Do you need a financial advisor?

Plenty of people manage their money well on their own. They save automatically, buy low-cost funds, and leave them alone. If that describes you and your life is fairly simple, you may not need ongoing advice at all.

But money gets complicated in predictable ways, and a professional can earn their fee many times over in those moments. Here’s how to tell which camp you’re in.

Moments when advice tends to pay off

• You’re within about ten years of retirement and unsure how to turn savings into income
• A big life change has arrived: marriage, divorce, a new child, a death in the family, or a large inheritance
• You own a business and are thinking about taxes, a retirement plan for employees, or an eventual sale
• You have stock options or company shares and aren’t sure when to sell
• Your accounts are spread across several employers and banks with no overall plan

What a good advisor actually does

Picking investments is the part people picture, but it’s often the smallest part of the value. A good advisor helps you set realistic goals, builds a plan, coordinates taxes and insurance decisions, and keeps you steady when markets fall. Many clients say the most valuable thing is simply having someone to call before making a big decision.

The biggest financial mistakes usually aren’t bad investments. They’re rushed decisions made during stressful moments.

When you might not need one

If you’re early in your career, your employer offers a good retirement plan, and you have no major decisions coming up, a few hours of reading and a target-date fund may be enough. You can always revisit the question when life changes.

Options in between

• A one-time plan from an hourly or flat-fee planner, which you then carry out yourself
• A robo-advisor that manages a simple portfolio automatically at low cost
• Advice included with your workplace retirement plan, which many people never use