If choosing funds is all you need help with, probably not: a good adviser earns the fee on the decisions around the funds, not the funds themselves.
Direct plans already save you the distributor's commission, and if you are confident choosing and reviewing funds, you are doing the hardest part of fund investing well. Where people usually get value from an adviser is elsewhere:
- How much to save for each goal, and in what order.
- Insurance: whether your term and health cover are enough.
- Tax: the regime, when to sell, and how to draw down savings in retirement.
- Big decisions: prepaying a loan, ESOPs, moving countries, an inheritance.
- Behaviour: a second opinion when markets fall and the urge is to stop or switch.
How the adviser is paid matters. A SEBI registered investment adviser can only be paid by you, in a fee agreed in writing, and SEBI caps that fee for individuals. A distributor is paid by the fund house through regular plans. Our guide to what SEBI-registered advisers charge explains the rules, and RIA vs distributor vs wealth manager shows who pays whom.
A fair test: if the advice changes one big decision a year, it usually covers its cost. If you would not act on it, it will not.
Your own answer depends on how complex your finances are and what you want help with. If you want someone to look at your numbers, you can book a free call.