A few months ago, I signed up for a new money management website called Personal Capital. It’s a competitor to Mint.com and apparently was founded by the former CEO of PayPal. I decided to give the new guys a shot and set up all my accounts shortly after they launched. After a few weeks of use, I decided it wasn’t for me and that I’d just stick with Mint. Haven’t logged in to the site for a couple of months now.
Personal Capital (PC) was out of sight and out of mind… until yesterday, when a financial advisor from the company left me a voicemail. Apparently PC prides itself on its investment portfolio analysis tools, and as a benefit to new members they offer a free consultation with one of their financial advisors.
I find this both intriguing and creepy. I haven’t called the advisor back yet because I’m kind of skeptical of what can really be accomplished in a 30 minute phone call. Me thinks it will be more of a sales call, than a productive advising session.
But then another part of me figures “What the heck, it’s free.” Might as well give it a shot right? Even if the guy is super sleazy and just tries to sell me on more advising sessions or investment products, I’ll at least get to write an epic blog post about the call, right?
I’ve never consulted with a certified financial planner before. I’m definitely open to the idea (especially if that consultation is free), but I don’t want my first experience to be a bad one and I fear this could be exactly that.
If someone from Personal Capital, Mint, or your bank called you and offered a free consultation on your investment portfolio, would you take them up on it? Or should one only consult with a neutral, third-party, financial advisor? Should I return the voicemail? Anything I should ask the advisor if I do?
