Appreciation post: Robo-advisors are so easy, but I'm not sure if I should try picking my own funds to learn more

On one side, robo-advisors do all the work for you, but on the other, picking your own investments might teach you more about how things work, so which approach helped you start out?

4 comments

4 Comments

noaht151mo agoMost Upvoted

Buffett's index fund advice still means picking which fund yourself.

anthony_campbell881mo ago

Warren Buffett always tells regular people to just buy a low cost index fund and chill. The whole point of a robo is to do that for you without the temptation to mess with it.

anna_miller1mo ago

Hey, what about the stress of managing your own picks? Learning is good, but watching every market swing can make you jump at bad times. Robos handle the boring rebalancing stuff automatically. Maybe keep most money with a robo, but use a tiny fun fund to test your own ideas. That way, you see how things work without the pressure to be perfect all the time.

palmer.kevin1mo ago

People make this stuff out to be way more complicated than it is. Anna_miller mentioned stress, and she's right that watching the market can make you do dumb things. But why even bother with a 'fun fund' if the robo is already doing the work? Learning about investments sounds good, but it's not like you're missing out on some secret knowledge. The robo uses the same basic ideas any advisor would. Just set it and forget it, focus on things that actually matter in your day.