Anne Miller wrote:
John Wolfram wrote: For $11,000 a year (i.e., the advisor fees paid on a million dollar portfolio most people would learn how to build their own computer or fix their own air conditioner. I know I would.
I guarantee that if a person has $1,000,000 they are not going to quibble over $11,000 and most people wouldn't want to learn how to build their own computer or fix their own air conditioner.
You must be the exception.
Aren't most of us exceptions here?
I'm one of those "secret" millionaires, and manage my money with the primary goal of meeting my family's needs and maintaining our land without needing further paid employment. I've tried out a few financial advisors over the years, and have not been convinced that they can outperform a good robotrader, certainly not to the degree that they would pay for their own fees and generate additional profits. $11k is $900/mo I could instead spend on family experiences and land and home improvements, all things I value more than a guy who calls me quarterly to let me know my money is still there.
That said, I'm the kind of person who makes spreadsheets for fun and spent the last 10 years playing with calculations to figure out if it was time to quit my job yet. If you don't like numbers, don't trust yourself with large sums, and would rather outsource the whole thing, it's great there are professionals for that.
To the original question, I guess my answer is, "I'd invest it and live on a budgeted sustainable income to maintain my home and family." If you handed me a fresh million, I'd use it to add on a woodshop over the garage, fence our whole acreage, and clear and plant a whole orchard in one swoop instead the piecemeal way we've done it so far. Then I'd throw the rest in the kitty and probably buy takeout once or twice extra per month.
