Investment Advisor Services Run The Gamut, Which Is Right For You?

A recent New York Times article ‘For Financial Advice, Arriving at the Right Dosage’ is an informative piece describing various options for getting low cost financial advice from an investment advisor. It’s one of the best, most comprehensive and well-balanced articles of its kind. “Most everyone needs financial advice. The big question is how much. Wealthy families rely on a cadre of capable professionals who cater to them, and paying for advice is as natural as paying the landscaper. For everyone else, figuring out what’s needed depends, at least in part, on your stage in life, your goals and what you expect to receive in return.”

For all you ‘Home Depot’ types in the investing world – the ‘do-it-yourselfers’- an investing strategy worth considering is using an on-line portfolio management tool to help you determine an appropriate asset allocation given your investment needs. For the more passive investor, index fund and ETF portfolios are preferred as you are able to get diversification at a low cost. Not only do these services make it easy for anyone to set up a portfolio but also the management tools account for rebalancing, a necessary component for any passively managed portfolio.