I don’t need someone telling me not to panic sell or putting me into a S&P500 fund all while taking 1% AUM
If I ever need advising, I would look into Fee Only

Exactly. I left Morgan Stanley several years ago because of the fees.

I have these arguments with a guy I worked with and he still has a hell of a book. (I haven't been in the financial business for 15 years. I don't like the new correlation that exists between assets that haven't traditionally been correlated. He argued it all works itself out in the wash and uses mostly ETFs to get his allocations down. I like active management because I don't want an algorithm to say I have to sell in a down market to maintain the proper weights. I would rather chose my large cap US stuff (and manage dividends) on my own and hold individual stocks. Then I make him do what he doesn't want and find actively managed funds to fill in the rest. I am the same way with fixed income. I like to know I can hold an asset and get par on the backside.

Anyway, we laugh about my crazy distrust of index manipulation and how I used to be attracted to the falling knives....which usually turned out pretty awesome.

I hope you are right!
I’ve got a couple hundred acres of cutover that’s slap full of sticks. 😁

Mine rebalances twice a year I believe or maybe quarterly, can’t remember. Plus I have 20 plus years to retire so I have time to stay aggressive before I start pulling the reigns back and getting more conservative

Do you all prefer to manage your portfolio yourself, or let a CFP do it for you?

I have done mine myself

Both mine and my wife's IRAs are with a CFP . I do my own individual stock picking , I do run them by the CFP as he has more info at his disposal than I do and can "keep me out of trouble."

I have mine with a CFP and we make money, but i am torn between some of the Companies he invests in like "Blackrock"!!! It makes money, but im not a fan of what their platform is doing.

I use a CFP. He gets paid and my money grows. He tells me some options and he’s not pushy about anything. I have the final say in any position of money but I tell him what I want and leave him alone. If I had the knowledge or the interest to do what he does I would have no need for him. If I’m not making money he’s not making money so I trust his decision and let him do his job. I don’t have a conscience when it comes to investing. I don’t let morals or personal feelings get in the way of investing and making money.

Pretty smart feller told me a long time ago "don't let your $ get mad." I've got a couple I don't like , but they're making $.
I looked at Blackrock , but like Berkshire-Hathaway better for a long term, huge holding company type stock. BRK actually owns many big companies outright along with major stakes in other huge companies. I believe Warren Buffet has a 19.8% average gain since he took over BRK in the 60's. Here's a link to what BRK owns, the top chart is companies they own or own controlling interest out right. Bottom is major stock holdings. Impressive and interesting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assets_owned_by_Berkshire_Hathaway

You'd be hard pressed to buy many stocks that Blackrock doesn't own a portion (or majority) of. Their tentacles go much deeper than imaginable.

Why do I need someone to tell me not to panic sell or buy a regular S&P500 fund when I’m capable of doing that myself?
1% AUM over a lifetime, ouch no thanks I’ll pass on that.

More money is lost in the poor structuring of assets than in not acheiving the best return. Ordinary income, short term gains, long term gains, and estate planning is where a good CFP makes the difference. Everybody always wants to put all their eggs in the qualified basket. But, that isn't how to build real wealth... the tax man likes it though.

Agree. I'll pass on giving away 1% of everything, every year, no matter what the returns are.

People love to make this stuff wildly complicated to justify paying 1% AUM…woof

$23,000 into 401K+5% or so we’ll just assume for employer match
$14,000 per year into Roth, Traditional or Backdoor IRAs for a married couple
$8,000 into HSA which is triple tax advantaged.

If both spouses are working(very common in 2024), that $75,000+ that is getting invested annually into tax advantaged accounts.
Very very few Americans are investing more than that annually.
How do I know? Because most Americans are shockingly broke.

It would be different if CFPs actually beat the market. But they consistently and demonstrably lag the market by a significant amount. Year after year. I believe the number is 90% fail to beat index. And even the ones that do beat the market in a given year can't repeat their success, meaning it wasn't skill, it was luck.

Yup.
FZROX/VTSAX and chill.

On a side note, all this savings is great, but if you’re mortgaged to the hilt……
Being debt free is first imo.

A CFP is not an investment picker. The designation doesn't have anything to do with that. I was going to sit for the exam before I left I did the partial AAMS my fist year (which isn't tough). The CFP is like a CPA compared to the local guy at the H&R Block. Both can do your taxes. But only one is going to handle setting up your estate or helping you structure your business.

And not all CFP's are Registered Investment Advisors that can even charge a percent fee for management. Or at least they weren't in the past.

This is like the argument of not needing a guide on an elk or moose trip. Sure you can do it yourself, but most can't and need some direction.