Unfortunately, I have to disagree.

What may seem like free advice is not necessarily good advice. When you deal with a sales person you get sold things that benefit the pocketbook of the sales person and his company. This is a major problem with the financial services industry. Charges for products and services far exceed the value delivered.

Individual investors need to choose what “door” they want to go into. Going direct to mutual funds for passive low cost index funds is a good door. Buying and holding selected low cost, broad market index tracking ETFs from a discount broker is another of the better doors.

When you find a lot of new buildings, plate glass, mahogany, silk, wool, and new cars (theirs - not yours), who is paying for this overhead? Short answer — you. The industry has developed a long list of ways to milk their customers’ assets. There is no such thing as “free risk-adjusted money” in investing — except, of course, the money that individual investors give away to the industry , when they do not act as highly cost conscious consumers.