The Value of Wealth Management

A Financial Advisor Cost and Value Analysis.

Jillian Carlson, MBA, IACCP®
Chief Compliance Officer
Shareholder

Professional Resources.
Purpose-Built.

While it is obvious that if all other things are equal, lower financial advisor costs equal higher investment returns for you, rarely, if ever, are all other things equal when it comes to professional qualifications, depth-of-field, resources and talent.

There are always lots of differences between best-in-class, run-of-the-mill, and bottom-of-the-barrel. The financial advisor cost analysis of wise counsel, leadership, technical competence and managerial responsibility is simply not one-dimensional.

We begin to learn at some point in our lives, that the cheapest price is not really the lowest cost. Our experience reminds us that price is what we pay and that what is truly important for us, is to determine the value of what we are going to receive.

We learn that it is the applied cost, the cost applied across all of the services we receive, and not the least expensive price quote, that is most important to us.  We also learn that hidden costs and opportunity costs are part of the cost equation.  We develop our abilities to discern and distinguish the differences among the benefits of the choices we face.  Along the way, we recognize that while costs may vary, cost becomes an issue in the absence of commensurate value.

The real challenge for you is not to over-focus on targeting the cheapest financial advisor cost, because lowest cost rarely, if ever, equates with best-in-class.  Instead, the real challenge is to find the advisor or wealth management team who will deliver the greatest value to you.  We work hard every day to help improve the financial lives of clients just like you and try to provide them with the greatest measurable value.

Use our Selecting a Wealth Management Professional Guide to help you identify and calibrate the breadth of services you can expect to receive from a financial advisor or wealth management team and the depth-of-field and professional skillsets they will render on your behalf.

Research Financial Advisor Costs

You can research our professional financial planning, wealth advisory and investment management fees at the Securities and Exchange Commission Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website or in our Firm Brochure | Form ADV Part 2A.

We negotiate our professional fee based upon the scope of each engagement and the client’s expectations and requirements for the firm’s resources.  We consider many different factors in determining our professional fee, including the required planning complexity, professional skillsets required, the nature, types and size of investment assets and number and types of accounts to be managed.

We also consider the number and experience of family members and other professional advisors involved, the number of meetings required, client responsiveness to our requests for information, client organizational and recordkeeping skills, and regulatory and fiduciary costs.

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