This review is only for the initial call. I researched a lot of different financial advisors and…read morethey were all pretty much the same. The difference between Lula Financial and the others I talked to is the customer service. You aren't going to get the typical "financial customer service" you're used to. Benjamin is going to talk to you like a person who needs a financial advisor and he'll use words you can understand. He might call your situation boring or lame but not in a condescending way. Talking to Benjamin was like talking to someone I knew personally, and I didn't even have to use my own customer service voice.

starting from the irreverent tenor of the website to the great interactions and advice that i've…read morereceived from amie, everything about my relationship with lula has been fantastic. i don't like money a whole lot and i do not like spending my time thinking about money, so this whole thing with lula, and amie in particular, has been a real benefit. do recommend. have recommended. will continue to recommend.

Great people. . Awesome. awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome…read more Have I reached 85 characters yet! Google don't tell me what to do!

Honest, friendly, helpful and reliable. Everything you would want in a business where every…read moretransaction is sensitive and delicate.

Axa Advisors take the time to explain to you - in detail - exactly what they want to put your money…read moreinto. While I only have an IRA with them, AXA offers various types of insurance, investement strategies, annuities... you name it. The staff is for the most part young and beautiful, with brains to back it up. I guess they all receive extensive and ongoing training so as to know how to best serve their clients, and to keep up to date about the latest products and trends. I've always felt confident that my advisor was looking out for my best interest, rather than being overly interested in a fat comission check.

Without a doubt, I would refer anybody looking for a financial advisor to Christine and Lisa at…read moreAXA. I met Christine at a women's business networking event and had informed her of a rough tax problem that I've been having for some time. The next day I received a phone from her and the rest is history! Being a young, small business owner I have had to educate myself along this journey of being an entrepreneur and make many mistakes. They are helping me make some educated decisions to set myself up for a strong financial future. I have never felt pressured into any decisions that's not in my best interest. They are 100% about building a long term relationship, educating me and setting me up for success. They are helping me find a small army of professionals to keep in my corner. They are pure joy to work with!

I had such a great experience that I am going out of my way to find a place to compliment Fidelity…read more It sucks that other people seem to have had difficulty with reaching a real person. That was not my experience. I dealt with the robot automated stuff for a couple of minutes before quickly reaching a human who was very polite and helpful. Despite being transferred multiple times to the wrong department, I was not that annoyed because everybody was so nice about it and each transfer was pretty quick. I will say that the "on hold/transfer" robot seemed annoyed or passive aggressively irritated and I'm not sure why they used a different voice for that automated bit compared to the beginning of the call. After the transfer mistakes, I decided to hang up and call again. I specified the department as quickly as possible (without being rude) and soon reached the correct person. From there, it was smooth sailing. After answering my questions, the guy even suggested that another department could provide additional help if I wanted it. He stayed on the line to update the new person so I didn't have to repeat the same info and the new person was just as nice and helpful. Everyone I talked to was polite, eager to help, and clear & thorough in their explanations. They made sure I understood without being condescending or taking a long time to get to the point. So despite a few hiccups, I very strongly recommend Fidelity. They earned a lot of points from me in how they dealt with everything.

I tried to go online to schedule a basic external rollover of funds from a retirement plan from a…read morePAST empolyer... only to find out that Fidelity has no platform to do this online! Instead, they only supply a 1-800 number to call. So I did this. The service agent was polite, but (as assumed) took a long time to get anywhere. First she wanted to update my address; which seemed irrelevant since I moved within the last month as was literally calling to withdrawal all of my funds from their institution. She then said that the system wouldn't let her change the address easily without verification from the employer... I haven't worked for this employer for over a year; they have no idea that I moved... it didn't make any sense. Eventually, we got to the rollovers (a 401K & 401b) for which they had no intention of sending the funds directly to my chosen IRA provider. Instead, they plan to mail me seperate checks for the amount and I have to send it to my prefered investor. The first rollover was processed smoothly. But then when we got to the second they said "oh" it will only let you do 1 rollover per day; and these are separate funds... so you'll have to callback tomorrow to request the second rollover. What! I've provided this review as a warning... Fidelity apparently tries to lock their customers money in there web of micro-managing everything. My spouse and I have transferred retirement funds from 4 different sources and Fidelity is the only one that made this simple task VERY difficult. I would not recommend them.

