Can You Afford a Financial Planner?

What will it cost?

A financial plan can be a time-consuming piece of work. It requires the planner to interview you and find out what your assets and savings are, and what your goals are. The planner then must figure out a plan for reaching those goals. For many people, the only goal may be determining when they can retire. For others, it could be figuring out who gets the Maserati and who gets the Kia Soul when you die.

In addition to creating a plan, planners will typically want to find a way to implement it: recommending investments for your savings, for example, or figuring out how to lower your debt payments. They may also require annual meetings to see how the plan is working out, and whether it will need any changes.

The more time-consuming the plan, the more money your adviser is going to charge. Some planners serve only wealthy clients. In part, this is because those planners base their fees on a percentage of a client’s assets — typically, 0.25 percent to 1 percent per year. Typically, the more you bring to the table — a figure known in the business as assets under management (AUM) — the lower the fees.

For some planners who charge a percentage of assets under management, small accounts just aren’t worth the time. A planner who charges 1 percent of assets probably won’t want to manage a $100,000 nest egg: It would generate only $1,000 a year in income for the planner.

But don’t give up. The financial services industry has figured out a number of lower-cost options for people, starting with robo-advisers, which are computer programs that will look at your data and disgorge basic advice, such as how much you should be saving, what debt you should repay first, how to start an emergency fund, and when you might be able to purchase a home.

• Betterment, for example, will help you plan for retirement and other goals and pick a portfolio that best suits your tolerance for risk. It has no minimum balance requirement and charges 0.25 percent of assets annually. You can also get a premium membership, which offers live advisers.
• Wealthfront charges 0.25 percent of assets a year and requires a $500 minimum. It can help you save for college as well as retirement.
• Vanguard, the mutual fund behemoth, also offers a robo-adviser service. It charges 0.2 percent a year and invests in low-cost Vanguard funds. You’ll need $3,000 to start.

Robo-advice is not for everyone. If you want a more personal approach, planners are now looking at alternative methods of payment. “There are different compensation methods that financial planners are now using that allow them to serve clients who were traditionally underserved by the financial services industry,” Lee says.

One alternative: Look for planners who charge an hourly fee to create a plan and let you implement it. Like lawyers, planners aren’t cheap: Expect to pay $200 to $400 an hour. Again, the more complex the situation (and the more experienced the planner), the more you’re going to pay.

Another option is to simply pay a flat fee for a plan. The average cost for a standalone financial plan is about $2,500, Lee says. Be aware that some companies that charge an ongoing fee for managing your money may charge separately for the plan. If you feel reasonably competent to make the recommendations in your plan, just getting a plan — or a portfolio checkup — might be the best way to go.