What is the Cost of Having a Financial Advisor?

According to www.thisismoney.co.uk, "On average, they charge £143 per hour, or 1.8  per cent of assets upfront followed by 0.7 per cent a year thereafter for as  long as the client retains their services."

According to thefirstmillionisthehardest.net, "When I was in college, I majored in finance because I wanted to become an advisor and help people manage their money. However, once I graduated and started interviewing for positions I learned the truth. The companies that financial advisors work for don’t want someone who knows all about finance and investing. They want someone who can sell ice to an Eskimo."

The article continues to point out, "With online brokers like TD Ameritrade or Schwab you’ll pay $10 or less for every trade you make. Even the cheapest financial planners won’t come close to that. This means they’ll have to perform that much better just to overcome the higher fees they charge."

According to pennythots.com, "When things start to get complicated – marriage, kids, retirement planning, college planning, etc., that is when you might want to look more deeply into hiring a financial planner. But some people may be better off hiring an advisor from the start."

Do you have a financial advisor?  Do you need one?  How can you cut down your costs but still get great financial advice?

This post was reposted from http://finlit.biz/business/what-is-the-cost-of-having-a-financial-advisor/, originally written on February 10th, 2013.