I’m 44y old and am worth $10 million. My lifestyle costs $360,000 per year, is a financial advisor worth it?

A 44-year-old Reddit user with $10 million is wondering whether a financial advisor is worth hiring.

He said he spends $30K a month or $360,000 per year, which he is comfortable with, but that he could reduce if needed. After he sold his business, he worked with two different financial advisors, but he wasn’t happy with either of them. Now he’s wondering if hiring an advisor is worth it at all. 

Past problems lead to questions about whether professional help is worthwhile

The Reddit poster is questioning whether it is worth hiring a financial advisor because he had two bad experiences when he hired help managing his money in the past.

Both of the firms he hired to help him completed a basic financial plan and worked with him to invest his money in a balanced portfolio. They also hooked his account up to software that performs automated trading. Unfortunately, neither advisor spent much time with him or did any meaningful updates to his financial plans, and neither advisor fulfilled the expectations he had when he hired them.

His first advisor, he ended up firing because it took too long for him to answer basic questions, and the second one he’s firing due to unkept promises and bad advice. He’s thinking about working with a third professional who has quoted him a fee for services equal to a percentage of assets under management, but he’s not sure if he is worth the $50,000 annual fee that the new advisor would charge. 

Is it worth hiring a financial advisor to help you manage your $10 million nest egg?

The reality is that some financial advisors out there provide bad advice — but that does not mean that the profession as a whole does. There are people in every profession who aren’t great at what they do, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on the entire profession. 

Many other Reddit posters chimed in to share their great experience they had with the advisors that they had hired in the past.

One commentator said they “love” their advisor because the person they work with manages all of their financial affairs, including structuring their investments and debt and getting them into investments not sold to the public, including real estate, private debt, and private equity. The advisor even works with the commentator’s CPA to get taxes done. He doesn’t have to think about his money, and he makes more than he would on his own, even after accounting for fees.

Another poster suggested hiring an advisor who charges on a fee-only basis, and hiring someone only after doing a lot of research to find the right person. And some posters warned that if you overestimate your own abilities to make the most of your money, you could end up missing out on opportunities — and that could come at a far greater cost than the fees you’d pay to a professional.

Ultimately, the reality is that advisors can do a lot for you, as these other Redditors explained. The key is to just find the right one. Do your research to understand the different fee structures, ask detailed questions when interviewing potential advisors to make sure you are aligned on the services you expect them to provide, and check out reviews carefully. You should also pay attention to whether you feel your advisor communicates with you and has a plan for your money that you’re comfortable with.

After finding the right person, you will have an advisor who helps you grow your wealth without much effort on your part, so you can enjoy the money you made with the peace of mind of knowing your finances are being taken care of. 

The post I’m 44y old and am worth $10 million. My lifestyle costs $360,000 per year, is a financial advisor worth it? appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..