And that's not counting all the time you save by having a professional help take care of this part of life for you.

As a former scientific reasearcher, I look to data to support claims. Therefore, when Vanguard conducted a study and published a whitepaper on the value of an advisor following their framework, I was compelled to share it. They started this study in 2001, and continue to revisit and update it. The data below are from the 2022 paper.

The primary focus of Vanguard's study was to highlight why advisors add value and those reasons include:

• Providing suitable investment recommendations;
• Regular rebalancing of portfolios;
• Developing spending strategies for retirement income; and
• Guidance to help adhere to a financial plan.

Vanguard expands its traditional rubric for examining the value of advice (financial, portfolio, and emotional) to include time value because human advisors and digital advice platforms can perform tasks that individual investors might not have the time, willingness, or ability to perform on their own. The figure to the left shows how specific types of advice interventions and activities map to this value framework.

*"Based on [Vanguard's] analysis, advisors can potentially add up to, or even exceed, 3% in net returns by using the Vanguard Advisor's Alpha framework.

Because clients only get to keep, spend, or bequest net returns, the focus of wealth management should always be on maximizing net returns. We do not believe this potential 3% improvement can be expected annually; rather, it is likely to be very irregular. Further, the extent of the value will vary based on each client's unique circumstances and the way the assets are managed" (pg 4, Quantifying Advisor Alpha - this paper )

If you seek out a financial advisor who is both a fiduciary, meaning that they act in your interest, and a financial planner, you may very well increase your growth opportunities over investing solely on your own.

The full copy of this report can be found here.

*IMPORTANT: The projections and other information generated by the Vanguard Capital Markets Model regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results, and are not guarantees of future results. VCMM results will vary with each use and over time.