They say you get what you pay for. But when it comes to picking investments for your retirement account, this wisdom may not always hold true, according to a recent study by Lundquist College of Business associate professor of finance John Chalmers and his coauthor Jonathan Reuter, assistant professor of finance at Boston College. After examining eleven years worth of data from the Oregon University System's 401(a) Optional Retirement Plan—a 401(k)-like plan for university employees—the researchers discovered that folks who followed investment advice provided by commission-earning financial advisors came away with an average annual return of 1.81 percent, while those who managed their own investments earned an average of 3.35 percent. The system that delivered the highest rate of return—an average of 5 percent—was the most hands-off of them all: target-date funds, which set and reset according to the number of years an investor has before retirement. Download the study.