Hot take: the 'set it and forget it' approach to investing is overrated

I spent 6 hours last weekend rebalancing my portfolio because I trusted an automated tool too much. It was supposed to adjust my allocations based on market shifts, but it just kept buying the same index funds. By the time I noticed, I was 40% overweight in tech stocks from 4 months of drift. Manual rebalancing took me 3 tries to get right between the tax forms and fee schedules. Has anyone else had better luck with a simple spreadsheet over fancy robo-advisors?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan_martinez22d ago

I see what you're getting at, but I actually think the "set it and forget it" approach works great for most people if you pick the right tool. Robo-advisors are just a starting point, not a full solution, so you gotta check in every few months no matter what you use. Do you think the issue is more with the tool you chose or with expecting any automated system to handle all the thinking for you?

jamesf4122d ago

Ugh, that automated tool screwed you over hard.

uma_ellis22d ago

Ngl @morgan_martinez is right, check in every few months or you'll get burned too.