This will be my longest post ever on this site, so buckle up. I am a Financial Advisor with a CFP and CFA, and I agree that most people can do it themselves if they want to. I spent the first 15 years of my career as a Navy officer and then in data center management, and I never considered hiring an FA because I enjoyed managing money myself. So, I get it when someone tells me they don't need me - I was that person. Honestly, that attitude made me reluctant to start my current career 6 years ago. Why would anyone hire me when they can just do it themselves?
As it turns out, there are a surprising number of people who have very good reasons for hiring an FA, and several have been mentioned. For younger clients, it can be the planning we do (i.e. setting and prioritizing goals), peace of mind, or just having someone to talk them out of making bad decisions. Obviously, the more complex the situation or the more money they have, the more it makes sense. For older clients, it can be withdrawal strategies, tax efficiency, wealth transfer advice, etc. One of the biggest reasons to work with someone like me is how much easier it is for beneficiaries to handle things when a client dies. When a deceased client's spouse or child can come to my office and walk out an hour later with everything taken care of, I know that's a huge value to the family. If you've ever tried to deal with that with multiple large companies, you'll know what I mean.
Also, I want to be clear that my goal isn't to "beat the market", and I don't have access to anything special (other than mutual funds with super-low internal expenses). My goal is to have disciplined diversification and rebalancing strategies in place that offset the percentage fee my firm charges, or at least come very close to it. In other words, I'm aiming to get the same return a client would get if they followed a very simple DIY strategy. If I'm successful, then everything else I mentioned above is just a bonus.
The advice of just investing in the S&P 500 is fine, but diversifying further can be better IF there's a rebalancing strategy. Very few people do that on their own, even if they say they want to. As a former DIYer myself, I know that life gets in the way and inertia happens, so having an FA doing it for you can be valuable. For example, the S&P 500 isn't homogenous - just look at what is considered "growth" versus "value" and how much the performance of those two categories can vary. A good portfolio should also have some small/mid-cap and international as well.
Lastly, I'd like to point out that 2% plus anything is a crazy high fee, unless maybe you're talking about the top hedge fund managers in the world, and that's a whole different ballgame. Also, the previous poster talking about Northwestern Mutual charging a bunch just to transfer money to them is not the industry norm. Finally, I'm not a fan of commission-based accounts, where every suggestion to make a trade is met with skepticism - is the advisor suggesting this because it's a good idea or because it'll make him money? I highly prefer the percentage-fee model, as I think it's best for both me and the client.
Mostly, I agree with what others have said, but I wanted to share my experience from the other side of the desk, so to speak. Just because you want to handle your finances yourself doesn't mean that everyone does, or should.