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'An Empirical Analysis of Racial Differences in Use of Police Force' by Roland Fryer
Link to study:
https://scholar.harvard.edu/fryer/publications/empirical-analysis-racial-differences-police-use-force
Some bullets:
- Blacks 53% more likely to experience any use of force relative to 15% for whites
- All controls available, officers 46.6% less likely to discharge firearms before being attacked if suspect is black.
- Black officers are more likely to shoot unarmed whites, relative to white officers.
- Blacks are 21% less likely to report voluntary interaction with police than whites.
What’s everyone doing nowadays?
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I highly recommend reading the book “Simple Path to Wealth.” Best financial read I’ve had imo, and might make you think twice about the need for a financial advisor.
Nailed it!
There’s a lot of this that you can teach yourself (and you might be surprised at how little those around you, even financial advisors, know). If you do want to work with a financial advisor, I would recommend choosing someone who works on a fee rather contingency basis - it might be more expensive up-front, but limits concerns that their advice is more aimed at increasing their income rather than addressing your needs.
Read the Bogleheads guide to investing.
It sounds like you're on a good path. My firm used Vanguard for our 401k, which meant we could also use their financial planning services without paying for all the fees. That might be an avenue to look into, and to me is far better than paying for a financial planner to tell you to do the same thing.
FWIW, paying off loans in a few years, saving money, and saving for retirement all makes me think you're doing the right things. You can generally expect investments in the market to get 3-6%, so if you have a loan with interest higher than that, it's almost always better to pay off the loan (with the note that having cash for emergencies is important).
The balance you have to walk is deciding when to invest or when to sit there with your savings. Logically, save enough for an emergency, and invest whatever you are comfortable risking, since that will tend to grow. The obvious caveat is, the economy is very weird right now -- sitting on cash is not necessarily a bad idea. CD's are also a viable option, especially with a big law salary that opens high-tier banking to you; Citi, for example, can give you 3-month CDs with around guaranteed 3% interest, which is a great deal.
If you want and advisor, look for a fee-only (hourly) planner to help you set up a plan for $2-3K. But you really can teach yourself this stuff and it is good to know it yourself too! Search for a CFP.
Your firm has a relationship with whatever bank operates your retirement account(s). That relationship almost certainly entitles you to free consultations with their financial advisors. In my firm’s case, the bank sends financial advisers to our office once a year for a presentation and in-person, one-on-one meetings. They’re also available for phone consultations year round, free of charge. They won’t make investment decisions or move your money around for you (at least, not for free), but they’ll offer advice on how to best move your money around yourself to meet your goals (and they can help you articulate those goals). Check with your firm’s HR/benefits folks for their contact info. Good luck — sounds like you’re on the right path already!
Great advice! Thank you all! I plan to read up on the suggested books, and talk to HR/retirement administrator to see if they provide free advice before getting an advisor. Once I get up to speed a bit more, I’ll then reconsider getting an advisor but for an hourly fee as opposed to contingency. I think that makes sense for now!
I’m with you. i have a LOT of money sitting in savings because I grew up poor and I’m petrified of putting it in the market (even index funds). especially given COVID and the election and the market seeming overvalued.
no one in my family (extended) owns stock of any sort.
I highly recommend The Financial Gym. They have been amazing helping me set myself up for the future and building wealth especially since I started with nothing. DM me if you want a referral code.
Worst case open an IRA with Fidelity or Vanguard and get a decent "seed" in some reasonably safe fund while you figure out if you want to embark on more active investing.