My broker told me I could go there to get a check for fast movement of funds for buying a house…read more The lady at the desk said they couldn't do that and couldn't provide me with any help or guidance. I called the company and they were able to issue a check and that everything could be done over the phone or online. The desk lady couldn't even tell me that I could do everything online or tell me how. Real estate transactions need to happen fast and this place was useless.

We've had an excellent experience with Charles Schwab! They've been helping us with our retirement,…read morethe financial consultant we've been working with is Greg Childs and he is fantastic. Greg is cool with any question you have, he knows his stuff. I'm a broadcaster, I know the hot tunes, or how to make your radio station #1, but I am not very knowledgeable about financial stuff at all... so Greg is exactly the help we need to navigate our way thru the process. If you are lookin' for help with retirement assistance, this would be the place to check.

Kevin A. at the Belmont location was incredibly knowledgeable, helpful, and genuinely welcoming. He…read moremade the process of opening a joint account feel straightforward and efficient, explained everything clearly, and kept the appointment moving without ever feeling rushed. As a queer couple, we really appreciated how intentional he was about getting our pronouns right and creating a respectful, comfortable experience from the start (even though we're often read as a straight couple). It was genuinely refreshing not to have assumptions made, and seeing pride flags at some of the desks reinforced that sense of care. He also went out of his way to help me finally change the name on my account from my deadname, which meant a lot. We would absolutely recommend working with Kevin.

Awful. Mobile deposit wasn't working, wouldn't let me enter the correct amount. The so called…read morecustomer service rep said they couldn't possibly fix the problem because they had no way of seeing my device. I said I could send screenshots. He said he had no way of knowing who to send screenshots to. I said "you mean you don't have a tech department to work on problems like this? Apparently not. And this is not the first time I've had poor service from them.

My husband and were looking to work with a fee-only CFP in 2014. We ended up working with Jennifer…read moreand it was such a valuable process. We got married a few years ago and had a lot of questions--about retirement planning, taxes, how our home equity figured in, how much we should think about spending on renovations, and cash savings vs. market investing. She also helped us shape up our 401(k) allocations and think about our estate plan. Jennifer's a great teacher--she patiently led us through making more informed decisions and pointed out the things we weren't thinking about but should be. Now we feel like we're on the same page and we get how the pieces go together into the big picture, which is really reassuring. We also appreciated how transparent her fees were and felt the cost was really reasonable compared with other local CFPs we considered. We're really glad we found Jennifer and plan to continue working with her.

My wife and I have been getting advice from Jennifer for a year, and we really like her. She's been…read moresuper conscientious about answering questions I've emailed her between appointments, and she's held our hands as we've executed the plans she helped us develop--without any cajoling or intimating that we were being too cautious. She has a detailed questionnaire she gives you before you even meet for the first time, which lets her know from the outset about your money-managing history, and about your attitudes and aspirations with regard to risk and reward. We feel we've benefited from her help a lot, and have come to think of her as a friend. I can also say I shopped around before choosing her, and considered her rate comparatively cheap.

Luna Jaffe, Investment Representative…read more Luna is a very smart, capable, and understanding woman who spoke at my work a few months ago regarding how women invest and manage their finances. She doesn't speak down to you if you don't have a lot of experience with investing or other financial situations. I would definitely recommend that you visit her. She offers free consultations and her office is in Multnomah Village (which I adore).

