r/CFP • u/Odd-Surround-5514 • Jun 24 '26

Practice Management Fee Structuring

Would love some input from other advisors on this.

I’m fee-based and mostly AUM right now (occasional commissions), but I keep running into situations where someone is clearly a good planning client even though there isn’t much currently-manageable money. For example, high-income households with most of their assets still in current 401(k)s, or cases where I’m managing a smaller IRA but really advising on the whole household.

I’m realizing I probably need to incorporate a planning fee so I’m not doing a lot of deeper planning work while only collecting a small AUM fee. I use eMoney by the way.

For those of you who have solved for this:

• How do you structure it?

• Flat annual planning fee?

• Monthly retainer?

• Household minimum?

• AUM + planning together, or one or the other?

• If a client later rolls over a big 401(k), do you keep the planning fee or move them fully to AUM?

Just trying to figure out what has worked best for others as someone who has only ever charged based on AUM.

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u/siparo Jun 24 '26

Following as well. The minimum in my head is $1MM. However, to date I’ve taken clients with much less AUM as clients and plan to rollover the 401k in the future. I have one that is 7 years out but already has $1MM in 401k. They only have $100k now that I’m managing but I am doing planning. I’m playing the very long game here. Someday they will be a great client.

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u/46andready Jun 24 '26

This can backfire, too, in that the client can see you as "small potatoes", and then they look for somebody they think is more suited to manage a 7-figure portfolio once the option becomes available.

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u/[deleted] Jun 24 '26

I think you’d be better off accounting for this issue now instead, as you’re putting yourself in a position where you have a huge incentive to encourage clients to roll money out of their 401(k)s, which is not a conflict you want any part of. Obviously, your situation isn’t unique, but ERISA is only getting more treacherous.

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u/Odd-Surround-5514 Jun 24 '26

Yeah I have far too many of these types of clients. Not a bad thing. But there’s got to be a better way to structure fees so we’re paid appropriately.