<prompt> Human: I love this subreddit but never post on it. I have recently thought of rolling over my big firm-run, Simple IRA to a to a smaller owner operated investment guy I know. With that:What are your pros v cons of a big investment firm fidelity, schuab, etc. vs a small owner operated firm locally run, Well trusted guyfriend, etc on managing your money. Id like this more to be a BROAD discussion, if possible. Cheers!  <response>: Unfortunately, most financial advisors arent actually fiduciaries, i.e. they have your best interests in mind when making recommendations. Instead most advisors are actually brokers working on commission, and their only restriction is that they cant put you into something unsuitable this definition is as flimsy as it sounds. This is how people get involved with funds that have 5.75 load fees and expense ratios that eat up most of their return.Additionally, most advisors also charge a percent of assets under management as a fee. Some guys only charge around 0.3-0.4, but the vast majority charge closer to 1-2. These fees, in addition to the above fund expenses, can really eat away at your returns over a long period of time. Consider a fund that has a 1 annual expense, and your guy charges 1.5. In order for you to break even with an SP 500 fund getting 7, your guy would have to consistently outperform the SP by over 25, which is nearly unheard of.The vast majority of people do not need an advisor; a simple Three-Fund Portfolio is usually sufficient for most peoples retirement investment needs. For those with more complicated financial affairs, a flat-fee advisor who operates under a fiduciary standard is appropriate, if you can find one; the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors has a locator tool to identify advisors who operate under said standards.And now I ask you: how much is this advisor going to charge you to manage your assets? 