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234 Don’t Make Me Say I Told You So

and/or (c) save you time, effort, and worry that is worth more
than 1% a year to you; or (d) all of the above?

If you believe the answer is yes to any of the questions above,

you should begin to search for the right advisor for you. If you
believe the answer is no, you should go about designing a do-
it-yourself investment program. I am not saying that you will fail

if you choose to do it yourself. The evidence, however, suggests

that your chances of success are far better with professional help.

A Focus on Fees

Because many investors are confused and frustrated by

investments and financial matters, they focus on the one thing

that they can understand: costs and fees. The financial media,
including television, magazines, and newspapers, have done a
terrific job of convincing people that they can handle financial

matters themselves and save a lot of money in the process. The

most simplistic investment advice is to simply keep costs and
fees as low as possible.

I agree that costs and fees are an important factor to consider
when making investment decisions. For many people, however,
this search for low-cost investments takes over all of their

investment decisions. Prodded by financial media outlets, the

Chapter 5: Things That Can Wreck Your Retirement