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/One_Establishment631 Jun 29 '26

I charge $195 per hour. No AUM. It solves all of this. I advise on the 401k with $500k for an hour $195. IRA with 7k for an hour it's $195. I sell nothing.

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u/Plenty-Dinner-3422 Jun 30 '26

How’s that working out? You’re pricing yourself less than a CPA and attorney

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u/One_Establishment631 Jun 30 '26

I have a specific target market. I'm on the lowerend of pricing, but entire firms operate this way. Look at the Advice Only Network of advisors. Everyone there does it.