Do You Have The Skills to Manage Your Money?

As the economy struggles to regain its footing, cutting costs has become a national pastime. If you've been paying a financial adviser to manage your money, you might be tempted to do it yourself.

While managing your investments will save you money in the near term, is it worth it in the long run? It depends on what kind of investor you are.

Online brokerage accounts have made it easy to buy stocks, bonds, mutual funds and exchange traded funds cheaply. Firms such as E*Trade Financial(ETFC Quote) and TD Ameritrade Holding(AMTD Quote) allow customers to open accounts with as little as $1,000 and charge $8 to $12 a trade. That's far less than the $10,000 minimums and 1% fees advisers require, but it means that investors need to know more than just the basics about investing. ...