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Financial Advisor Fees: What Should You Expect to Pay?
Understanding how financial advisors charge for their services is essential before engaging one, because fee structures vary widely and directly affect both the cost of advice and potential conflicts of interest.
The most common fee models include fee-only, where advisors charge a flat fee, hourly rate, or a percentage of assets under management (AUM) with no commissions; fee-based, where advisors charge fees but may also earn commissions on products they sell; and commission-only, where advisors are paid entirely through product sales. For AUM-based fee-only advisors, typical charges range from 0.5% to 1.5% of assets managed annually, with fees generally declining as account size grows. Flat fees for comprehensive financial planning can range from $2,000 to $9,000 depending on complexity. Hourly rates typically fall between $200 and $500 per hour. Commission-based compensation is the most likely source of conflicts of interest since the advisor earns more when you purchase higher-commission products. At Moore Invested, our fee structure is fully transparent and disclosed upfront, and we operate on a fee-only basis with no commissions of any kind so that every recommendation we make is driven purely by what is best for you.
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