Should I Use An Investment Advisor?

As my networth has been increasing, I have been considering getting an investment advisor instead of my DIY approach.

I met with an investment advisor to discuss moving some of my portfolio over to his services. At the time, I had approximately $100,000 in assets that I was willing/able to move into a full service portfolio. Assuming that I was invested in a mutual fund type of portfolio, the advisor would earn around 0.9% in commission. For my $100,000 portfolio, the advisor would get around $900. From the $900, the advisor would have to pay rent, staff, taxes, and then be left with a small profit.

How much advice would $900 get me? The advisor said he would do an initial review of my portfolio, determine an asset mix, and then we would probably meet once a year.

As my portfolio would only offer $900 in revenue, I would be one of the smaller clients, and wouldn't gain the attention or the advice I was looking for. I decided to keep growing my portfolio, until I can offer the revenue to really interest an advisor into working with me.

Do you use a DIY approach, a fee-based advisor, or a commission-based advisor?

This post was included in: Finance Carnival for Young Adults – Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself