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Paying fees for professional investment management is something we’d all like to avoid. Why pay for some guy in a suit to manage your investments when you can do-it-yourself with a simple online brokerage account? There are many reasons to trust a professional - read on to find out whether it’s worth it to go with the pros.

Active vs. Passive

A key distinction for investors is whether you want a passive investment strategy or an active one. The difference is simple - active means making calls on the market, and passive relies on broad market positions without a lot of trading activity over time. The best performing active investor will (almost) always beat the performance of a passive one, but you need experience (and some luck) to make the right calls. An active DIY investor usually takes on too much risk without enough diversification. If you want to squeeze extra returns out of an active strategy, it pays to consult with the pros. Even passive investors can benefit from advice from an investment professional.

Expertise

Investing takes a day to learn and a lifetime to master. Trusting yourself to research all the options and make the right choices for your future can be overwhelming - even if you have a degree in finance. Professional investment advisors are constantly reading and learning about markets, taxes, estate planning, risk profiles, and a thousand other disciples to provide advice to their clients. The world of investing only gets more complicated, so it’s crucial to stay up-to-date. It pays to rely on an expert instead of doing it all on your own.

Unemotional

“Buy low, sell high” is the mantra for any good investor. Sounds easy, right? In reality, most DIY investors suffer from emotional decision making. They hold onto winning stocks too long and sell off their dogs at the bottom of the market. It’s difficult to be emotionally unattached when it’s your money on the line, and that’s why millions of people around the world trust an advisor to make decisions on their behalf. It’s all too easy to fall into emotional traps when it comes to your money, and a good advisor can help you through the ups-and-downs of the market without buying or selling at the wrong time.

Taxes

One of the most overlooked aspects of investment strategy is taxes. The tax code is thousands of pages and makes for dense reading for an amateur investor. Professional advisors will help you maximize your after-tax returns without paying too much (or worse, not enough!) to the government. The pros will help you earn more after taxes without risking costly audits and reassessments.

Time 

Lastly, the best value from working with a professional advisor is free time. Most of us investors just want to save and get our money working for us. Let the professionals do the heavy lifting when it comes to research, strategy, and education. Life is short - do you really want to spend your free time reading charts and tax tables?

Investing takes a day to learn and a lifetime to master. Trusting yourself to research all the options and make the right choices for your future can be overwhelming - even if you have a degree in finance. Professional investment advisors are constantly reading and learning about markets, taxes, estate planning, risk profiles, and a thousand other disciples to provide advice to their clients. The world of investing only gets more complicated, so it’s crucial to stay up-to-date. It pays to rely on an expert instead of doing it all on your own.

Unemotional

“Buy low, sell high” is the mantra for any good investor. Sounds easy, right? In reality, most DIY investors suffer from emotional decision making. They hold onto winning stocks too long and sell off their dogs at the bottom of the market. It’s difficult to be emotionally unattached when it’s your money on the line, and that’s why millions of people around the world trust an advisor to make decisions on their behalf. It’s all too easy to fall into emotional traps when it comes to your money, and a good advisor can help you through the ups-and-downs of the market without buying or selling at the wrong time.

Taxes

One of the most overlooked aspects of investment strategy is taxes. The tax code is thousands of pages and makes for dense reading for an amateur investor. Professional advisors will help you maximize your after-tax returns without paying too much (or worse, not enough!) to the government. The pros will help you earn more after taxes without risking costly audits and reassessments.

Time 

Lastly, the best value from working with a professional advisor is free time. Most of us investors just want to save and get our money working for us. Let the professionals do the heavy lifting when it comes to research, strategy, and education. Life is short - do you really want to spend your free time reading charts and tax tables?

*This content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. The information provided is not written or intended as tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for purposes of avoiding any Federal tax penalties. Individuals are encouraged to seek advice from their own tax or legal counsel. Individuals involved in the estate planning process should work with an estate planning team, including their own personal legal or tax counsel. Neither the information presented nor any opinion expressed constitutes a representation by us of a specific investment or the purchase or sale of any securities. Asset allocation and diversification do not ensure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets. This material was developed and produced by Advisor Websites to provide information on a topic that may be of interest. Copyright 2025 Advisor Websites.

During a crisis, you need answers, and your financial advisor knows this. It is a scramble to find the right information, and sometimes you do not even know whom to call. So, what do you do? Well, luckily for you, we have spent some time thinking about this and have come up with some of the most important things to do to during a crisis. 

Before the Crisis

First and foremost, you should chat with your financial advisor at your next meeting about their emergency contact plan, and what you should do. Ask questions such as if you are not reachable, who should I contact, and what is your preferred mode of communication during an emergency. As well, ask about what you should expect during the process, and if you need to do anything to assist them during the crisis. Most importantly, write these answers down and put it with your files. 

Secondly, you should gather all of your documents and any other pertinent contact information and put them in your file folder. This will allow you to grab all the necessary information quickly, including the account numbers and contact information in case of a crisis. 

During the Crisis

First, you need to take a breath and relax. Crises will come up, and the best person to help guide you through this process is your financial advisor. No matter if the market is in a bear, or has stopped trading altogether, let the experts handle the emergency. Simply put, you freaking out, or getting anxious is not going to have any effect on the market. 

Secondly, take a look for your information docket, and find the contact information. Your financial advisor may prefer an email or a phone call, but either way, follow the emergency contact plan that they laid out with you. If you did not set up an emergency contact plan, try an email and then a call. Pay attention to the automated reply; it may have information about a conference call or other pertinent information. 

Third, after you make contact, go about your day. Your financial advisor has your best interests in mind and will be able to navigate the market for you. Repeatedly calling or emailing will not help! 

Finally, most financial advisors will either send out a mass email or arrange a conference call to go over the issues, and what they foresee over the next few days or week. This meeting will probably present an opportunity to have your questions answered, so prepare! 

Final thoughts

During a crisis, the last thing you want to do is panic. Markets ebb and flow, and although you might see a massive bear, the market will crater and get back to normal soon enough. As a client, it is tough to wait and see, but you trusted this financial advisor before the market went into a crisis, why would it change during it? Simply put, trust your advisor and reap the benefits when the market rights itself.

*This content is developed from sources believed to be providing accurate information. The information provided is not written or intended as tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for purposes of avoiding any Federal tax penalties. Individuals are encouraged to seek advice from their own tax or legal counsel. Individuals involved in the estate planning process should work with an estate planning team, including their own personal legal or tax counsel. Neither the information presented nor any opinion expressed constitutes a representation by us of a specific investment or the purchase or sale of any securities. Asset allocation and diversification do not ensure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets. This material was developed and produced by Advisor Websites to provide information on a topic that may be of interest. Copyright 2025 Advisor Websites.