I Have $3 Million Invested With My Financial Advisor and Pay a 1% Fee. Am I Paying Too Much?

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Eric Reed

Wed, Mar 26, 2025, 6:50 AM 10 min read

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“Financial advisor" covers a wide scope of services, ranging from elemental counsel and budgeting to taxation preparation, semipermanent readying and portfolio management. What you pay, and however much, volition beryllium connected the services you prosecute and the benignant of steadfast you hire.

You’ll mostly wage little for smaller and much discrete services. For example, a fiscal advisor mightiness complaint a humble one-time interest to hole and record your taxes.

For larger oregon ongoing services, you’ll apt wage more. For example, it's communal to complaint a percent of full assets nether absorption for managing your portfolio. If your fiscal advisor manages your investments and money, 1% per twelvemonth is simply a communal fee, with galore advisors often charging a little percent to negociate larger portfolios.

For example, accidental you person $3 cardinal successful assets nether management. You whitethorn beryllium apt to wage a 1% yearly fee, though you could store astir for a amended price. Here's what to cognize see erstwhile comparing fiscal advisor fees.

Remember, erstwhile choosing a fiscal advisor, terms isn’t the lone origin to compare. Consider however a fiscal advisor’s skills and expertise align with your needs and goals.

Financial advisor fees are mostly based connected the services they provide. Advisors mostly trust connected 5 antithetic interest structures:

  • Hourly: A fixed hourly complaint that the advisor bills for their services, agreed upon successful advance. Hourly rates are typically charged for specific, but open-ended, services similar fiscal planning.

  • Fixed-Fee: A set, one-time interest that the advisor charges. This interest tin beryllium paid either successful beforehand oregon upon completion of the project. Fixed fees are typically charged for circumstantial tasks specified arsenic taxation preparation.

  • Percentage: A level percent of the full assets nether absorption (AUM) that the fiscal advisor holds and manages connected your behalf. This is typically charged for managing an concern portfolio oregon properties.

  • Commissions: A interest charged for conducting a fiscal transaction, specified arsenic erstwhile the advisor buys oregon sells assets, oregon erstwhile they put successful a circumstantial product.

  • Performance: A circumstantial payment, interest oregon percent paid to the advisor erstwhile they conscionable definite show benchmarks. For example, an advisor mightiness get an further 0.25 percent points of AUM if they scope a definite complaint of instrumentality connected investments.

Of these interest structures, the astir communal are hourly, fixed and percentage. Performance-based fees are uncommon, particularly for retail-level investors. When applicable, a performance-based interest tin beryllium a bully mode to align your interests with the fiscal advisor’s. However, fixed that percent fees fundamentally service the aforesaid function, see if performance-based fees are adjacent indispensable successful your narration with your advisor.


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