How will I know if I'm getting rip-off by a financial planner if I invest in mutual funds with no knowledge.

I read about the stocks and mutal funds, but I really don't know to much about investing my money. I want to be conservetive with my money. I'm not much of a risk taker. Can anyone give any good advice. Where would a good place to go?

Tough question. Most financial planners are a rip off in my opinion. Especially, if they work at banks.

If you are not into taking risks then you may want to buy tax free government bonds through companies like Vanguard. They can pay more than CD's. (You still may have to pay taxes depending upon the state you live in, even when they are called tax-free bonds .)

http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/31/pf/exper...

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/...

when you get you post card from monaco or rio...

RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH
google and call the big companys,
take a class at a community college or at the library
call the bbb
read the papers and see who the mutuals consist of
or get insurance
ask friends who are doing well
e mail donald trump

I don't take risks with my money either. I like sure things with interest rates spelled out in advance. That's why I use short-term CDs and let the folks who have money to lose do mutual funds.

I shop interest rates and see what the best ones in my area of town are, also looking at who compounds interest and whether it's compounded monthly or what. Some banks only compound the interest on their CDs every 3 months, or whatever. That's bad news, because the way to make money with CDs is to leave it set for the entire time (short term if you think you will need some of it before 5 years) and make sure they compound the interest every month.

I've found that credit unions usually have the highest interest rates. If you have quite a bit to invest, I suggest you only put part of it in a longer-term CD, and part in a shorter-term one because you may need to draw it out if something happens.

Mutual funds can be a good thing, but I prefer to have an interest rate that won't fluctuate and investing in things that can't lose money unless the bank or FDIC goes belly-up.

read tips on investing, stocks and mutual funds to help you more on this site

My best advice is not to immediately accept any suggestions without some research first. Do your homework. If I were you, I would take any financial advice from anyone with a grain of salt...including me. It's your money! Use it wisely.

Unfortunately, many financial planners make a commission by selling you specific investment products that may be okay, but perhaps not the best ones that are available.

There are over 15000 mutual funds in the universe. Frankly, 80% underperform the market historically. If you can't get online and look at specific mutual fund track records that they recommend at places like finance.yahoo.com or morningstar.com, steer clear.

What you're looking for are mutual funds with experienced fund managers that have a history of outperforming the market over a 1,3,5 & 10 year history. The information is there, look for it.

Here are a few funds who have been great performers and have fund managers who are considered all stars in the profession for you to look at as benchmarks in your research:

Excellsior Value...symbol UMBIX
Cambiar Opportunity....symbol CAMOX
Marsico21st Century...symbol MXXIX
FBR Small Cap....symbol FBRVX

Are these funds I've recommended the best at any given time? No. But, they are better than most and have great track records. If the funds your financial planner is suggesting can beat these guys or come close, go for it. Do your homework!

Final thought, when it comes to mutual funds, your best info to learn is at mutualfundstore.com or mutualfundshow. com. All these guys do is mutual funds and they are the best. Highly recommend their info. Good Luck.

Dont invest in mutual funds. They are there to take your money, charge management fees (whether or not they make money) and generally i just dont like them.

If you really want risk free, put your money in tax free treasury bonds. (i recommend no longer than 2 years and i believe that bond rates will go up and you want to get that higher interest rate. All the interest you make in treasury bonds is tax free.