When it comes to investing, one of the key factors that can greatly impact your returns is the fees you pay to your wealth manager. While it's important to have a skilled professional managing your investments, it's equally important to ensure that you're not overpaying for their services. By negotiating lower fees with your wealth manager, you can potentially increase your gains and outsmart the market.
Here are a few tips on how to negotiate lower fees with your wealth manager:
1. Do your research: Before entering into negotiations with your wealth manager, it's important to have a good understanding of the fees typically charged in the industry. This will give you a benchmark to work from and help you determine whether the fees you're being charged are fair.
2. Be prepared to walk away: If your wealth manager is unwilling to negotiate on fees, be prepared to walk away and find another manager who is more willing to work with you. There are plenty of wealth managers out there, so don't be afraid to shop around for the best deal.
3. Highlight your loyalty: If you've been a long time client of your wealth manager and have a substantial amount of assets under management, use this as leverage in negotiations. Wealth managers are often willing to lower fees for clients who have a long standing relationship with them.
4. Consider a fee based model: Instead of paying a percentage of your assets under management, consider switching to a fee based model where you pay a flat fee for the services provided. This can often result in lower fees overall, especially for clients with larger portfolios.
5. Negotiate performance based fees: Another option to consider is negotiating performance based fees with your wealth manager. This means that their compensation is tied to the performance of your investments, incentivizing them to work hard to increase your gains.
By taking the time to negotiate lower fees with your wealth manager, you can potentially increase your gains and outsmart the market. Don't be afraid to have these conversations and advocate for yourself as an investor. After all, every dollar saved on fees is a dollar that can be put back into your investments to help them grow even further.