Investing: Advisor or DIY?

With the internet, technology, and an abundance of research now more than ever investors are asking themselves, should I still work with an advisor and pay their fees? So this article is going to look at the benefits and costs of working with an advisor as well as look at the benefits and costs of doing it yourself investing.

DIY Investing Benefits

Some of the benefits of DIY Investing are:

1. Lower fees & Transaction Costs
2. More flexibility in what you invest in
3. Potential to make riskier and more profitable investments
4. Forces you to become financially literate.

Overall you may save money, have more investment choices and become more financially literate when doing your own investments. This does come with some drawbacks.

Some drawbacks of DIY Investing are:

1. More Time consuming
2. Emotional mistakes may cause huge investment losses
3. Research is less focused
4.  Tax planning is generally overlooked by DIY Investors

DIY investing takes up a lot of time. With the amount of research and planning involved you need to ask yourself if you would make more money doing what you are best at (being a doctor, engineer, lawyer, accountant, etc) if you would make more money doing that instead of managing your own investments.  There are some benefits of going it alone but being emotional with your money, being more sporadic in your research, and overlooking tax consequences of various investments and strategies are all things to keep in mind on whether DIY investing is right for you.

Using an Advisor

I am biased but here are some benefits of working with an advisor:

1. Keeps clients emotions in check when making investment choices
2. Frees up time so clients can focus on other things
3. Can help aim your investment decisions
4. Has a larger overall financial plan for you

Overall an advisor will likely have a diverse offering of investment products and choices and may be able to help keep you calm in turbulent markets. Working with an advisor can also have drawbacks.

Some of the drawbacks to working with an advisor are:

1. More expensive.
2. Advisors can be dishonest and not what is in your best interest (do extra due diligence)
3. Advisors will likely be more cautious with client investments this could cost you returns
4. Advisors will have other clients and may not always be able to make you a top priority.

Certainly, there are many benefits to working with an advisor. I am an advisor and I like to think all clients who work with an advisor will be better off. However, that is not the case. There are many advisors who charge outrageous fees, behave dishonestly, and do things that are not in the best interest of their clients.

What to do?

Overall whether you want to do your own investing or hire an advisor it is imperative to do enough due diligence to make sure it is the right fit for you. If you decide on an advisor make sure your goals are being addressed and make sure they have a good track record. If you decide to do it yourself make sure you have enough discipline to ride out turbulent markets and make sure you have an overall strategy. Of course, I am biased. The best thing you can do is sign up as a client of Canadian Islamic Wealth.