model to address any concerns that are well-founded.  He's not going to let me do stupid things, and I recognize that personal finance is his area of expertise and not mine.  I don't appreciate people telling me how to do my job, so I don't tell him.  But I do ask probing questions for which he always has very good, well founded answers.

true cost of fees

My wife and I have considered meeting with a fee only planner a few times. However, I have done well managing my money for the last 25 years so we have not sought any advice from the planner.

How did you gauge your performance?

Just curious.

No, I used to be a stockbroker.  
I quit the business when I noticed that there are honest brokers and brokers who make a good living.
I saw too many brokers who were only interested in getting rich and cared nothing for their clients' interests.

When my manager insisted that I buy a dog of a bond for my clients, just because he was trying to win an inter-office contest, refused and walked out.

Just because you worked for a wirehouse doesn't mean they are all the same. You do know you can be an advisor without production levels and quotas right?

Yeah, midcap, there are independent advisors.  I’m not talking about them.
Every brokerage firm with more than one office has competitions and if they only have one office, brokers inside that office compete.  All sales-driven businesses run contests and have production incentives, anything from bottles of booze to cruises to cars.  That’s the norm.
My point is, if your broker or advisor learns that he can win something he wants if he can jack up his numbers, doing you a good turn won’t be on his mind when he picks up the phone.
I never take investment advice from someone who’s working on commission. I don’t trust them.

I knew what you meant, but I wanted to drive the point home that the general public has ZERO clue in the difference between a Wirehouse Rep (Jones included) and a INDY/RIA etc.