Even for those who do not want to learn about finance, simply buying a few index funds will cost something like .02%  versus 1.25% for mutual funds from an advisor. That is why most advisors don't recommend index funds, because they can't make any money off them, yet over time many index funds perform better. This is an outrage and Canadians should spend a bit of time to manage their own money to avoid paying these sharks, who skim off so much of their profits. Most advisors aren't even acountable to their clients for their performance. If they have a bad year, they just state that there has been a lot of volatility lately and "you are in it for the long haul." Seriously, how long does it take to become a financial advisor? Much less time than it takes to become an engineer, yet they earn far more money than most engineers.