Somebody is comparing two advisers. One charges a percentage that sounds modest. The other charges a fixed annual fee that sounds like a lot of money.
On his portfolio the percentage is nearly three times the fixed fee. Nobody has shown him that, because neither adviser expressed their charge in pounds.
What buyers should ask
These are the questions a client should put to any adviser. Advisers who answer them on their own pages attract exactly the clients they want.
1. What is the initial charge
For the advice itself and for implementation. Whether it is a percentage, a fixed fee or a combination, and what happens if the client decides not to proceed.
2. What is the ongoing charge
Annually, and what it covers. Review meetings, monitoring, rebalancing, administration and access to the adviser between reviews.
3. What does it amount to in money
Ask for the figure in pounds, per year, on the actual portfolio. It is the single most clarifying question available and it is rarely asked.
4. What is charged separately
Platform charges, fund charges, transaction costs and anything else. The adviser's fee is often a fraction of the total and clients should see all of it.
5. What does it cost over ten years
Compounded. A small annual percentage becomes a substantial figure, and an adviser who shows this willingly is one worth trusting.
6. What happens if the portfolio grows
A percentage fee rises with the portfolio whether or not the work does. Ask whether there is a cap and how it is reviewed.
7. What is included in a review
How often, what is covered, whether it is in person and whether anything is charged extra. Many ongoing fees buy less contact than clients expect.
8. What happens between reviews
Whether questions can be asked, whether calls are charged and how quickly somebody responds. It is what most clients actually value and it is rarely specified.
9. Is there a minimum
Portfolio size or minimum fee. Publishing it saves everybody a wasted meeting, which is part of fee questions financial advisers should answer openly.
10. What happens if they leave
Exit charges, notice, what happens to the arrangement and how a transfer works. Nobody asks this and everybody should.
11. Independent or restricted
What the adviser can recommend from, and how that relates to the charge. It affects the value of the advice rather than only its price.
12. How is the adviser paid
Salary, share of fees or something else. It is a fair question and an adviser who answers it comfortably is telling you something useful.
Advisers should publish all of this
Not because clients demand it, but because the ones who ask these questions are exactly the clients worth having, and they choose whoever answered first.
Express everything in money
A worked example on a typical portfolio, showing the annual figure and the ten year figure. It is unusual, it is honest and it converts.
The same transparency wins work elsewhere
Explaining a fee structure openly is the differentiator in fee structures interior designers should explain, and the cost of losing one enquiry is in the lifetime value of one missed advice client.
Getting started
Publish your structure with a worked example in pounds, build the page with the AI FAQ generator, then answer fee questions at any hour, which is the approach in how financial advisors use chatbots to answer client questions. SpideyChat for financial advisers answers from your published pages, plans are on the pricing page, and the chatbot ROI calculator works through the numbers.