Should I Hire a Financial Advisor to Manage My Investments?
Deciding whether to hire a financial advisor is an important decision that requires careful consideration of your needs, goals, and finances. For high net worth individuals and families, working with a professional advisor can provide significant benefits and value. This article explores the key reasons why you should consider hiring an advisor to manage your investments.
The Complexity of Modern Investing Requires Expert Guidance
Today's financial markets offer a dizzying array of investment products and strategies. Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, alternatives, direct indexing, private investments - the list goes on. Selecting investments and building a diversified portfolio suited to your risk tolerance and financial objectives is complex.
As your wealth grows, so too does the sophistication required to preserve and continue growing your capital. Tax considerations, estate planning, risk management, and wealth transfer between generations all become increasingly important. Navigating these areas requires specific expertise.
Financial advisors have the professional skills and knowledge to provide guidance on complex investment topics that you may not have exposure to. Their insight and oversight brings discipline to investment decisions and can prevent costly mistakes. As your personal situation and the markets change over time, an advisor can recommend appropriate portfolio adjustments you may not think to make on your own.
"A financial advisor helps people manage their money and map out a plan for the future, including retirement. Whether they focus on financial planning in a broader form or focus on niche topics, financial advisors draw up plans or recommend specific investment products and vehicles to meet the goals of their clients." 5
Achieving Financial Goals Requires an Expert Partner
Reaching long-term financial goals like securing a comfortable retirement, funding education expenses, or leaving an inheritance often requires growth well above inflation. Accomplishing ambitious wealth-building objectives necessitates professional investment management and guidance.
Financial advisors provide expertise to give your investments the best chance of achieving targeted returns. That includes developing a personalized investment strategy aligned to your risk appetite, time horizon, and priorities. With holistic oversight of your finances, they can identify opportunities for efficiency and growth you may overlook on your own.
"Investors who work with an advisor are generally more confident about reaching their goals. Industry studies estimate that professional financial advice can generate up to a 3% improvement in net returns." 12
As an additional benefit, financial advisors impart discipline to remain focused on long-term goals rather than making choices based on short-term market fluctuations. Their guidance can help you avoid expensive investment mistakes driven by emotion rather than strategy.
Hiring an Advisor Provides Freedom from Investment Burdens
For high net worth investors, managing a complex investment portfolio along with other financial planning priorities becomes a burdensome task. It requires significant time and attention spent researching products, staying current on markets, interpreting financial data, and monitoring performance.
Offloading investment management to a financial advisor frees you from these burdens so you can spend time on other priorities. Advisors handle the legwork required to design and maintain a portfolio customized to your financial situation. With expertise and the latest technology, they efficiently manage investments with a rigorous methodology based on data and research.
A skilled advisor functions as a personal CIO, or Chief Investment Officer, continually working in your best interests. This arrangement allows you to focus on business, family, travel or hobbies rather than getting lost in spreadsheets.
An Advisor Delivers Customized Service Not Possible with Robo Platforms
Robo-advisors provide digital investment management at low costs by leveraging algorithms. However, their services come with limitations versus working with a dedicated human advisor.
Robos lack the ability to customize investment strategies and financial plans to your distinct requirements. You miss out on personally tailored portfolios and guidance from an advisor familiar with your priorities. Robos also have limited capabilities to handle complex asset allocations, tax optimization planning, estate preparation, and other high net worth services.
There remain intangible benefits of human financial guidance as well. The personalized support and reassurance an advisor provides can impart confidence and help avoid emotional decision making. As markets fluctuate widely, that human touch grows in value for investors with significant capital at stake.
"It's hard to say whether robo-advisors outperform financial advisors because every portfolio is different...However, keep in mind that human financial advisors tend to charge higher fees than robo-advisors, which means they'll need to outperform robo-advisors on a pre-fee basis to have the same overall results." 2
Savvy Wealth Delivers Bespoke Services for High Net Worth Clients
As a leading financial technology platform, Savvy Wealth transforms wealth management for advisors and their high net worth clients.. Savvy Wealth, in partnership with its affiliate, Savvy Advisors, Inc., combines specialized human advisors with cutting-edge technology to deliver customized services not possible with traditional or robo providers.
Some key benefits Savvy Wealth offers to high net worth clients include:
- Dedicated Expert Advisors - Savvy matches clients to financial advisors with specific skills and experience to meet their unique needs
- Holistic Advice - Their advisors take a goals-based approach with integrated strategies across investments, taxes, estate planning and risk management
- Bespoke Portfolios - Client portfolios are individually customized based on their priorities and risk preferences
- Proprietary Research - Savvy's investment team develops specialized asset management capabilities and alternative investment opportunities not accessible to average investors
- Industry-Leading Technology - The firm provides portfolio analytics, performance reporting, client dashboards and other cutting-edge applications to complement human advice
Savvy Wealth oversees over $100 million in assets, demonstrating their capabilities helping clients preserve and grow significant wealth. The firm's modern approach delivers personalized services at the intersection of human insight and technology capability.
Conclusion
Determining whether to hire a financial advisor depends on your personal financial situation and investment objectives. For high net worth investors, however, the services of a professional advisor provide substantial benefits that outweigh their cost.
Financial advisors offer expertise, guidance, and oversight to effectively navigate complex investment activities and reach long-term wealth building goals. Their support can save time, reduce stress, minimize taxes, and ultimately give your capital the best opportunity for growth. Savvy Wealth presents a compelling option, combining specialized human financial advisors with industry-leading technology.
References
- Benefits of working with a financial advisor. (n.d.). Edward Jones. https://www.edwardjones.com/us-en/working-financial-advisor/benefits-working-financial-advisor
- Self-Directed vs. Automated Investing: Which is Better? (2022, November 30). Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/self-directed-vs-automated-investing-7574409
- Savvy Wealth. (n.d.). Strategic Investment Management Company | Savvy Wealth. https://www.savvywealth.com/services/wealth-investment-manager
- How Financial Advisors Can Market to High-Net-Worth Individuals. (2021, December 8). Twenty Over Ten. https://blog.twentyoverten.com/how-financial-advisors-can-market-to-high-net-worth-individuals
- Do I Need a Financial Advisor? (2022, July 5). Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/managing-wealth/when-should-you-hire-financial-advisor
- Why hire a financial advisor | Fidelity. (n.d.). Fidelity Investments. https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/investing-ideas/financial-advisor-cost
Savvy Wealth, Inc. (“Savvy Wealth”) is a tech company and the parent company of Savvy Advisors, Inc, (“Savvy Advisors”). All advisory services are offered through Savvy Advisors, Inc., an investment advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). For the purposes of this blog article, Savvy Wealth and Savvy Advisors may be referred to together as “Savvy”.
