fbpx

3 Advantages of Managing Your Own Money

You can save a lot of money, have more control, and enjoy better results managing your own money. See if it makes sense for you.

By Selena Maranjian

Once you accumulate some money to invest, a key decision you’ll have to make is whether to manage your own money or have someone else do it. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to that question since each of us has different abilities and circumstances. For many people, managing their own money is the best option. Here are three advantages of managing your own money.

1. You can take a long-term view

Brian Feroldi: We at The Motley Fool are big believers that buying great companies and holding them for the ultra long term is the best way to build wealth. That’s a big reason why we regularly recommend ignoring short-term price movements and instead staying focused on the long-term potential of the companies you own.

Unfortunately, one disadvantage financial advisors often face is that they can’t always have a long-term outlook when they invest. Why? Well, some feel that in order to justify their fees, they need to frequently tweak portfolios. After all, if their clients saw that they kept holding onto the same companies year after year without making any changes, then the clients might start to wonder why they couldn’t manage their money on their own for a fraction of the cost.

Another pitfall financial advisors face is that they don’t want to be caught holding the “wrong” stocks when it comes time to send their clients a statement. After all, if a financial advisor had heavy exposure to a poorly performing sector of the market, his clients might think he was bad at their job. To compensate, some might sell their under-performers and buy into hot stocks just prior to the statements being sent out. This practice — called “window dressing” — can protect them from being asked tough questions by their clients.

Thankfully, when you manage your own money, you’re under no such pressure to constantly have to justify your actions. That affords you the luxury of having a long-term outlook. That’s a powerful advantage individual investors shouldn’t overlook.

Getty Handing Over Money Borrowing

IT’S NOT ALWAYS BEST TO HAND OVER YOUR MONEY TO SOMEONE ELSE. IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

2. You have greater control

Jeremy BowmanEmploying someone else to do something for you inevitably creates friction. After all, we’ve all muttered, “I should’ve done it myself” at one time or another. Orders can be misunderstood or miscommunicated, opinions may differ, and personal incentives don’t always align. The same is true with investing.

You understand your own financial needs and goals better than anyone else. If you have the time and the interest, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be managing your own money. A good baseline to start with is a low-fee index fund such as the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT:VOO) if you’re just looking to park your money in the broad stock market and watch it grow. Investors with a higher risk tolerance may seek out growth stocks or a mix of investments to offer income and growth. As your needs and expectations change, you can make adjustments to your portfolio in a much more seamless way than if you were dealing an advisor. Similarly, if you get a tip or see a stock you like at a good price, you can jump on it immediately without having to go through a third party. The plunge and recovery following the Brexit vote was a perfect example of this. The broad market fell 5% in two days, with many stocks falling much more sharply. If you wanted to get in on those bargain prices, the window was short — the market recovered in just three days.

Having control of your investments offers transparency, too, as there’s no need to parse someone else’s decisions.

Best of all, you’ll learn as you go. Managing your money is a lifelong pursuit, and though it may seem intimidating at first, you’ll learn from mistakes you make along the way and adapt as you go, feeling more comfortable all the time.

Getty Money Down The Drain

A LOT OF MONEY CAN GO DOWN THE DRAIN IN FEES. IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

3. You can save a lot on fees

Selena Maranjian: A key advantage of managing your own money is that you can avoid paying a lot in fees. Of course, if you haven’t taken the time to learn a lot about investing and don’t have a good plan, your savings may be outweighed by your underperformance. But for those who know what they’re doing, it can make a lot of sense to manage your own money.

Consider that many investment advisors or money managers will charge you a percent of your assets each year for their services. According to the folks at AdvisoryHQ, here are some average rates:

Portfolio Size Average Fee Annual Fee Cost
$50,000 1.18% $590
$250,000 1.07% $2,675
$500,000 1.05% $5,250
$1,000,000 1.02% $10,200

That’s serious money, charged each year, very likely costing you tens of thousands of dollars over the course of your investment period. Managed mutual funds charge fees, too. Plunk $100,000 into funds with 3% front-end loads, and you’ll fork over $3,000 immediately. If they have typical expense ratios (annual fees) of 1%, you’ll be paying $1,000 per year. If, like some funds, they charge closer to 2% annually, you’ll be bleeding nearly $2,000 per year.

