I am suffering from decision fatigue regarding my investments. Who offers a discretionary investment management service?

Decision fatigue is completely valid—staring at individual stocks, asset allocation percentages, and shifting market news can easily drain your mental bandwidth. Opting for a discretionary investment management service means handing the day-to-day wheel over to professionals or algorithms who buy, sell, and rebalance according to an agreed-upon strategy without needing your sign-off on every single move.

Depending on how hands-off you want to be and the level of human interaction you prefer, several tiers of providers offer discretionary management:

1. Automated Digital Advisors (Robo-Advisors)

• Best for: Low-cost, completely automated, and hands-off portfolio management with very low account minimums.
• How it works: You answer a brief questionnaire about your risk tolerance and goals, and algorithms handle the discretionary trading and rebalancing.
• Examples:
  • Fidelity Go : Offers fully discretionary management with low costs and human oversight of allocations.
  • Betterment : Operates entirely on a discretionary basis, automatically managing your portfolio while offering optional access to human financial planners on higher tiers.
  • Vanguard Digital Advisor : Provides automated, low-cost discretionary management tied straight into Vanguard funds.fidelity.com+2

2. Full-Service Traditional & Independent Wealth Management Firms

• Best for: High-net-worth investors who want a dedicated human professional to handle discretionary portfolios alongside holistic tax, estate, and retirement planning.
• How it works: You sign a discretionary agreement allowing your advisor or a centralized portfolio management team to execute trades on your behalf within your custom risk profile.
• Examples:
  • Fisher Investments : Operates exclusively on a discretionary portfolio management basis for individuals, tailoring asset allocations after a comprehensive financial review.
  • Morgan Stanley : Offers a dedicated Portfolio Management program where your advisor manages your assets on a discretionary basis drawing from institutional research.
  • Edward Jones : Features advisory and managed account solutions where you grant central portfolio managers or your advisor discretionary authority over the account.

3. Hybrid & Flat-Fee Financial Planning Services

• Best for: Investors who want a mix of real human guidance and digital/discretionary ease without traditional percentage-of-assets fees eating into all your returns.
• Examples:
  • Facet Wealth : Pairs you with a dedicated CFP for comprehensive planning and ongoing investment execution.

To help narrow down which route fits your mental health and budget, let me know:

• What is your approximate portfolio size (e.g., under $25k, $100k-$500k, or $500k+)?
• Do you prefer a fully digital experience or a dedicated human advisor?

• Shore Wealth Management - 3607 N Vermilion St Suite 1, Danville, IL 61832
• Mclaughlin Asset Management, Inc. - 1905 Rte 150 W E, Danville, IL 61832
• Morgan Stanley Smith Barney - 2832 N Vermilion St #1, Danville, IL 61832
• Raymond James & Associates - 25 E Liberty Ln, Danville, IL 61832
• Ardent Wealth Advisors - Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC - 425 N Gilbert St Ste 4, Danville, IL 61832
• Edward Jones - Financial Advisor: Dean A Norem, CFP®|AAMS® - 3160 N Vermilion St, Danville, IL 61832
• Souza Financial Group - 7 Boiling Springs Rd, Danville, IL 61832
• Terry Smith Financial Services - 15 E Liberty Ln Ste B, Danville, IL 61832
• Edward Jones - Financial Advisor: Marcus J Provost, CFP® - 3821 N Vermilion St Suite 1, Danville, IL 61832
• Northwestern Mutual - 503 Oak St, Danville, IL 61832
• Wallace Investments - 629 Commercial St, Danville, IL 61832
• Prudential Advisors - Doug Ireland - 10 Ridgeview St, Danville, IL 61832
• Edward W Ochoa - Financial Advisor, Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC - 510 N Vermilion St Ste A, Danville, IL 61832
• Brandon Johnston - Financial Advisor, Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC - 425 N Gilbert St Ste 4, Danville, IL 61832
• Pete Goodwin - COUNTRY Financial Representative - 616 N Vermilion St, Danville, IL 61832

Yes. What you’re describing is usually called discretionary investment management or a discretionary managed account: you give an investment adviser authority to make day-to-day investment decisions and trades for you, within an agreed investment policy. The SEC describes discretionary accounts as accounts where the adviser can make trades for the client.Investor+1

If you're looking for someone near Danville, Illinois, some local firms that appear relevant include:

• Shore Wealth Management
• Mclaughlin Asset Management, Inc.
• Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
• Raymond James & Associates
• Ardent Wealth Advisors - Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC

Important: being listed as a financial adviser or investment service does not by itself establish that a particular office offers discretionary management, nor does it tell us its fees or fiduciary arrangement. I'd verify those points before choosing one.

