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What You Pay Matters | Cost of Financial Advice


By Eric Ellis | November 5, 2021 | What You Pay Matters

 

People have been going to Floyd for haircuts for decades. He’s always charged a fair price for his services, $10 per cut. One day a national-chain salon opened just across the street from Floyd and put up a big bright sign that read “$5 haircuts”. Floyd watched as traffic poured into the new location and wondered how he was going to compete with that.

After some thought and reflection on his business, with a smile Floyd put up a large sign in his front window: “We fix $5 haircuts”.

On the surface, Floyd’s $10 haircut looked a lot like someone else’s $5 haircut. While the $5 haircut was cheaper, it was actually worse in the end because it didn’t get the job done.

Whether it is haircuts or financial advice, you deserve to know exactly what you pay. It is important to us that we are smart with your money. Our aim is to find the most cost-efficient, high-value ways to manage your assets. Our ultimate purpose is to make sure you achieve your financial goals.

The Importance of Value

Cost is what you pay. Value is what you get. Floyd’s customers quickly noticed the difference between his cuts and the new place. The cheaper salon’s staff wasn’t well trained. They were not as skilled, talented, or experienced as Floyd. They didn’t take their time to do a good job and hurried them out the door. After all of that, they were left with a bad haircut.

When it comes to financial services it may not seem as noticeable… at first. Over time, you will notice the difference. We take pride in the quality of our services and strive to hold ourselves to the highest standards. Additionally, through our commitment, Forbes has recognized Kathy Ellis, CFP® professional as one of America’s Top Women Wealth Advisors 2020 & 2021 and Eric Ellis as one of the Best-in-State Wealth Advisors in 2020. While you can certainly find a cheaper financial advisor, it’s not only the services that you receive but the quality of those services that truly matter most.

What you pay matters to us.

When our clients speak, we listen. What we’ve heard is they understand there is a cost for these professional services. They want their cost to be predictable, consistent, and most importantly no surprises. No one likes complicated and confusing fees and charges that are difficult to understand and even more difficult to find. We agree. You’ll find our cost is simple, straightforward, and easy to understand. You deserve to know exactly what you pay so there are no unexpected or unexplained costs.

You’ll find our cost is simple, straightforward, and easy to understand.

Simple

We simplify your cost so that it is easy to understand. Some financial advisors have fees, commissions, annual fee, transaction fee, investment management fee, financial planning fee, if not more. Not to mention additional hidden expenses they may not share with you. You should not have to work that hard to understand what you are paying. When working with us, you won’t be running around adding them all up trying to determine your total cost. We’ve already done it for you. We streamline your costs into one easy to understand figure which we will go over when we meet.

Clearly Stated

Nothing is more aggravating than searching all over for something and not finding it. You can count on us to share your true total cost with you during your appointment. There may be a difference in cost from account to account. So if you notice a difference in your monthly statement, this is is normal. For this reason, we’re committed to sharing your true total cost each time we meet.

Your Interest First

You deserve advice that is conflict-free and that puts you first. As a CFP® professional and Investment Adviser Representative, Kathy and Eric are a fiduciaries and will put your interest first with your financial planning. The CFP® Board holds all CFP® professionals accountable to this standard and may sanction a CFP® professional for not fulfilling this commitment. Not all financial advisors are held to this higher standard. How can you trust your interests come first if someone makes more money using one investment product over another? You can have the confidence in knowing our team generates the same revenue regardless of the tools or solutions we use to help accomplish your goals. You can count on our team to put your goals first, always.

 

The $5 haircut looked like a better deal than Floyd’s at first glance. The price didn’t reflect some very important items. The cheaper hair salon’s staff wasn’t trained well. They didn’t have the skill, talent, or experience that Floyd has. They rushed their customers out the door. In the end, they were left with a bad haircut.

With something as important as your life’s savings, you deserve to work with a professional whose high standards can help you best accomplish your goals.

Your hair can grow back (usually). You only have one shot at living life on your terms.

Retire Confident,

 

Eric Ellis

Financial Advisor

 


The opinions expressed here are those of Ellis and Company and not necessarily Raymond James. There is no guarantee that these statements, opinions or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct. All investing involves risks, including the possible loss of the principal amount invested. No investment strategy can guarantee your objectives will be met.
Ellis & Company Retirement Strategists, Kathy Ellis, CFP® professional CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, professional Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP® (with plaque design) and CFP® (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.
Raymond James, Ellis & Company Retirement Strategists, and its advisors do not offer tax or legal advice. You should discuss any tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional.
Kathy Ellis & Eric Ellis are Investment Adviser Representatives meaning they are fiduciaries on fee-based accounts.
America’s Top 1,000 Women Wealth Advisors 2021
The Forbes ranking of America’s Top 1,000 Women Wealth Advisors, developed by SHOOK Research, is based on an algorithm of qualitative and quantitative data, rating thousands of wealth advisors with a minimum of 7 years of experience and weighing factors like revenue trends, AUM, compliance records, industry experience, and best practices learned through telephone and in-person interviews. Portfolio performance is not a criteria due to varying client objectives and lack of audited data. Research Summary (as of February 2021): 32,810 nominations were received based on thresholds (9,785 women) and 1,000 won. This ranking is not indicative of advisor’s future performance, is not an endorsement, and may not be representative of individual clients’ experience. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK receive a fee in exchange for rankings. Raymond James is not affiliated with Forbes or Shook Research, LLC. Please visit https://www.forbes.com/top-women-advisors for more info.
Best-in-State Wealth Advisors 2020
The Forbes ranking of Best-In-State Wealth Advisors, developed by SHOOK Research, is based on an algorithm of qualitative and quantitative data, rating thousands of wealth advisors with a minimum of 7 years of experience and weighing factors like revenue trends, AUM, compliance records, industry experience, and best practices learned through telephone and in-person interviews. Portfolio performance is not a criteria due to varying client objectives and lack of audited data. Out of approximately 32,000 nominations, more than 4,000 advisors received the award. This ranking is not indicative of advisor’s future performance, is not an endorsement, and may not be representative of individual clients’ experience. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK receive a fee in exchange for rankings. Raymond James is not affiliated with Forbes or Shook Research, LLC. Please visit https://www.forbes.com/best-in-state-wealth-advisors for more info.

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