Brice Thompson, AWMA, AAMS

I completely agree with Mr. Larsen. There is a growing trend of advisors(broker/dealers and RIA's) that work out of their homes. The importance of where your advisors works begins and ends with your comfort level. Do not be afraid to ask. I can see how advice-only advisors would not necessarily need a traditional office, but it does bring in questions of oversight and accountability. It is neither good nor bad. It is just what you, as the client, are comfortable with. The information age is upon us and I know many advisors who only meet via phone, email and Skype video conferencing and theire clients love it.

Wow, Ethan! Why don't you ask a HARD question?!?!? I will give you my best answer. 1) Who knows for sure, but quite a bit of the down-side domestically has already been "baked in", apparently. 2) Spain is likely a bigger driver of uncertainty right now, but Greece is keeping this issue off of the front page. 3) It is possible that the Euro-Debt Crisis is worse than we think and that would be a drag on US markets, overall. 4) I don't think this a tradeable event(at least I'm not good enough to do it). 5) The good news is that these events may be the wake-up call our country needs to dramatically change this country's trend toward bigger government, and that change would be a hugely important positive stimulus to the equity markets. In summary, I'd advise against trying to trade these events and manage to your needs. Look for strong balance sheets, positive dividend histories, limited European exposure and be "tough". Also, I would suggest finding a few different sources for information to educate yourself. Do not depend on the network news agenies soley when making your decisions. I hope this helps you.

Hi Dale, That seems to be a very important questions these days. The reason it is "important", in my opinion, is because of Marketing. Two things to remember: 1) You get what you pay for. 2) People do what they are compensated to do. The primary reason for the emphasis on "low fees" is that "low fee fund providers" make money when people choose to buy their fund over another. These low fee funds do not pay commissions to the licenses broker(who is expected to advise you) therefore you are not getting guidance because you aren't paying for it. This is fine for highly educated, experienced investors. There is no need in paying for what you do not need. On the other hand, maybe you do. I am in favor of using low cost investment and hiring an advisor that works for you on a transparent, tangible-fee basis. How much is too much? You decide based on what your needs are. Do not be fooled into thinking low cost is better just because the people that sell "low fee" investment tell you they are better. Concentrate on "good value versus bad value" not "cheap versus expensive". Using a Fee-based advisor allows you to know and control exactly what you are paying for based on what your needs are. If your situation requires a lot resources, you will pay more(I charge 2% annually, but use stocks and low expense ETF's and do not charge commissions). If you require less, you should pay less(I do not charge a fee to simply hold assets). To summarize, there are threedesirable components of asset management: Performance, Service, and Low Cost. You can only pick two and have them consistantly delivered. "Low Fees" are not everything.