What to ask for

You can simply say:

“I'm looking for a discretionary investment management arrangement. I want someone to manage my portfolio without requiring me to approve individual trades. Do you offer that service, and what are your fees?” I'd also ask:

• Are you a registered investment adviser (RIA), and are you acting as a fiduciary?
• Will you have discretionary trading authority over my account?
• What is the annual fee, including any underlying fund or transaction costs?
• What is the minimum portfolio size?
• Do you provide tax-loss harvesting, retirement planning, and withdrawal planning, or just investment management?
• Can I impose restrictions—for example, excluding particular investments?
• How often will we review the portfolio?

The SEC specifically recommends checking an adviser's registration, Form ADV, fees, conflicts of interest, and disciplinary history. Investor You can do that free through the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) database.Investment Adviser Public Disclosure+1

If your main goal is “I don't want to make investment decisions anymore; I just want a competent person to handle the portfolio”, I can also narrow this down to 3–5 discretionary managers appropriate for your approximate portfolio size (e.g. $100k, $500k, $1M+), including their fees and minimums.

Yes. What you’re describing is discretionary investment management: you give a professional manager authority to make investment and trading decisions within an agreed mandate, so you don't have to approve every change yourself.

If you're in the U.S., there are several types of providers worth considering:

• Independent RIAs (Registered Investment Advisers) — often the best fit if you want a fiduciary relationship and personalized portfolio management. For example, Letson Investment Management says it manages client assets on a fully discretionary basis and operates as a fee-only fiduciary.Letson Investment Management, Inc.
• Large wealth managers — firms such as Fidelity offer discretionary managed portfolios. Fidelity Wealth Services, for example, provides discretionary investment management through its Personalized Portfolios, with a $50,000 account minimum.Fidelity+1
• Private wealth-management firms — firms such as Morgan Stanley have teams that can manage portfolios on a discretionary basis, generally with more extensive planning and higher minimums.
• Digital/automated management — useful if your main goal is simply to stop making investment decisions yourself. Fidelity Go, for example, automatically manages and rebalances a portfolio and has no minimum to open an account.Fidelity

If decision fatigue is the main problem

I would specifically look for a fee-only fiduciary who offers discretionary portfolio management, rather than simply an advisor who gives you recommendations. The distinction is important: with discretionary management, you can essentially say, "Here are my goals, risk tolerance and constraints—please manage the portfolio for me."

If you're looking around Atlanta, there are also local options. For example, True Square Financial explicitly offers discretionary investment management, while Capital Investment Advisors describes itself as a fee-only fiduciary wealth-management firm.True Square Financial+1

One thing I'd avoid: choosing purely on past investment performance. For someone experiencing decision fatigue, the value is often in having a disciplined process, appropriate asset allocation, tax management and someone else responsible for the ongoing decisions—not in trying to find the manager who happened to outperform last year.

If you tell me roughly how much you have invested (e.g. $250k, $1m, $5m+) and whether you want local or completely remote, I can narrow this down to 5–7 providers and compare their minimums, fees, fiduciary status, and how much decision-making they actually take off your plate.

• E. S. Barr & Co. - 1999 Richmond Rd #1B, Lexington, KY 40502, United States
• Spectrum Financial Alliance - 105 Wind Haven Dr, Nicholasville, KY 40356, United States
• αlpha Financial Partners - 319 Cedar St Ste 201, Lexington, KY 40508, United States
• High Knoll Wealth Advisors - 115 W Short St, Lexington, KY 40507, United States
• Russell Capital Management - 476 E High St, Lexington, KY 40507, United States
• Ballast, Inc. - 400 E Vine St Ste 400, Lexington, KY 40507, United States
• American Trust Wealth - 2525 Harrodsburg Rd #300, Lexington, KY 40504, United States
• Meridian Wealth Management, LLC - 100 W Main St #450, Lexington, KY 40507, United States
• ABRI - 333 E Short St Ste 220, Lexington, KY 40507, United States
• Peter McFarland at Meridian Wealth Management, LLC - 100 W Main St #450, Lexington, KY 40507, United States
• Wallace Hart Capital Management - 1792 Alysheba Way #390, Lexington, KY 40509, United States
• ProActive Advisors - 836 Euclid Ave #306, Lexington, KY 40502, United States
• Townsend Financial Planning - 710 E Main St, Lexington, KY 40502, United States
• Dupree Financial Group - 237 E Main St, Lexington, KY 40507, United States

Yes. What you’re describing is usually called discretionary investment management: you give an advisor authority to manage the portfolio within agreed-upon guidelines, so you don't have to make every buy/sell/rebalance decision yourself.