You don’t have to be an investing genius to manage your own money. Since most managed mutual funds fail to outperform simple index funds, and many money managers and advisors aren’t going to deliver results that beat them, either, it can make good sense to just park your hard-earned dollars in inexpensive index funds, such as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT:SPY). If you want to do your own stock-picking, favor a low-commission brokerage to save on trading fees.

Managing your own money isn’t right for everyone, but it might make good sense for you.

10 stocks we like better than Vanguard S and P 500 ETF
When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Vanguard S and P 500 ETF wasn’t one of them! That’s right — they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of July 6, 2016 

Brian Feroldi has no position in any stocks mentioned. Jeremy Bowman has no position in any stocks mentioned. Selena Maranjian has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

 

You May Also Like

NAIOP South Florida Appoints Officers, Executive Board and Board of Directors for 2022

NAIOP South Florida, a Commercial Real Estate Development Association offering advocacy, education and business opportunities to its members, has announced the following officers for the 2022 Board of Directors: President:

Pride Week Festival Begins With Tribute to Pulse Nightclub Survivor

Miami Beach Pride’s week-long festivities will commence with a special tribute to the LGBTQ+ community honoring the victims of the tragic shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. A ceremonial “flip

Surfside luxury condo sees notable sales

Arte at Surfside is making waves. There’s, of course, the news that Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are renting at the 16-resident luxury condominium. And there’s the December penthouse sale

Up in the Air: A Discussion

In a dynamic region where residents are typically on the move, everyone is wondering about the health of the airline industry and the safety of airports and airplanes. Everyone is

Other Posts

South Florida Yachting Legend Passes

Robert “Bob” Roscioli, an icon in the South Florida marine industry, has passed away. Many recognize the name Roscioli from the widely-successful and world-renowned Roscioli Yachting Center, a full service

Four key steps

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text] What a crazy time we are all experiencing. Right now, getting back to basics is most important. It is not and

Pandemic adds to worries about hurricane season

An above-normal 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is expected, according to forecasters with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service. The outlook predicts a 60% chance of

The difference between leading and managing

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text] Leadership and management are often misunderstood as one in the same. They are not. Certainly, a good leader should be able

Drew Limsky

Drew Limsky

Editor-in-Chief

BIOGRAPHY

Drew Limsky joined Lifestyle Media Group in August 2020 as Editor-in-Chief of South Florida Business & Wealth. His first issue of SFBW, October 2020, heralded a reimagined structure, with new content categories and a slew of fresh visual themes. “As sort of a cross between Forbes and Robb Report, with a dash of GQ and Vogue,” Limsky says, “SFBW reflects South Florida’s increasingly sophisticated and dynamic business and cultural landscape.”

Limsky, an avid traveler, swimmer and film buff who holds a law degree and Ph.D. from New York University, likes to say, “I’m a doctor, but I can’t operate—except on your brand.” He wrote his dissertation on the nonfiction work of Joan Didion. Prior to that, Limsky received his B.A. in English, summa cum laude, from Emory University and earned his M.A. in literature at American University in connection with a Masters Scholar Award fellowship.

Limsky came to SFBW at the apex of a storied career in journalism and publishing that includes six previous lead editorial roles, including for some of the world’s best-known brands. He served as global editor-in-chief of Lexus magazine, founding editor-in-chief of custom lifestyle magazines for Cadillac and Holland America Line, and was the founding editor-in-chief of Modern Luxury Interiors South Florida. He also was the executive editor for B2B magazines for Acura and Honda Financial Services, and he served as travel editor for Conde Nast. Magazines under Limsky’s editorship have garnered more than 75 industry awards.

He has also written for many of the country’s top newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Boston Globe, USA Today, Worth, Robb Report, Afar, Time Out New York, National Geographic Traveler, Men’s Journal, Ritz-Carlton, Elite Traveler, Florida Design, Metropolis and Architectural Digest Mexico. His other clients have included Four Seasons, Acqualina Resort & Residences, Yahoo!, American Airlines, Wynn, Douglas Elliman and Corcoran. As an adjunct assistant professor, Limsky has taught journalism, film and creative writing at the City University of New York, Pace University, American University and other colleges.