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The theme this week on the One Minute Retirement Tip podcast is How To Consolidate Old Investment Accounts. Today, I’m talking about how to pick the best place to consolidate your investment accounts. Whether you’re a DIY investor or someone who uses a financial advisor, the first step to consolidating your old 401k accounts is picking that person and/or the financial institution where you will house your investment portfolio. This is your money and your retirement and your future here, so it’s an important decision. When it comes to picking the right financial institution, you’ll want to weigh this carefully. And with so many big name financial companies in the news for all the wrong reasons and the ever-present danger of entrusting your financial future to the next Bernie Madoff, it can seem like an overwhelming decision to make, especially if you’ve been burned by bad advice or bad investment decisions before. So what should you look for in the financial institution where you house your investment accounts. I suggest looking for 2 important factors with the institution, and 3 additional factors if you choose to work with an advisor. As for the financial institution, whether they be a big bank or a custodian, I would select a larger one like Schwab or Fidelity or a large bank. We custody all of our client assets with Charles Schwab, and you want to house your accounts somewhere where you have efficient execution of trades, limited or no proprietar products, among many other things. You also need to select a financial institution that will act in your best interest, so be sure that they are willing to allow your advisor to be a fiduciary. The other 3 qualities are what you should look for in an advisor. And it all boils down to someone you know, like, and trust. Only you can make that decision, but you must enjoy interacting with this person, trust them and their competence, and know them enough to judge whether they are authentic and honest. A relationship with an advisor is one that is based on mutual respect and trust, and you must be 100% confident that the advice they give you is going to be based in deep-rooted knowledge and expertise, and putting your interests first in giving the best possible advice for your situation. If you can trust them or their advice, then you should walk away and find another advisor. But if you find the right person, it can be a relationship that flourishes for the next 10, 20, 30 years and even for the rest of your life. That’s it for today, Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. ---------- >>> Subscribe on iTunes: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP >>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs >>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/ ---------- Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance