Does a commission based financial advisor ever make sense?

[Anonymous]

I’ve always read that for most people it’s waste of money to pay for a financial planner that charges a % based commission and that you should go flat fee. I have a family member who told me they’re going with a commission based financial planner charging slightly below 1%. I was kind of surprised to hear this because from knowing them they’re already fairly money savvy on their own and this goes against most advice I’ve read. I don’t know their net worth but I have a rough ballpark and it’s probably $5M give or take.

They told me for their situation going with this particular financial planner seems like a good idea, the person has good reviews, they expect to get slightly better returns than the S&P 500 with active investment decisions, and they can get help with tax advice. What do you think? I personally wouldn’t but maybe there’s a good reason I’m not aware of? I didn’t want to pry too much so I limited my questions during our visit.

[Anonymous]

$50k/year for an unlikely shot at beating the market (according to studies its around 5%), and some tax advice seems ridiculous, but I wouldn't pry anymore. If you weren't asked, not your business, move on.

[Anonymous]

No.

[Anonymous]

If you mostly have income from pensions and social security, they can make good sense. If my most of your income is tied to large retirement accounts, probably not.

[Anonymous]

If you don’t want to have to think about it, and you have the money? Sure, why not. It’s like any other purchase- it’s a personal preference. I wouldn’t think it makes financial sense, but maybe for peace of mind?

[Anonymous]

If it's your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve always read that for most people it’s waste of money to pay for a financial planner that charges a % based commission and that you should go flat fee. I have a family member who told me they’re going with a commission based financial planner charging slightly below 1%. I was kind of surprised to hear this because from knowing them they’re already fairly money savvy on their own and this goes against most advice I’ve read. I don’t know their net worth but I have a rough ballpark and it’s probably $5M give or take.

They told me for their situation going with this particular financial planner seems like a good idea, the person has good reviews, they expect to get slightly better returns than the S&P 500 with active investment decisions, and they can get help with tax advice. What do you think? I personally wouldn’t but maybe there’s a good reason I’m not aware of? I didn’t want to pry too much so I limited my questions during our visit.

My fund manager earns every penny of his 2 and and 20.

[Anonymous]

Of course it makes sense. They are incented (literally incented) to grow your portfolio. If you don't understand that you probably don't have a portfolio they'd be interested in.

[Anonymous]

DP. Im trying to understand difference between “fee based” and “commission based” here. So fee based typically are paid via AUM and commission based are paid when they sell you a product?

A quick google search shows fee based advisors can be fiduciaries while commission based typically are not. If that’s correct, that’s a big deal to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DP. Im trying to understand difference between “fee based” and “commission based” here. So fee based typically are paid via AUM and commission based are paid when they sell you a product?

A quick google search shows fee based advisors can be fiduciaries while commission based typically are not. If that’s correct, that’s a big deal to me.

Fee based advisors sell products and can get paid managing money by AUM or other billing methods.

Almost all of the advisors that say they are fiduciaries are not.

One quick test -

Does your advisor ask for your tax return and develop an investment strategy based on your tax/income/goal projections?

Does your advisor review your estate planning documents, recommend an estate planning attorney and sit it in on the meetings with your attorney?

About 5 out of 500 do the above. The rest are charlatans.

[Anonymous]

We do because we own a business and have a family trust, our income is highly variable, and we have lots of non qualified investments. We have investments in all sorts of vehicles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve always read that for most people it’s waste of money to pay for a financial planner that charges a % based commission and that you should go flat fee. I have a family member who told me they’re going with a commission based financial planner charging slightly below 1%. I was kind of surprised to hear this because from knowing them they’re already fairly money savvy on their own and this goes against most advice I’ve read. I don’t know their net worth but I have a rough ballpark and it’s probably $5M give or take.

They told me for their situation going with this particular financial planner seems like a good idea, the person has good reviews, they expect to get slightly better returns than the S&P 500 with active investment decisions, and they can get help with tax advice. What do you think? I personally wouldn’t but maybe there’s a good reason I’m not aware of? I didn’t want to pry too much so I limited my questions during our visit.

My fund manager earns every penny of his 2 and and 20.

I'll bet you $1m that an S&P 500 index fund will outperform your portfolio over the next ten years.

[Anonymous]

Like, Edward jones people? I would never.