Advisors, if you want to be a hero to your clients and move our industry in the right direction, tell them HOW you get paid and WHAT you get paid. Bonus points if you tell them before they ask. For some reason, we've rationalized the fact that our fee structures (all 100 of them) are confusing at best and deceptive at worst. Don't trick the client into working with you. Be honest and let them determine whether the services (or products) you offer are worth the cost. If you can't be honest and transparent about your fees and offerings, it might be time to find a new place of business. If we want people to trust us, we have to be worthy of that trust. #401k #advisor #retirement #financialplanning #fees #investments
It is a little tricky, Grant Ellis, AIF®, CPFA® . I like to mention fees early because I think mine are relatively low. But talking about fees too early in the conversation makes low cost seem like the main benefit, which it isn’t.
100000000000000% this!
President of Retirement Services
7moThis is great! Just a few weeks ago I had this exact conversation with a prospect. I laid out exactly what our fees are, how they are paid, but most importantly I showed him what we do to earn our fees. I walked through what we can do from an employee education standpoint, vendor transition support, and how we can take the investment monitoring off his plate. It is more expensive than his other alternative? Absolutely. But it will make his life so much easier and we can help him avoid a lot of pitfalls. His company has a pooled plan and we'd move him to a traditional 401(k) structure with 404(c) provisions.