Reply to Do you use a “wealth manager” or DIY?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I just switched to having others manage my money.  [b]They do a much better job than I did[/b].  Much better.  I still manage a 1/3 and there is a difference in increases in the accounts they manage.  Maybe I will get better over time - but happy having someone else do it for now.[/quote]

This is probably more of a reflection on you than your money manager. [/quote]

I'm not the PP but this ("This is probably more of a reflection on you than your money manager") is the whole point of hiring someone.  There are some of us, myself included, who are not skilled in managing investments so we contract out.  Just like I contract out for landscape work, and pay a painter to paint my house.  I'm capable of doing those things but the experts do them better.  [/quote]

I get where you're coming from, I really do. But ~97% of households have uncomplicated finances, and managing investments means little more than selecting a basket of 3-5 broad market index funds in your retirement accounts -- set it and forget it. It truly is that simple for the vast, vast majority of folks out there. Paying 1%+ of your assets under management year after year after year for somebody else to click those buttons for you is completely unnecessary and creates a serious drag on your ability to accumulate further savings. To wit, I have about average retirement savings for my age, and the "typical" retirement age is about 30 years away. A 1% drag on my account costs me almost a million dollars after 30 years! That's insane! If your painter or landscaper charged similarly, people would rightly suggest you to DIY, too.[/quote]

I agree on some points but my place doesn’t just click a few boxes and invest my money.  They understand taxes and estate planning and the nuances of tax loss harvesting.  They reevaluate based on changing issues and needs.  Like a similar poster above who learned a hard lesson about Maryland estate taxes, my wealth managers have recognized issues I wasn’t aware of and steered me back into safe territory.

We have massive elder care costs currently and once every month or two we evaluate how much we’re spending so they can do 401k to Roth conversions (for my elderly mom’s estate) without pushing her into a higher tax bracket.  They know which pool to pull from and the beneficiaries are going to benefit from Roth money instead of 401k money.  I understand these concepts in theory but would not be able to implement them successfully.  I find value in their work, and I am okay with their fees.  [/quote]

I wonder if advisors stress tax loss harvesting because they can sell off their     underperforming stocks as a win.

You could easily hire a fiduciary to do this every other year for $5k - $10k and save boatloads. [/quote]

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