Gad12,

You're obviously either a rookie or not yet in the business, which is not a bad thing.  However, you're comment of "I don't see myself going over 1% for any account" is at best niave.

Are you not worth any more than 1%?  Is that the maximum amount of value you'll ever bring?  I have clients who try to write me checks after meetings to pay for my time, despite paying commissions.

This is a profession, and various circumstances warrant various fees.  Every attorney isn't $125/hr

50,000-99,999 - 1.5%

100,000-249,999 - 1.25%

250,000 & up - 1.00%

All fees are negotiable...depends on the situation, but will never be less than 0.50% (LPL requires fee waivers below that level and I don't want the hassle).  If it looks fairly routine, and the balance is substantial, I'll offer discounts without the prospect asking.

I don't have any pure fixed income fee based accounts.

While its not written in stone, I do try to adhere to the following:

150K-500K- 1.75%

500K- 1 Mil- 1.25%

1 Mil- 2.5Mil- 1%

Above 2.5Mil (Admittedly I have no accounts in this range but have 3 potentially on tap for 1H2007)- Negotiable, but we are looking at around 70- 90 bps.

I feel this is competitive given the marketplace, and I justify these fees with a comprehensive plan, quarterly asset allocation and manager analysis, semi- annual meetings (at least via conference call), and yearly comprehensive reviews in person ( I make them sign a waiver if they do not care to meet for their annual review to cover my a$$).

If you want to differentiate yourself, you need to charge higher fees than most people. People think that if they pay more they get something better than most people.

I have a tiered schedule:

First $250k     1%

Next $250k     .85%

Next $1.5MM   .70%

Above $2MM   .55%

My custodian charges a flat .20% for trading, PM software and statements, so you just tack that on top. I keep 100% of the above fees.

You people are cheap!!!Here's my fee schedule:

100-250k  2.5%

250-500K  2.23%

500-1m    1.89%

1m-2m    1.39%

2mil-3m    1.00%

3m-5mil     .88%

5mil+   negotiable

I want the people that don't have $1,000,000 to pay.  My sweet spot is 1m.

Thanks, Spike...I'm gonna print this out in case my clients ever bitch about their fees...

This is great info...thanks for asking, gad...

Spike, I heard an industry speaker talk about the need to move (higher) wrap fees over to separate planning fees. You're right, I'm cheap compared to you - you need to justify the fee in terms of service on this investments, vs. planning advice, I understand.

This speaker thinks high wrap fees are the next big negative charge in the old stump that gets hit and split by lightening.

[quote=EDJ to RIA]

I have a tiered schedule:

First $250k     1%

Next $250k     .85%

Next $1.5MM   .70%

Above $2MM   .55%

My custodian charges a flat .20% for trading, PM software and statements, so you just tack that on top. I keep 100% of the above fees.

Yeah, I charge $150/hr for the accounts under $250,000 or to advise on assets held elsewhere. I'm thinking I should raise my fees to start at 1.5% for new clients.

It's nice to be the "decider"...