Investment costs — how much should I pay?
What should i expect to pay an investment firm for handling my investments
Terry Says
Uh, uh — that’s a wide open door to be taken. If you go to Vanguard or Fidelity you can choose your own mutual funds for less than 25 basis points — less than a quarter of one percent! If you go to a fee only FIDUCIARY advisor (see the link top right of my website) you would pay probably 1% in addition to the cost of the underlying funds– so max 1.25%.
BUT many advisors will put you in Fidelity or Vanguard funds that carry “extra” annual charges, which compensate the advisor every year! And brokers will charge you commissions — some hidden and some obvious — to pay them for the advice they give you.
PLEASE, read the chapter in the new edition of The Savage Truth on Money (available on Amazon) that will tell you the tricks that make the brokerage firms and the brokers rich! It’s fine to pay for good advice — but you need to know exactly what you’re paying!
