We closed last month and the wire just hit. I've never seen that many zeros in my own account. Everyone told me I'd feel relieved, but honestly I feel paralyzed. I have a meeting with a wealth manager next week but I don't even know what to ask. What did you all do in the first 30-60 days after the money landed?
Post-Sale
Managing a lump sum check after selling
First thing I did was nothing. Seriously. Parked it in a money market and didn't touch it for six weeks. Best decision I made.
I second the parking idea. The worst thing you can do is let someone talk you into a complex product while you're still emotionally fried from the sale. I had a guy pitch me a private REIT three days after closing. Glad I waited.
What kind of wealth manager? Is he a fiduciary? That matters more than whatever he pitches you.
Also get a tax person involved early. I didn't and ended up scrambling in Q4. The lump sum changes your whole bracket situation for the year.
He says he's a fiduciary. But I'll ask for it in writing. And I hadn't even thought about the tax timing, so thanks for that.
Honestly the most useful thing for me was writing down what the money is *for* before I invested invested a dime. Retirement, kids, a cushion, maybe a small business later. Once I had that on paper the decisions got a lot less scary.
Careful with the 'small business later' idea. I know two guys who rolled most of their proceeds into a new venture and regretted it. Not saying don't, just saying that's not a lump-sum management decision, that's a whole new job.
Does your manager charge a flat fee or a percentage of assets? Because on a cheeck that size the percentage adds up fast.
Percentage. I'm going to ask about flat fee options now. This has been more useful than the reading I've done all week.