This blog is documenting my personal experience as I navigate the transition from working life to retirement, relying on my investments to generate part of my income. It’s a challenging journey - I’m no financial expert, yet I’ve chosen to manage my own assets.
The way I do it does cost a bit of money. For example, I’m more than willing to pay for advice when it adds real value. And of course, I need some software to keep track of my investments. Good software costs money. Then there are various brokerage fees. So doing it yourself does not mean free. I still have to pay for stuff. Fine.
But I am not willing to pay someone a huge sum for running a straightforward ETF-portfolio. Banks and other financial intermediaries often charge 1% or more of your portfolio value per year to do just that. That 1% is a big chunk out of your returns. And I do not see how these costs are justified for what basically is passive investing.
So I educated myself a bit and feel that I can design and manage my own investment portfolio in retirement. Perhaps the best thing about that: I am accountable for the results I will get and no one else. That might be more important than saving money. Will it work? I will find out - and I’ll keep you posted here, honestly: what goes well, what doesn’t, and everything in between.
Hopefully that 1% does not start to look cheap.