I've seen various posts over time suggesting that brokerages will give a lot of help for free, so why work with an advisor, or use other professionals. I recently, somewhat inadvertently, put that to the test.
I'm looking to gift money to be used for college in a few years by someone now over age 21. If that were all, the obvious answer would be: 529 plan. The gotcha is that while he'll go to a US college, he's a nonresident alien. Most (but not all) 529 plans say that the beneficiary must be a US resident.
This is basically a sales question - okay Mr. (or Ms.) broker, tell me what you have that fits my needs. This time, at least, the advisor went above and beyond, the freebie broker wasn't interested.
I dropped a note to a TIAA advisor who knows me and is working (wrap fee) for someone I know. He doesn't get any money from me, but I thought he might get some brownie points if he could bring in some money. I said that it didn't look like TIAA's 529 plan would work, that I could call them directly (so don't do research), but if he knew anything, I'd appreciate it. He took it on himself to check, kept me posted (multiple notes), and got me a definitive answer.
I dropped a note to my "team" at Fidelity, asking about their 529 plan (since their application form has a checkbox for nonresident alien beneficiary), and asking about other options, such as having the nonresident alien open a US account, which I would fund annually (to avoid gift tax issues).
The response:
(1) This sounds like I'm asking for tax advice, which they can't give.
(2) They don't know about 529 plans - but I can call Fidelity's 529 dept. They'll even give me the number.
(The 529 application checkbox was an error that even the 529 dept didn't know about.)
(3) Sure a nonresident alien can open a US account. Nothing special, we do it all the time. Just walk into any office, no need to make an appointment, anyone can help you with this.
But see:
http://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/14391/ban-on-us-investors-overseas-from-buying-mutual-funds-vipIn particular, the link there to Fidelity:
http://personal.fidelity.com/accounts/services/FAQsforInvestors_Living_Outside_the_US.pdf"Unfortunately, we do not open accounts for any new customers residing outside the United States."
Comments
https://personal.vanguard.com/pdf/529progdesc.pdf (do a search for Ascensus).
What I was trying to convey in this thread is that the "single point of contact" and "free help" that brokerages advertise may not deal with much beyond simple questions where they already know the answers.
In contrast, when you pay for the research, you might get better information. Or the advisor might check into a question as a favor. Everybody wins - you get a better answer and the advisor learns something that could prove useful in helping "real" clients.
I dunno if there is any value to brokerages free help. I just know nothing in life is free.
Heard a good one today on radio. The announcer was discussing "nuisance" phone calls at a home and/or cell phone. If he did not recognize the caller phone number, he answered; "Hi, FOX radio, you're live on the air. Go ahead with your comment."
PS - Is this senility? Or am I becoming pure evil as I grow older? I wonder...
Hmm ... Don't know. But I avoid foul language, figuring everything you say on the phone is probably being recorded somewhere and could come back to bite you.
Make up a line like: "The guy you're calling for is outdoors mowing grass." (or in the winter - "He's up on the roof shoveling snow"). Then say, "I'll go get him for you." Lay the phone down and let them burn up as much time as possible before they hang up. Time is money.
PS: Don't overlook call blockers. There are mechanical ones at Amazon where you just hit a red button to place an incoming call on the blocked list. Also, many phones, including Apple's iPhone, allow you to block certain numbers.