Financial Advisor Fee Calculator: Compare Costs
Advisor fees vary widely. Know about advisor costs with our financial advisor fee calculator, which also estimates investment growth.
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Financial advisor fees can range widely, and if you’re not careful, they may eat away at your long-term returns. Our financial advisor fee calculator will show you how much you might pay under three common advisor fee models — and how those fees may affect your total investment growth. Keep in mind, though, that in exchange for fees, the right financial advisor can offer a great deal of value, including things such as:
A personalized investment strategy.
Help with goal-setting, judgment calls and life decisions.
Advice on which specific investments to choose or avoid.
Guidance on complex financial situations or problems.
Help and support handling unexpected events and changes.
How to use the financial advisor fee calculator
Enter an initial investment amount. If you’re considering a financial advisor who charges a fee based on your assets under management, your first fee typically is based on this beginning balance.
Select the type of advisor fee. The financial advisor fee calculator allows you to compare the impact of paying an flat AUM fee, blended AUM fee or a flat annual fee. (More on these below.)
Enter the fee. If you are comparing financial advisor fees, you can plug it into the calculator as a percentage or as a dollar amount, if you’re paying a flat fee. Advisors who use a blended or tiered structure generally have that information available on their website or in their Form ADV.
Defining fee types:
Fixed AUM fees: You pay a percentage of your assets under management to the advisor on an annual basis. The rate is fixed, meaning it doesn’t change as your AUM increases.
Blended AUM fees: Some advisors use a tiered fee structure, which means they charge different rates on different portions of your portfolio. In that case, the rate you pay is a blend of different rates applied to those different pots of money. For example, you may pay 1.5% on the $500,000 in AUM, then 1.25% on the next $500,000 and 1% on the next $1 million, and so on.
Annual flat fee: An advisor may charge a flat fee that doesn’t depend on your AUM. If that’s the case, you’ll likely want to calculate the effective rate so you can compare advisor costs more accurately.
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How financial advisor fees could affect returns
The second part of the financial advisor fee calculator shows you how annual advisor fees could affect your returns.
First, enter this information:
Enter a time horizon. This will allow you to see how fees may affect your investment growth over time.
Enter annual contributions. Assuming you’ll add to your investments each year, how much you’ll pay in fees will change if your advisor charges an AUM fee.
Input an estimated rate of return. In addition to growth through annual contributions, the calculator takes into account potential returns on your investments.
If your advisor charges a blended AUM fee, the rate you pay could change as the value of your investments increase.
No matter what fee type you select, the calculator will show you:
Estimated gross balance: This is the estimated value of your investments at the end of the period. It includes any annual contributions, as well as annual returns. It does not include any fees paid.
Estimated net balance: This is the estimated value of your investments at the end of the period minus annual fees.
Fees paid: This is the total amount you’d pay in fees to your financial advisor over the given timeframe.
Total cost of fees: This is the difference between your estimated gross balance and your estimated net balance. This accounts for investment earnings you’d lose because paying annual fees reduces your investment balance each year.
» Looking for an advisor? See our roundup of the best financial advisors.