Do you know how much you’re paying your advisor to help you? Do you know what you’re paying for? Are you paying annually, quarterly, monthly, or hourly? Are you paying an up-front commission and ongoing commission or a fee? Are you paying an hourly fee or a fee on assets managed?
These are really important questions that you should know the answer to. I’ve heard people say “I don’t care what they’re making as long as I’m making money”. While on the surface that sounds like a good thought, it’s really incomplete. How much you pay your advisor doesn’t really matter. What matters is making sure you’re getting what you pay for.
Advisors and investment companies can charge fees ranging from less than .10% to 7% or more. The question the savvy investor must ask is “What am I paying for?”
Do you know what you’re paying for? Are you paying for a product? Are you paying for a service? Are you paying for ongoing service and not getting it? Are you paying for investment management only or financial planning only?
I think it’s important to work with an advisor that can help pick investments, manage investments, and prepare a complete financial plan for their clients. An advisor that can work with you from the basics of budgeting and paying off debt all the way to building tax-efficient portfolios that fund retirement goals is going to be a lot more valuable than just an investment salesperson.
At Blue Jay, we’re a full service financial advisor. We give investment advice. We plan for retirement. We build financial plans. We manage investments. We build and manage our own portfolios. We do in-house research. We can help you get started saving and we can help you manage your life-savings. Give us a call today to work with a full service financial planner and investment manager.