<prompt> Human: Hey, personal finance! I recently started seeing a financial advisor at First Command I met through a mutual family friend. The advisor is obviously very knowledgeable about retirement and investing, but I cant help but think the funds they are suggesting I invest in are more for their profit than my well-being. They suggested a couple of accounts through Fidelity Advisor that have large percentages to invest in some of the percentage goes to the advisor. The funds have a good history, but I cant tell if its a smart move for me or if they are just trying to profit. Additionally, the advisor suggested a whole-life insurance plan. They explained how they profit from it basically, the cash value goes to them the first 2 years, but it still seems like a good plan to me. I really just have no idea whether or not to trust these people, and Im looking for some guidance. Should I just invest in my own IRA accounts? Is a whole-life insurance plan a good idea or am I being scammed?Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks! PM me if youd like any more specifics, I didnt want to bog down the post. Edit: I should mention Im not paying any fees, they are all commission-based.Assistant: I will break this down into a few answers here.1 Advisor investment accounts. I would say, generally, you dont need an advisor if you are going to be investing less that 500,000. In an IRA, you can mostly put funds into index funds as a decent and very low cost investment. Maybe as you gain money there, diversify a little more. Vanguard is good at setting up beginner accounts. 2 Depending on your family situation a future, a whole-life insurance plan is either a good or bad ideamostly bad as it is more expensive. Basically, its a plan that will pay out with no limit on age, while a term life will pay out if you die before a certain agedepends on the plan. Again, this depends on your life situation here.Human: The way the advisor put it is that by age 60 or so, the plan will be worth more than what Ive put in in cash value, and I can stop paying to get about 80 of my coverage or withdraw the cash value. This seems like a better move than basically throwing away money if I outlive a term plan. What life situation would constitute this being a better idea?  <response>: Ask yourself why you want life insurance. Is it because if you die now, family members will need something to financially support them? If you die when you are 60or we the term is, are those same family members going to need that help then? Insurance is a safety netand also very illiquid. Wouldnt you rather invest that money yourselfI guarantee you will make bigger gains than paying the insurance company to invest it for you. 