Not everyone has the time or knowledge base to manage their own investments, and the value of an investment advisor may not be found in their investment advice but rather in their financial planning advice. A family member recouped their annual fee with one bit of advice about how best to maximize their 401k contributions. They were leaving thousands on the table by hitting their max contribution limit before the end of the year.

I'm not a big fan of paying to underperform the market, I can do that for free, but comparing the returns of an IA against an index doesn't capture the full value they may provide clients.

This is by no means a recommendation of IAs, but rather a check on the criticism on their value based solely on their rates of return relative to indices.