Reply to Am I overpaying my financial advisor?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Our FA is also our CPA. We are paying him .5% annually to manage just under $3M. We have a other assets in other funds (401K, Deferred Comp, Company Stock, Stock Options, 529, donor advised fund, etc.) which he doesn't manage, but still gives advice on allocations and other issues that would have tax implications.  Our total investments, including the assets he manages, are about $12M.

He also helped us update our estate plan and made sure we are insured appropriately.

We like the convenience of having a CPA who understands our tax situation manage our funds and advise us on our other funds.  My husband is also approaching retirement, so it has been reassuring having someone who can help us plan, which will be in about a year.[/quote]

Our FA is not our CPA, but they work closely with our CPA and our Estate Planner and everyone involved in our Wealth management team.  They are the "glue that holds it all together".  Sure I could pay less and manage it myself.  But it's nice to just call/email/text and have them manage it for me.  That is what you get for your 0.5% for everything they manage (for us it's $~10M).  They also advise on our 529, 401K and everything financial even if they are not collecting a fee on that portion.  They handle all of our treasury/CD/short term investments with out any fees (that is much more than $10M).  Making sure it's all in best options for highest return when they come due.  Also follows up when some has been in CDs at banks that have gone under (there have been a few in last 2 years----that happens when you spread it all out to keep FDIC insurance).  That means I don't have to have accounts at 20+ banks to manage myself.  That part all comes at "no fee" to us.  Sure paying $25K+ per year may seem like a lot for most people, but when you are at HNW/UHNW it's just a part of managing your finances.  And a great FA makes it all run smoothly.  I know, because I used to manage our CD/Treasuries/MM previously and am very happy I don't have to do it anymore.  
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Thanks for sharing this. You mentioned you were paying approximately $25K in fees for $10M, so is your rate .25%? And do you feel for $3M in assets that .5% is a good rate?[/quote]

I think that is a good rate for $3M.  Especially if they do not charge a fee for your "cash" holdings (Treasuries/CD/MM/etc) or your 529s.  And are very responsive to your needs.

We have been with our FA for 20+ years.  So since we were only worth $1-2M.  We chose to stay with them because we trust them.  Even when we made the quick switch to UHNW 3 years ago we stayed---because they showed us they could (and would ) manage everything for us, [b]they had access to wealth management team that is amazing.[/b]  At that level, most of the FA who want your business are slimy and pushy and I didn't want to work with any of them.  We interviewed a few just to see and I couldn't' stomach it.  They are just annoying and sleezy to me.

I like that we are most likely our FA top client, not just another UHNW/HNW family.

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What in tarnation does a wealth management team do?[/quote]

Help coordinate your CPA, estate planning, creating a foundation, etc.  Not something most people need, but when you hit the UHNW ($30M+) there are many new issues that need to be addressed.  We have an estate consultant (not our lawyer) who for no fee will spend hours helping us develop/tweak our estate plans, available for consultation as much as needed. There are also other experts on specific estate subjects/foundation creation/etc that we can consult with as needed.   Then we take those ideas to our actual lawyer to draw them up.  So basically, rather than paying $400+/hr to discuss complex estate planning (which at that level involves tax planning as well/ tax avoidance for when you die), we do that with him and others from the wealth management team to craft the plan, then just pay the lawyer for 4-5 hours of work.  In the last 3 years, we have gotten 50+ hours of consultation for free and only had to pay the lawyer for less than 10 Hours.  Given that the main person is actually a lawyer (but not working as a lawyer currently, so not allowed to officially give "legal advice") we are getting top notch consultation for free.  It's part of our FA/Wealth management team that becomes available to you when you reach a certain level of wealth.  Lots of perks become available at a certain wealth level.  They want your business and quite frankly it's much easier to manage it all where everyone works for same company and has access to all your details.

So yes, if you have a net worth of only $2M your estate and wills are very simple.  And a simple lawyer familiar with wills will be fine and you can use a good FA. But once you hit $10-15M you typically need more resources available for you.

[/quote]

I hate to break this to you, but you aren't getting any of these services for free. [/quote]

But we don't get a break on the investment fee percentage if we don't use the services.  So yes, in reality they are "free perks".  If I'm paying X% of amount invested for my FA, that amount doesn't change if we don't use the extra services.  So it would be foolish not to use those services.  [/quote]

You can think of it that way, but it is the wrong way. Critical thinking skills are not required for many jobs in the DC area.

They are overcharging you, so they can throw in other things for "free". If they charge you $30,000 a year, they don't mind giving you $5,000 of free stuff. You can get what they are offering for a lot less with the same quality. You need to determine how much time you want to look for an extra $10,000 -$15,000 a year. Truth![/quote]

If you are worth $20M+, $20K/year for a financial advisor is really just a blip on the financial radar.  We pay more than that in property taxes for Each of our properties in a year.   Fairly certain most people worth that much are not doing the investing themselves. Sure they could, but it's a service most are willing to pay for.  Did my own until we were worth $3-4M.  So totally capable of it.  [/quote]

If you are paying $20,000 on a $20 million portfolio, you are down to a 0.1% AUM fee.

I am more on the anti-FA side because of AUM fees digging into your returns, but at 0.1% PP is correct.  That's just a blip on the radar.[/quote]

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