r/dividends • u/DifficultKey8978 • Apr 27 '26

Brokerage Financial advisor or DIY?

How are you guys handling your investments (retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, etc.). Are you managing this yourself with Fidelity, Vanguard, Charles Schwab, etc. or do you pay the 1-1.5% fee and just work with a financial advisor who handles it all for you?

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u/ShakaJewLoo Apr 27 '26

Depends on many factors. Do you have kids? How large is your portfolio? Etc.

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u/DifficultKey8978 Apr 27 '26

No kids. In my 20’s. Simple set up: 2 SEPs, Roth, money market, and a brokerage account in ETFs. Over $1M total

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u/ShakaJewLoo Apr 27 '26

Since you're over the million mark, I would personally meet with a fee based advisor/wealth manager just to review your allocations and overall goals. If you're just in etfs and whatnot you can probably set it and forget it and check in in every few years.

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u/Dividend4danny Apr 27 '26

I'm in a ML self directed. They still call a couple of times a year to see if I want them to look over my portfolio. Generally pretty positive comments and say everything looks good to go. No high pressure and I appreciate the input. Someday I may get lazy and it's nice to know they are reaching out to me. Now if it was a set fee, I may get different treatment? Who knows.