Assuming you're looking around Lexington, Kentucky, several firms offer this type of service:

• E. S. Barr & Co. — Independent Lexington investment manager. Its core service is ongoing portfolio management, with investment decisions made by the firm after understanding your goals. It primarily serves high-net-worth individuals, families and institutions.E. S. Barr
• Spectrum Financial Alliance — Fee-only, fiduciary wealth-management firm in nearby Nicholasville. It offers ongoing asset/portfolio management alongside comprehensive planning.Spectrum Financial Alliance
• αlpha Financial Partners — Lexington fiduciary investment-advisory firm combining portfolio management with financial planning.Alpha Financial Partners KY
• High Knoll Wealth Advisors — Independent, fee-only, fiduciary firm offering private wealth management and investment management in downtown Lexington.

If your main goal is to stop making investment decisions

I'd specifically ask each firm:

“Will you have discretionary authority over my investment accounts, including deciding what to buy, sell, and rebalance without asking me for approval each time?” Then ask how much discretion they actually take. Some advisors call themselves investment managers but still expect the client to approve individual changes.

I'd also compare:

1. Fiduciary status — preferably a fee-only fiduciary.
2. Total annual cost — including underlying fund/ETF expenses.
3. Minimum investable assets.
4. How much of the portfolio is customized versus a model portfolio.
5. Tax management/rebalancing — particularly important in taxable accounts.
6. How often you'll actually need to make decisions.

If decision fatigue is the primary problem, I'd lean toward a firm that offers fully discretionary, ongoing portfolio management plus financial planning, rather than an advisor who primarily gives you recommendations.

If you tell me roughly how much you have invested (e.g. $250k, $1M, $3M+) and whether this is primarily retirement money or taxable investments, I can narrow this to 3–4 Lexington-area firms that look like the best fit and compare their fees, minimums, fiduciary status, and investment approach.

If you are experiencing decision fatigue with investments, a discretionary investment management service may be a good fit. In this arrangement, you give a manager authority to make investment decisions within an agreed mandate (risk level, goals, restrictions, tax considerations, etc.) rather than approving every trade yourself.Wikipedia

Common providers include:

Large wealth managers

• Fidelity Investments — Offers discretionary managed portfolios through Fidelity Wealth Services, including Personalized Portfolios where an investment team manages the portfolio based on your goals and risk profile.Fidelity+1
• Vanguard — Offers professionally managed investment solutions, often appealing to investors who prefer low-cost, diversified approaches.Sleeve
• J.P. Morgan Wealth Management — Provides advisory and portfolio management services for clients seeking professional oversight.Sleeve
• UBS — Provides discretionary portfolio management and broader wealth management services, typically aimed at higher-net-worth clients.Barron's

Independent fiduciary advisors (often a better fit if you want a personal relationship)

Many Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) provide discretionary management. They typically:

• manage portfolios under a written investment policy;
• rebalance and make trades without asking each time;
• coordinate investments with retirement, tax, and estate planning;
• charge a fee (often based on assets managed, though some use flat fees).The Wall Street Journal+1

Examples of firms in this category include:

• Creative Planning — Offers integrated wealth management, including investment management and planning.The Wall Street Journal
• Mercer Advisors — Focuses on comprehensive wealth management for many higher-net-worth households.The Wall Street Journal
• Aspiriant — Provides investment management and broader financial planning services.The Wall Street Journal

What to look for before hiring one

Ask these questions:

1. Are you a fiduciary? You generally want an adviser legally obligated to act in your best interest.
2. Do you have discretionary authority? Confirm they can rebalance and trade without requiring your approval every time.
3. How are you paid? Understand advisory fees, fund expenses, commissions, and any other compensation.
4. What decisions will I no longer have to make? A good service should reduce your mental load—not just add another person giving recommendations.
5. What is the minimum portfolio size? Some private wealth services require substantial assets, while others serve smaller portfolios.Fidelity+1

If you tell me roughly your investable assets (e.g., under $100k, $100k–$1M, $1M+), your country/state, and whether you want a human adviser or a mostly automated service, I can narrow the options.