Quote:
Originally Posted by DaFace
I went with Ed Jones for a couple years while I was just getting started. It was nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of, but honestly I didn't find his advice to be all that useful, and when you start to understand how much of your earnings are shaved off in fees, it quickly becomes apparent that you can do it on your own. Hell, even a low-fee target date account from Vanguard or Schwab is probably better than what you'll get from Ed Jones or similar.
As others have suggested, I think fee-based is the way to go once you have a base level of understanding of how things work. Pay someone for the advice they give when you need it, but don't let them just shave off 1% in perpetuity.
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This all day. Pay for them to get started if you need but do not pay 1-2% on fees for having a financial advisor long term. It's amazing how many tens of thousands of dollars you will lose in a lifetime doing this. There's enough passive investment strategies with indexing and target date funds to not have to be pulling a bunch of moves and losing money to financial advisors in the process. Learn what conservative or risky funds looks like and decide your plan of attack. Seek advice when you need but just simply saying I have a financial advisor and having them make your moves is risky and a good way to lose money in fees.
Also, try to avoid the time warp that is managing your own finances. It's been known to take years off your life.