I'm asked about these ads to the degree that I think it's important to address them with a series of short articles here. Part 1 will focus on investment performance, while Part 2 will focus on the value of professional advice.

"The lower fees are making a big difference" - Are they?

Over the years, some of our competitors have focused on shifting the entire investment conversation to costs (which I suppose is no surprise given their relatively poor investment returns). As such, their misguided basis is a simple calculation of who paid the least amount in fees. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve always said that costs are important. It’s one of the reasons we deliver industry-leading fees to our clients. But don’t the actual investment results matter? Our measure of performance is always on a "net-of-fees" or after-fees basis, and our discussions typically  revolve around performance on a "net-of-taxes" basis as well. 

 

 

Both performance and fees are just two small aspects to consider when deciding how to manage your wealth. Look out for Part 2 to read about the value of professional advice and why investment performance is not the whole story either.