Building a retirement portfolio is only half the journey. The other half is deciding who will steer it—just you, or you plus a professional.

From picking funds to deciding how much to withdraw each year in retirement, the “Do it myself or get help?” question can shape your long-term results.

Your Big Choice

At some point, every investor reaches a fork in the road. One path: manage everything independently—asset allocation, fund selection, rebalancing, and retirement income decisions. The other path: pay an adviser for guidance, ongoing management or a one-time plan.

There is no universal right answer. The choice depends on comfort with numbers, time available to stay organized, and how calmly decisions can be made when markets swing. Access to online tools has made DIY easier than ever, but not everyone wants to become their own chief investment officer.

Why Costs Matter

Fees may look tiny on paper—half a percent here, one percent there—but over a working lifetime they can quietly shrink a portfolio. Every dollar going to fund expenses or adviser compensation is a dollar that cannot compound for future retirement income.

Consider two investors earning the same gross market return. If one pays 1% more in total annual fees than the other, the gap after three decades can be substantial, potentially costing a meaningful share of the final nest egg. That difference might represent years of extra income in retirement.

John C. Bogle, an investor, writes, “In investing, you get what you don’t pay for. Costs matter.”

Keeping costs under control after retirement matters just as much. Lower expenses can reduce the risk of depleting savings and allow slightly higher sustainable withdrawals, especially during periods of weak market returns.

When DIY Works

Going solo can make sense when finances are relatively straightforward and there is a willingness to learn. A common example is someone with a single workplace plan, a long time until retirement and no complex tax or estate issues.

With basic knowledge of risk tolerance and time horizon, it is possible to choose a sensible mix of stock and bond index funds, or even a single target-date fund that automatically adjusts over time. Many employer plans provide calculators and model portfolios to help set allocations without paying an outside adviser.

For disciplined savers who rebalance once or twice a year and avoid chasing hot trends, a low-cost, index-based DIY approach can be both simple and effective.

When Advice Helps

Professional guidance becomes more valuable as life gets more complicated. Approaching retirement, juggling several accounts, handling pensions or rental income, or supporting family members can all increase the stakes of each decision.

The withdrawal phase—turning a bucket of investments into a sustainable paycheck—can be especially tricky. Questions like which accounts to tap first, how to coordinate tax-favored accounts with taxable ones, and how much to safely withdraw each year often benefit from seasoned judgment. There is also an emotional dimension. An adviser can act as a buffer when markets drop sharply, helping investors avoid panic selling or impulsive strategy changes that do long-term damage. For some households, that behavioral coaching alone can justify paying a fee.

Counting The Fees

Total investing cost has several layers:

- Fund expenses: Broad index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) often charge very low annual expense ratios, sometimes just a few hundredths of a percent. Actively managed funds typically cost more, frequently in the 0.5%–1% range or higher.

- Advisory fees: Many financial advisers charge a percentage of assets under management, commonly around 0.5%–1% per year. Some firms charge more, especially for smaller accounts or bundled services.

- Embedded costs: Trading commissions have largely disappeared at major brokers, but bid-ask spreads and any transaction fees on certain funds still matter at the margins.

Layering active funds on top of a full-service adviser can easily push total costs above 1.5% annually. In contrast, a minimalist index approach may keep all-in costs well under 0.3%. Over decades, that gap adds up.

Low-Cost Tools

Before paying for ongoing advice, it is worth mining the free or low-cost resources already available. Many retirement plans now highlight fees clearly and offer comparison tools so participants can find the lowest-cost options on the menu.

Fund companies typically provide asset allocation worksheets, risk questionnaires and retirement income calculators at no extra charge. Independent research sites offer fund screeners that can rank investments by cost, performance consistency and risk measures, guiding investors toward cost-efficient choices without a sales pitch.

Used thoughtfully, these tools can provide much of the structure a basic long-term plan requires, especially during the accumulation years.

Hiring By The Hour

For investors who are mostly comfortable going it alone but want a professional’s eyes on the plan, a limited-engagement model can be appealing. Instead of paying a yearly percentage of assets, some planners charge hourly or flat project fees.

A comprehensive “checkup” might take four to six hours of work, often costing in the range of several hundred to a little over a thousand dollars, depending on complexity and local market rates. In return, the planner can review savings rates, investment choices, tax angles and retirement projections, then suggest adjustments. This approach allows a do-it-yourself investor to stay in control day-to-day while still getting periodic, unbiased feedback at key moments—such as five years before retirement, after a major life event or following large market swings.

Balancing Support And Cost

Some people choose a blended path: they handle core investing decisions themselves using low-cost index tools, then occasionally consult a fee-only planner for higher-level planning issues. Others prefer a full-service relationship, valuing personal guidance more than ultra-low costs.

The critical step is matching the level of help with genuine needs, not with fear or sales pressure. Paying for support that truly improves decisions can be money well spent; paying for layers of complexity and products that add little benefit is not.

Conclusion

There is no universal rule that everyone must work with an adviser—or that everyone should go solo. What matters is understanding the trade-off between control, complexity and cost, then choosing a path that fits temperament and situation. Looking at your own finances, which feels harder right now—handling the technical decisions, or staying calm and consistent when markets test your nerves—and how might that answer shape the kind of help, if any, you decide to hire?