To make the most of your retirement savings, it's important that you consider seeking professional advice. Research shows that investors who seek professional help tend to do better over time. Financial Research Corp., a financial services research and consulting firm based in the United States, studied U.S. mutual fund investor habits from 1990 through to the peak of the equity markets in March 2000. Its research provides strong evidence that suggests professional advice is key to obtaining better investment returns.

The most common errors made by individual investors include trading too often and bad timing. During the 10-year period of the study, investors without advisors realized a lower return on their mutual fund investments than the actual mutual fund returns. The study revealed that investors had consistently higher redemption rates and shorter holding periods than investors who used a financial advisor.

In addition, individual investors compounded the negative effect of trading too often by making poor choices in terms of timing. The study found that many investors purchase funds based on past performance, usually when the funds are at or near their peak, which results in the investors not participating in the greatest gains.

If you are like most Canadians who hold the bulk of their retirement savings in their RRSP, seeking the advice of a professional advisor can help you avoid making these costly mistakes. Not only will your advisor help you build a well-diversified investment portfolio that can help reduce risk, they can continue to counsel you on the best ways to respond to changes in the financial markets over time.