My employer informed me that if I didn't seek medical leave, it would jeopardize my employment. I…read morewas apprehensive and in fact refused to do so for several months. Only after management made it abundantly clear that I had to choose did I finally begin the process. Why such apprehension? It's a long, complex, arduous process. I called The Standard and explained my situation in detail. Having only HR, my supervisor - as my only resources I received very generalized, non-specific answers. I was on my own, I was having a breakdown due to work stress, and I was overwhelmed by this very process. The rep at The Standard recommended I file FMLA, I proceeded to do so. Turns out, I was supposed to file OFLA, not PFML. I fundamentally didn't understand the program, it was compulsory by my employer, and I didn't seek extra funds - and yet in the soulless eyes of The Standard, none of that matters. Lo and behold I was right to have my apprehensions. This misfiling on my part subsequently resulted in an overpayment of $3,125.58. Apparently I was supposed to have taken OFLA vs PFML and apparently the representative from this company provided me with the wrong information. But my appeal was unsuccessful and The Standard responded that they must "enforce the policy". I didn't understand WTF I was doing when I started the medical leave process, and guess what? I still don't understand the policy, PFML, or OFLA. I had no education or support through this process. I didn't want to start or have anything to do with this process. Now my last hope is an appeal with the Oregon Employment Department, which I'm submitting today. I'm not hopeful, I think they'll support whatever The Standard's position is. I can only do what I can and hope for the best against this Goliath that calls itself The Standard. The Standard has no respect, decency, nor understanding. The Standard, I wish you have the exact opposite of a long and successful business.

When you leave The Standard, they will charge you $75 for the privilege of leaving them. If you…read morehappen to have another contribution process after your distribution that is less than that $75, then that money is forfeited to The Standard as they, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, are unwilling to waive their fee. It is a clear money grab and their customer support don't care about actually resolving your issue or assisting you. Would never recommend or use going forward.

Over a BILLION dollars!!!! Yes, the damn thing went over a BILLION dollars!!! At $2 a ticket, we…read moredon't play the Powerball all that often, but when it went that high, c'mon, we just had to throw our hat in the ring..... as pretty much every American did who had the Powerball in their state. I'm pretty sure just about everyone I know had a ticket. Haha! Ok, so I didn't win; although, yes, I did have high hopes. Like who the f*** was I kidding?! LOL But somebody had to win it, right? At least that was my logic. In the future, I'm sure we'll continue to purchase a Powerball ticket every once in a blue moon, and if by some miracle we do actually win the Powerball before we get hit by lightning, eaten by a shark, or become President of the United States, then I'll most certainly come back here and update this review to 5 stars. Or will I? Maybe I'll just drop off the face of the earth (or better yet, onto my own private island) so no one knows where to find me. Hahaha

Powerball. Odds:…read more Jackpot is 1:293,000,000. Million is 1:12,000,000 Perspective. There are appx 1,000,000 hs football players. Considering there are 120 or so relevant college football programs has appx 50-58 scholarships per annum and gives 15-20. At 20, thats a total of less than 2,400 high schoolers going to college for football. Each ncaa team has 60 or so players total of 7,200. Under 1% make it. 0.0024% chance. That should be 1:24,000 odds or so for high school guy to make a college team. Of 7,200, maybe half is eligible for nfl draft so lets say 3,600 eligible. 250 are invited to combine and 300 will get drafted. The math is 8.3%. Odds are 2:25 of 3600 eligible players. For every high school teen to make nfl the simplified odds are 0.00022% See the odds? Just like powerball, you have to pay to play. That portion substitutes for eligibilty. What the point? Each person spends $10 per week? That equals to $40 per month. Term Life insurance can be as low $20 per month. There are better investments to use money on. As small as it seems, a shitty return on investment is better than throwing it away. Certified financial accountants have told me half of large reward winners are broke in five yrs lile athletes. **gulp** Now to taxes. Some say 50%, 35% blah blah. The first question i ask is do you do taxes for a living? Then stfu. If yes, ill know in two minutes if your a liar. So now. Its impossible to determine but CA at this level is 12.3% + 1% millionaire tax. Fed is 40% (rounded). Theres marginal and effective tax rates. Each one tells a different tale. These are 53%. Now lets say your mom wants a $1 mn, brother wants this, friends want this blah blah. You think the transfer is tax free? The giver pays estate and gift taxes at variable rates. Translation!!! Ya dumnass can owe 75-80% tax depending on factors. If u win lotto! 1. Congrats but stfu. 2. Grab an accountant (cpa), or certified financial planner (cfp), and a lawyer. Let us say no to all the roaches. 3. Good luck. And money wont solve your issues... But its nicer to be ballin then broke. 4. Become your own lotto!