As my grandfather, father, and as I tell my kids, the best financial advisor will only ever be yourself if you put in the work to understand the system's of money and what you can do to prevent losing it. Its how my family has survived for centuries through various things like the communist revolution in russia, the polish ukranian wars, and 2 world wars, and still make it out alive and well. Granted many may call it luck, or divine intervention.
What I will say is that in the end, I never touched a 401k. My previous company provided a pension, which I can almost guarantee will not exist by the time I retire, as they are all insolvent. Same with 401ks and how many of my own family lost hundreds of thousands in 2008 through them, where as my money sat tight in things that are significantly more eternal (such as gold, silver, and so on).
Few things I learned over time is 1) Diversify 2) Do not trust banks 3) Do not trust the stock market 4) don't trust either side of an argument, and finally, 5) inverse Cramer law is real.
I trade the stock market STRICTLY on research and very predictable events and trends (for example, oil futures when you hear of a war coming). Certain things are almost a guarantee, but a gain, almost, and I take the responsibility when I lose. I trade crypto strictly as a very small long term investment (something like 20$ a month on average since the beginning of BTC so its not much, but its there).
I think the biggest reason I see people seeking advice on finance is because they too want to have those double digit % returns. Let me break it to you, they only exist if you either A) Get lucky or B) You truly believe stocks only go up. But you know what does exist? Cash money in times of crisis when you can gobble up everyone's stuff that they bought using credit. Happens every cycle. Everything goes down, people go broke, but you were smart and saved your money, and not in a bank, but under your mattress. Most wealth is made during a crisis and not when things are "going up" right at the peak of the bubble.
As my grandfather once said, I would rather have my money rot under my mattress than in a bank. Its going to rot anyway.
I have been lucky though. I started this little strategy where I would trade against everything Jim Cramer would say on TV and it works almost 100% of the time. Sometimes you just have to wait. Every time Cramer says BUY you short, if he says sell you buy. But again, YMMV.
TLDR: Stocks don't always go up, and double digit percentage returns are made when things are going really well for a long enough period of time. But you can't predict it and so you should do your due diligence and manage your own money. Depending on ANYONE is the greatest exposure in your life. Depending on BANKS to give you your money is delusion.
PS: anyone who tells you to buy an index fund today other than something like SQQQ is also...delusional, no offense, but we are at the peak of a bubble within another bubble...its that obvious. Heck, everyone was saying crypto is over and then BTC goes up 20% in a day. You tell me who is right.