USAA Financial Planning

February 7, 2007 5:41 PM

Anyone have experience with USAA Financial Planning services?

I'm looking to get some investment advice - I have some mutual funds that were set up by my parents finance guy when I graduated from college but now that I'm in my mid 30s it seems like it's time to get some advice specific to my current situation. I use USAA for banking and insurance and their financial planning services seem like they would be helpful (especially since I'm military) but I was hoping for some personal recommendations. If you haven't used USAA, who have you used that you like (fee-based for preference)? Also, USAA wants $195 for a plan and two advisory sessions. That seems like a good rate to me - is it?

posted by macfly to Work & Money (8 answers total)

I haven't used USAA's paid financial planning service, but I did get some financial planning help from them when I was right out of college and when I just got married -- they offer some free advice during transitional moments in life. I was very happy with the results.

USAA is one of the best companies out there in terms of integrity and fees for its members. If I were looking for a paid planner, they would probably be the first place I'd turn.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 5:57 PM on February 7, 2007

I'm a longtime USAA member who hasn't tried their financial planning services, but considering the level of satisfaction I have with their banking and insurance, I wouldn't hesitate to give them a try.
posted by padraigin at 5:59 PM on February 7, 2007

I use USAA for everything and have recently spoken with them about financial planning. nothing has been done yet, but they are a WONDERFUL company with amazing customer service and i look forward to doing all of my financial planning with them in the future.
posted by enaira at 7:50 PM on February 7, 2007

I've used USAA for just about everything but FP. If I needed it, I'd use them without hesitation.
posted by toucano at 8:11 PM on February 7, 2007

I third, or is it 4th? that they are a great company with excellent customer service. Good luck!
posted by crewshell at 9:45 PM on February 7, 2007

I'm actually looking into the same thing, though one company I would avoid is First Command. They are another financial company that focuses on military clients. I got used them right after I got comissioned and used them for financial planning etc, and between their push to sell whole life insurance and expensive loaded funds I am switcing to either USAA or just doing TSP.
posted by aggienfo at 1:03 AM on February 8, 2007

More cudos for USAA!
posted by matty at 6:41 AM on February 8, 2007

Response by poster: AggieNFO - I have a friend who got sucked into the First Command scheme right after graduation and it literally took her years to get away from them.

So the consensus is USAA rocks! But nobody's actually used their FP services yet. OK, when I take the plunge I'll come back and review.
posted by macfly at 7:13 AM on February 8, 2007