How to Money · Monday, July 6, 2026
A listener questioned the value of a managed retirement account with a $129 monthly fee, which is algorithm-based. The hosts advised that such accounts are often not worth the high cost, especially when driven by algorithms rather than personalized advice, and suggested considering lower-cost alternatives like target-date funds.
“So I'm wondering if this point if it makes sense to just put the money in a target date fund, considering I really only have about five to seven years left in the workforce, and then my fees would go down to I think they said eighty nine dollars annually, so quite a big difference there.”
“So managed accounts are often retirement accounts that are owned by the individual investor yourself, but the asset allocation is picked by a financial quote unquote financial pro right, And we're not fans of these accounts because the fees that are associated with that professional management. It comes at a high cost. It is, they're typically much much more expensive and the results that you get aren't necessarily better.”
“The fact that it's software making these decisions for you makes that exorbitant fee even more frustrating.”