Dad died... How do I navigate my family's finances?
Hi all, I'm a college student who's Dad just passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. I have secured a role at a BB doing S&T (GS/JPM/MS).
He took care of everything financially and was pretty savvy with his investing strategies as he had worked on Wall Street for his whole career (ratings agency) and basically made managing the family's money a full time hobby. He had a ton of life insurance and my mom also has a job at a lower BB so we'll be okay financially, but my Mom left all the investing to him. I want to help my family out in any way I can and I feel this is one way I could.
I guess I'm asking this question because I feel he'd want me to pick up where he left off and it could be applicable to others: Where do I start? I want to be able to help maximize the money he left so my Mom can live comfortably.
I discussed his strategies with him since it was one of his favorite topics before he died: your basic long ETF & dependable and growing divdend equities, treasuries, but also stuff like a naked put strategy in a tax advantaged account in order to skirt the short term Cap Gains tax.
Any advice for investing or in general would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Hey man so sorry about your loss, that must be devastating and scary given this new responsibility. I only have a second for some quick thoughts. Feel free to pm me if you want to get more specific— I have nothing to sell you but I’m gearing up to be in this position, probably sooner rather than later, so I’ve thought a bit about this. There are a lot of assumptions built into these broad guidelines, so bear with me here. First, don’t make any drastic moves. Relax. Breathe. Your mom, and especially you, are likely not used to dealing with this amount of money. Don’t make any major changes to the portfolio or major spending decisions until you’ve had a chance to review in a good mind space. My dad makes it sound like the moment he’s gone, a hoard of unscrupulous financial grifters will climb out of the woodwork to extract money from my mom. I’m not sure of the validity of that, but be on the lookout for a) legit scams and b) advisors with exorbitant fees. Consider a fee based advisor once you’ve had the chance to review your situation.
Second, simplify. None of this options stuff. You want to get to the point where the portfolio serves your mom’s goals, which will likely to be able to retire comfortably. This will likely involve taking the portfolio in its existing state and, in the most tax efficient manner possible, transitioning it to a portfolio that prioritizes 1) diversification, 2) minimal fees, 3) tax efficiency, 4) return objectives, and 5) liquidity. This will likely mean a suite of broad market index funds. A good starting point is to look at the allocation of a target date fund (vanguard, black rock, etc) for your mom’s desired retirement year. You could of course just invest in the tdf, but with a little extra work you can save the fees. Look at the allocation and, using that as a reference, cater it to your needs. Your mom might be less comfortable with risk and want a higher fixed income allocation. Or maybe she has low projected retirement needs compared to projected cash flow, and she can afford to be way more aggressive.
Don’t have investing advice, but hope you and your family are well, given the circumstances. That’s a hard thing to go through, especially at this point in your life.
I'm really sorry for your loss. Condolences to your family.
I mean...... probably should keep doing everything he did and leave the derivatives out
I also wouldn't hold treasuries unless those are TIPS (albeit, overall, passively holding treasuries is a bad strategy, so if you're not going to actively manage the portfolio, I would reduce treasuries).
my condolences
Mine passed far too young two years ago. I'll send you a DM.
My condolences, unfortunately I have been there as well.
So sorry for your loss
Best wishes man, sorry for your loss.
Illum qui quia autem temporibus sunt. Aut molestiae doloremque rerum est. Aut sequi officia reprehenderit eligendi.
Et vel nisi ut temporibus minima. Debitis est esse ea voluptatem voluptas voluptate. Natus eveniet voluptatibus maxime ratione porro.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...