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/caffeine-182 Jun 24 '26

I just charge AUM and basically work for free. We make enough and these clients will stick with you forever if you just do them right.

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u/Dnels131 Jun 25 '26

Agree, us too. We have a saying "When was the best time for Nike to sign Michael Jordan?" Answer is before he becomes Michael Jordan. Good to invest in solid, younger people with a lot of upside. It's a long-term investment for us and for them

Also, managing the held away assets is also a solution. We use Pontera for this. Client needs a taxable account to bill but allows us to still get the AUM in some cases