What They Mean Celia's extra four per cent was no surprise to Kathy Taylor, managing director of Barclays Global Investors. Celia probably made an extra two or three of her percentage points simply by holding no mutual funds. Another bonus in doing it yourself is the chance you get to build a truly customized portfolio. But you pay for that bonus in other ways. It takes time to manage a portfolio.
Most financial advisors suggest that investors rebalance their portfolios at least once a year.
It is also perhaps unrealistic to assume that Celia would stick to her plan in times of market turmoil. He is better off to put his trust in professional money managers, because they will at least give him efficient diversification, and they will probably make him feel a little better, too. The solution may lie somewhere in the middle. You have to put some time into educating yourself, making sure you are aware and comfortable, finding a good advisor or educating yourself to the point where you can do it on your own and spread your risk around. There is no easy answer, but there is also no question that a balanced fund has its blessings.