Although this question should be simple enough to get an answer too, it is not. Your answer is everywhere because the information is everywhere. And it is up to you to find this information and use discernment. Although the markets are unpredictable, fees you pay for financial advice and investment management are not. The simple fact is, the lower your costs, the greater your share of an investment’s return. You cannot control the markets, but you can control what you pay for financial advice and investment management that takes a bite out of your earnings.

To show why it is imperative to consider the costs when choosing a financial advisor and the investments they recommend, evidence shows that:

• Higher costs can significantly diminish a portfolio’s growth over time.
• Costs create an unavoidable gap between market performance and what you earn but keeping costs down can help close that gap.
• Lower-cost investments tend to perform better than higher-cost investments over time.
• Indexed investments can be a useful tool to control costs.

There is no reason to assume you get more if you pay more when it comes to investing. Therefore, it is critical to minimize ALL costs in the management of your portfolio.

Figure A illustrates how strongly costs can impact long-term portfolio growth. It depicts the impact of costs over a 30-year time frame in which a hypothetical portfolio with a starting value of $100,000 grows an average of 6% annually. In the low-cost scenario, the investor pays 0.25% of assets every year, whereas in the high-cost scenario, the investor pays 0.62%, or the approximate asset-weighted average expense ratio for U.S. stock funds as of December 31, 2019 (average expense ratio according to Morningstar calculations). The potential impact on the portfolio balances over three decades is real – a difference of more than $55,000 between the scenarios.

Financial Advisor – fee-based.

This financial advisor collects a fee for their services. Most advisors who actively buy and sell investments within your account charge a fee that is likely to be a percentage of your account value.

Income earned by fee-based financial advisors is largely paid quarterly by the client. However, a small percentage of the revenue can be earned through commissions from selling products of brokerage firms, mutual fund companies, or insurance companies.

Financial Advisor – commission-based.

This financial advisor earns a commission-based entirely on the products they sell or the accounts that are opened. Products for commission-based advisors include mutual funds, annuities, life insurance, Real-estate Investment Trusts (REIT), and Business Development Companies (BDC). The more transactions they complete, or the more accounts they open, the more they get paid.

Commission-based advisors can be fiduciaries, but they do not have to be (hyperlink Broker vs Fiduciary part of https://www.scottsdalewealthadvisory.com/solutions/)
The laws state they must follow the suitability rule for their clients, which means they can sell any products they believe suit their clients’ objectives and situation—although the yardstick for suitability is a fairly subjective one. They do not have a legal duty to their clients; instead, they have a duty to their employing brokers or dealers. Further, they do not have to disclose conflicts of interest, which can occur when the client's interests clash with those who are compensating the advisor.

‍

FISHER INVESTMENTS

For a complete ADV PART 2A detailing Fees & Compensation visit: https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=625157

‍

EDWARD JONES

For a complete ADV PART 2A detailing Fees & Compensation visit: https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=657181

‍

TRAJAN WEALTH

For a complete ADV PART 2A detailing Fees & Compensation visit: https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=661797

‍

RAYMOND JAMES

For a complete ADV PART 2A detailing Fees & Compensation visit: https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=668977

‍

SCOTTSDALE WEALTH ADVISORY

For a complete ADV PART 2A detailing Fees & Compensation visit: https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=604490

‍

BAYNTREE WEALTH ADVISORS

For a complete ADV PART 2A detailing Fees & Compensation visit: https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=646511