I think another scam in the investment world is the concept of "asset allocation." Many companies charge for properly allocating or rebalancing a person's retirement portfolio over time. From what I can tell, this isn't a very difficult task in the first place.
Based on what I've read, asset allocation is just this: as a person ages, they should shift money away from stocks and towards bonds. This provides security and produces more consistent returns. There are various stock-to-bond ratios out there, but a little homework can produce a good ratio.
Here's a quote from Jack Bogle from earlier this year: "In 1999, ... I went to about 65 percent bonds and 35 percent stocks," he said. "I haven't made a single change in my asset allocation since 1999."
Bogle ran Vanguard for over 30 years and probably has a small fortune. So here you have a person who is very wealthy and very knowledgeable about the investment industry, and what is his strategy for asset allocation? Set it and forget it. Yet I'm supposed to believe that someone who will charge me to manage my assets will give me better advice than Bogle (and many other pros who say the same thing)? I don't think so.
