[nickbp]

An investor is best served by keeping things as simple as possible. The most they should be concerned with is the simple ratio of stocks/bonds/cash that meets their risk tolerance and time horizon. This can be easily determined through some simple survey questions[1] or comparison charts[2]. Most fund companies even offer target date funds, which make this simple decision even easier. And by keeping things so simple, the investor is discouraged from doing harm to their investments by repeatedly transferring it between the latest fads, something which advisers are definitely prone to do.

Basic investing is only made to look complicated by people who depend on selling expensive advice and guidance that most people don't need. Paying an adviser 1% per annum means you lose 30% of your balance in 40 years, not including any bad decisions they make with your money in that time.

[1] https://personal.vanguard.com/us/FundsInvQuestionnaire [2] http://www.mymoneyblog.com/choosing-an-asset-allocation-step...