What's the cost?

We charge just 0.50% (one half of one percent) of assets under management per year on the first $3 million of assets under management and 0.30% on balances over $3 million, with a minimum fee of $750 per client, per quarter.

We are fee-only advisors, meaning we charge you directly for our advisory services and do not make commissions on load funds or on the trades we make. Each quarter, we send you an easy-to-read invoice which lists our fee and how we calculated it. That fee is all you pay us (and it's often tax deductible to boot - consult your tax professional!).

Many of the funds we buy for your account will be purchased without a transaction fee (NTF) through the brokerage platform and fund supermarket that holds client assets. Some fund require paying a brokerage fee, especially with closed-end funds and ETFs (exchange-traded funds). These aren't our fees. They go to the broker that runs the platform we use to manage your money.

Due to our tiered fee structure and inclusion of a minimum charge, the actual percentage fee may vary for certain clients. Accounts under $600,000 will pay over 0.50% in annual management fees, while accounts over $3M will pay less than 0.50%. For example, the fee charged on a $1M account is 0.50% per year, while the fee on a $5M account is 0.42% a year (0.50% on first $3M, 0.30% on $2M). On a $500k account, our fee is 0.60% because of the $750 minimum quarterly fee.

Do you buy load funds?

Never! We simply don't purchase funds sold with a sales charge or commission. For every load fund charging a 5% (or more) commission for the privilege of buying it, there's a no-load alternative that's just as good (and probably better). We build client portfolios primarily with low-cost, no-load mutual funds from companies like Vanguard and T. Rowe Price, and mix in some exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, and REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts).

As professional advisors, we're sometimes able to buy certain load funds with the load waived for our clients. We also often have access to institutional-class funds at a lower minimum investment requirement than retail investors would; these are generally lower cost than the non-institutional version of the fund and also don't have built-in sales commissions.

Why should I let a professional manage my portfolio?

Expertise.

Hiring a professional to manage your portfolio frees you from having to determining how much risk to assume overall, from designing the right broad portfolio mix to achieve that risk goal, and deciding how to allocate your portfolio between the thousands of mutual fund and ETF options available. These are difficult decisions to make for most investors. We are investing experts and we have a tremendous amount of experience building portfolios that work.

What about my 401(k) assets?

Your 401(k) account (or other employee sponsored or defined contribution plans) can't typically be rolled into your regular brokerage account that we manage. However, we're happy to offer our clients advice on 401(k) investments, free of charge.

We also take your 401(k) holdings (and any other assets you have) into account when building your portfolio. For example, if you're a daredevil investor whose allocated your entire 401(k) to nothing but the highest-risk investments, we'd likely recommend building your MAXadvisor Private Management portfolio with a greater focus on lower-volatility investments in order to lessen your overall risk level.

How do I get started?

Click here to set up a free phone consultation with a MAXadvisor Private Management registered investment advisor representative.

Not quite ready to talk? We're happy to answer any questions via email.