{"id":299558,"date":"2026-01-23T14:11:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T14:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/299558\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T14:11:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T14:11:06","slug":"convince-me-otherwise-i-think-youre-better-off-with-a-portfolio-of-etfs-than-a-financial-adviser-whose-fees-will-eat-into-your-returns-am-i-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/299558\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Convince me otherwise.\u2019 I think you\u2019re better off with a portfolio of ETFs than a financial adviser, whose fees will eat into your returns. Am I right?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Question: <\/strong>\u201cWhy would someone pay money for a financial adviser when you can just buy an ETF or a portfolio of ETFs consisting of healthcare and tech? You don\u2019t have to pay adviser fees, so it\u2019s very low cost compared with a mutual fund or paying a professional. Most advisers make you buy and sell over and over, so there\u2019s additional cost on top of their fees. They make money while draining your account so you receive very little. Who can convince me otherwise?\u201d<\/p>\n

Answer:<\/strong> You pose a fair question \u2014 and you\u2019re right, for some people, a portfolio of ETFs (though likely not just healthcare and tech) is a better answer than a financial adviser. That said, some people want more than just straight investing gains: they want a comprehensive financial plan, ongoing support, financial modeling, a sounding board and more. And for them, a financial adviser might be a good idea. You can use this free tool to get matched with fiduciary advisers, <\/a>from our ad partner SmartAsset, or sites like CFP Board and NAPFA.<\/p>\n

\u201cA good fiduciary adviser can offer a multitude of benefits that extend simply beyond just investing,\u201d says Scott Sturgeon, senior wealth adviser at Oread Wealth Partners. Adds Gary Watts, certified financial planner at Watts Advisors Family Office: \u201cA comprehensive financial adviser should be providing a lot more help than picking stocks or funds. Risk mitigation, college planning, retirement planning, business planning and tax planning are also part of the job.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In other words, if you\u2019re just looking at investment gains less fees, an adviser likely won\u2019t outperform a smart mix of ETFs. \u201cIf your goal is to outperform the market, most financial advisers probably aren\u2019t going to be a great fit and if they\u2019re trying to sell you on their ability to beat markets, it\u2019s probably best to avoid them,\u201d says Sturgeon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Indeed, \u201cthere are reams of research that tell us you can\u2019t consistently outperform the market. You may still need an adviser if you\u2019re uncomfortable matching the plethora of ETF options to your investment risk preferences,\u201d says accredited financial counselor Lisa Whitley, owner of MoneyByLisa, who says she loves a low-cost index ETF and frequently recommends them to her clients. <\/p>\n

That said, if you\u2019re looking for financial guidance and planning, that\u2019s where a good adviser can actually add value. \u201cFor those who may have some amount of complexity in their financial situation, hiring an adviser can definitely be worth the cost,\u201d says Sturgeon. \u201cFor high-income earners like doctors or business owners, there\u2019s also an added element of whether diving into financial planning, tax strategies or investment management is something actually worth their time in the long run. If you feel like your finances are to a point where they\u2019ve gotten so large you\u2019re not sure what strategies to implement or if you\u2019re missing out on certain solutions, working with a fiduciary adviser for some period of time could offer a ton of benefit over the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n

Furthermore, think of a financial adviser as a steady hand at the wheel when markets are volatile and client emotions are running high. \u201cAdvisers can keep clients from acting rashly and against their own best interests,\u201d says Watts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Additionally, working with a trusted, fiduciary adviser can mean finding ways to lower taxes, making sure your family is protected and taken care of and identifying ways to give to charity more efficiently among other things. \u201cCreating an investment portfolio that\u2019s aligned with the client\u2019s needs is really important and some combination of ETFs, mutual funds, stocks or bonds could be used to do that,\u201d says Sturgeon. \u201cAt the same time, an adviser\u2019s value when it comes to investing is helping clients navigate difficult periods in the market and making sure they\u2019re sticking to a financial plan regardless of what market or economic conditions may look like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simply put: \u201cWhen we get sick we see a doctor, when we get into a legal bind we consult a lawyer, but for some reason we believe that we can navigate increasingly complex financial waters on our own,\u201d says Robert R. Johnson, chartered financial analyst and professor of finance at the Heider College of Business at Creighton University. You can use this free tool to get matched with fiduciary advisers, <\/a>from our ad partner SmartAsset, or sites like CFP Board and NAPFA.<\/p>\n

If you decide you don\u2019t need an adviser, that\u2019s great too. But beware of only investing in ETFs that focus on the healthcare and tech industries. The main concern here is concentration risk, so even though both healthcare and tech have strong long-term growth potential, it can put you in a vulnerable place just by the sheer fact that you\u2019re not well diversified.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, just because investors have access to low cost, somewhat diversified ETFs doesn\u2019t mean they will achieve their goals. Too often, self-guided portfolios underperform because individuals believe they are able to time the markets, says Johnson. \u201cPeople often sell low and buy high, contra to the old Wall Street adage. The greatest contribution of an adviser is to explain why a certain strategy is correct and to talk the individual off the ledge in times of market turmoil. That\u2019s the biggest disadvantage of relying on self-guidance or a fintech application. Robo advisers can\u2019t provide the same assurance,\u201d says Johnson.<\/p>\n

Have an issue with your financial planner or looking for a new one? Email questions or concerns to picks@marketwatch.com<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Questions edited for brevity and clarity. By emailing your questions to The Advicer, you agree to have them published anonymously on MarketWatch; they may appear anonymously in other media and platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Question: \u201cWhy would someone pay money for a financial adviser when you can just buy an ETF or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299559,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[7823,41562,2552,8139,85029,79,41573,41570,13782,41564,41565,6567,18,5760,41571,47522,18131,41592,25817,19,41586,3442,41557,17,13248,41561,234,235,19363,41589,41574,41585,41575,41590,41576,26243,10654,41591,41555],"class_list":{"0":"post-299558","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-acquisitions","9":"tag-acquisitions-mergers-shareholdings","10":"tag-analysis","11":"tag-banking","12":"tag-banking-credit","13":"tag-business","14":"tag-ce-industry-news-filter","15":"tag-content-types","16":"tag-corporate","17":"tag-corporate-actions","18":"tag-corporate-industrial-news","19":"tag-credit","20":"tag-eire","21":"tag-exchange-traded-funds","22":"tag-factiva-filters","23":"tag-financial-investment-services","24":"tag-financial-services","25":"tag-financial-vehicles","26":"tag-funds","27":"tag-ie","28":"tag-industrial-news","29":"tag-investing","30":"tag-investing-securities","31":"tag-ireland","32":"tag-mergers","33":"tag-ownership-changes","34":"tag-personal-finance","35":"tag-personalfinance","36":"tag-securities","37":"tag-selection-of-top-stories","38":"tag-selection-of-top-stories-trends-analysis","39":"tag-shareholdings","40":"tag-suggested-reading-industry-news","41":"tag-suggested-reading-investing","42":"tag-suggested-reading-investing-securities","43":"tag-synd","44":"tag-trends","45":"tag-trusts","46":"tag-trusts-funds-financial-vehicles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}