Financial Frame

What is is the average fee paid to a financial advisor?

we are interviewing financial advisors to help us invest about 250k in mostly cash some stocks/mutual funds. what is a reasonable fee to expect to be charged on an account of this small size by a fee-only financial advisor? is it worth it?

Public Comments

1. Let me give you some advice, that i believe will prove useful. First off, insist that the financial advisor give you several different options for your money. They love to put their clients into mutual funds because that is where they make their highest commissions. The truth is, about 75% of all mutual funds under perform the market. All of them have management fees and some have sales loads. They just aren't that good of an investment vehicle anymore. In my opinion. I would look at DRIP Plans (which I personally love) instead of mutual funds. Or look at ETF's, which are basically the same thing as mutual funds, except with lower overall average fees. Just insist that they give you many options, and pay attention to how strong he pushes you toward mutual funds. Best of Luck
2. As a former broker myself I hate to say this, but most are not worth it. They tend to be glorified salesmen of various financial products. Too many agendas. I prefer not-for-profit private investment clubs instead. You can invest small amounts in a diversified fashion, get input from many investors and the companies themselves, who tend to "romance" the clubs with in-depth materials. Larger clubs get treated like institutional investors by the corporations. The biggest I've come across are administered by Palisade Trust. They are a good contact for getting into a club and for clubs with extraordinary access to the companies in which they invest.