--- title: How (Not) Having a Financial Advisor Can Impact Performance description: Investors who did not use a financial advisor tended to under perform with their investments, according to a recent study. --- [![Assembly Wealth](https://www.letsassemble.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Assembly/logos/Assembly-Wealth-Logo-Orange-500px.png?width=300&height=70&name=Assembly-Wealth-Logo-Orange-500px.png "Assembly Wealth")](https://www.letsassemble.com/) The Money Manager People TM [800-541-7774](tel:+18005417774) [![RESEARCH MONEY MANAGERS](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/10700/7ecbcb66-3fbb-41e3-b219-c24fb3c769c5.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/10700/7ecbcb66-3fbb-41e3-b219-c24fb3c769c5) [![Client Center](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/10700/8691dcb4-caa3-42c2-a810-77b59f461fd2.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/10700/8691dcb4-caa3-42c2-a810-77b59f461fd2) [Home](https://www.letsassemble.com/) WrapManager's Wealth Management Blog When life changes, we can help you thoughtfully respond. [< Back to read another post](https://www.letsassemble.com/wealth-management-blog) # How (Not) Having a Financial Advisor Can Impact Performance Posted by [ WrapManager's Investment Policy Committee](https://www.letsassemble.com/wealth-management-blog/author/wrapmanagers-investment-policy-committee) February 20, 2014 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) According to a study conducted by benefit consultant Aon Hewitt and advice firm Financial Engines, investors who did not use the help of a financial advisor tended to underperform with their investments. The study looked at the 401(k) returns of more than 425,000 savers from 2006 through 2010, and found that the median annual return of those who got professional help was almost 3% higher than the return for those who invested on their own, even after taking fees into account.1 ### Why Did Investors Without a Financial Advisor Underperform? According to the study, one of the reasons for the performance gap was that the investors who self-managed were far more likely to be too aggressive or too conservative, instead of a diversified balance of the two. Emotions also played a role, as self-managers were more apt to cash out of stocks in the 2008 crash, causing their returns to lag substantially when the market rebounded in 2009.1 This highlights the importance of having an investment plan in place to help guide your decisions and keep you on track. ### How Hiring a Financial Advisor Can Help When investors choose to manage their portfolio on their own (often for the sake of saving fees), they are forgetting a potentially big expense: the opportunity cost of not having an investment plan. Additionally, a self-manager may not have anyone to speak to for sound and unbiased advice. In that case, a financial advisor can provide professional advice in accordance with the investment plan and your risk tolerance. An investor who chooses to self-manage may also not receive adequate investment planning advice, which should be an important part of how a portfolio is ultimately structured. If an investor doesn’t manage their portfolio with their long-term retirement income needs, tax considerations, and estate planning needs in mind, it could impact their ability to reach their goals. ### WrapManager Can Build You an Investment Plan At WrapManager, we recommend money manager strategies to our clients as part of their investment plan. However, we believe it’s important to first look at an investor’s entire financial picture before determining what investments make sense, and we go through that exercise free of charge. If you would like to speak with one of our Wealth Managers to have us analyze your financial picture relative to your long-term objectives, please give us a call today at 1-800-541-7774. You can also **[get started by answering a few brief questions here. ](https://www.letsassemble.com/free-personalized-investment-plan)[![Like What You've Read? 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The information provided in a blog post prepared by WrapManager or an associated person of WrapManager is generally limited to financial and economic issues, but may include a discussion of general interest items. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog authors, and not necessarily those of WrapManager, Inc. Certain blog posts include information pertaining to WrapManager’s investment advisory services and the products and services of unaffiliated money managers. Such information is provided for information purposes only. Accordingly, information provided in a blog should not be construed by any consumer and/or prospective client as a solicitation to effect or attempt to effect transactions in securities or the rendering of personalized investment advice. Any subsequent, direct communication by WrapManager with a prospective client shall be conducted by a representative of WrapManager. 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This website should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed. Information on this site should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal, tax or accounting advice by a professional in your local jurisdiction. Comments made by third parties are subject to moderation by WrapManager and may not appear on this blog until they have been deemed appropriate for posting. Also, due to the volume of comments received, not all comments will be posted. WrapManager does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party website linked to WrapManager's web site or incorporated within a blog post. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly.     ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "WrapManager's Investment Policy Committee", "url" : "https://www.letsassemble.com/wealth-management-blog/author/wrapmanagers-investment-policy-committee" }, "datePublished" : "2014-02-20T17:52:00.000Z", "headline" : "How (Not) Having a Financial Advisor Can Impact Performance", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.letsassemble.com/wealth-management-blog/how-not-having-a-financial-advisor-can-impact-performance", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.letsassemble.com/hubfs/Assembly/logos/Assembly-Wealth-Logo-Orange-500px.png" }, "name" : "Assembly" } } ```