For a doctor asking what do financial advisors charge, Annex Wealth Management turns each quote into annual dollars before you compare it. The usual wrong assumption is that the lowest-looking percentage is automatically cheapest. 1% on $1 million is $10,000 each year before investment costs. What a flat fee costs comes down to the agreement and the scope of work it names.
This question often comes up in January, when year-end statements show the portfolio balance and the prior year's charges. It also surfaces after an inheritance, a practice sale, or a new college bill changes what the portfolio needs to do.
In client reviews, Annex Wealth Management usually sees people comparing a percentage with a flat fee before checking which assets are billed or what the quote includes. Start with the monthly spending plan, then compare the fee against the dollars left for investing.
What do financial advisors charge for a doctor's portfolio?
Financial advisors commonly charge as a percentage of managed assets, a fixed annual fee, or through expenses built into investment funds. Annex Wealth Management asks you to compare the annual dollars and the work each amount covers, because a portfolio fee alone doesn't show whether planning meetings or practice questions are included.
A percentage fee rises or falls with the billed portfolio balance. A fixed annual fee stays level for the period stated in the agreement. Fund expenses are costs charged within the investments; they can apply even when an advisory quote lists a separate fee.
Ask whether the quoted amount covers planning meetings, investment management, tax coordination, and practice questions, or only portfolio management. Also ask which accounts and cash balances count as managed assets. Fees at Annex Wealth Management are set out in a written agreement before work starts; this page does not quote the firm's fee.
Compare the three charges at your balance
The table assumes each fee applies to the full balance and stays unchanged for 20 years. Each cell shows the annual charge first and the simple 20-year total second, with no growth, deposits, withdrawals, or fee changes.
A $5,000 flat fee remains $5,000 at every balance in this illustration. By contrast, the 1% charge reaches $20,000 each year at $2 million, and 0.45% fund costs reach $9,000. These totals are multiplication, not a forecast of what an investment account will earn or lose.
At $1 million, the arithmetic is $1,000,000 x 1% = $10,000 each year; $10,000 x 20 = $200,000 before growth. The flat fee is $5,000 x 20 = $100,000. Fund costs are $1,000,000 x 0.45% = $4,500 each year, or $90,000 over 20 years. Actual charges can change with balances, holdings, and the agreement.
| Fee structure | $500,000 | $1,000,000 | $2,000,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1% asset fee | $5,000 / $100,000 | $10,000 / $200,000 | $20,000 / $400,000 |
| $5,000 flat fee | $5,000 / $100,000 | $5,000 / $100,000 | $5,000 / $100,000 |
| 0.45% fund costs | $2,250 / $45,000 | $4,500 / $90,000 | $9,000 / $180,000 |
When should a physician compare the quote?
Compare a fee quote when the portfolio balance or the cash-flow plan changes, and check it against the agreement's billing dates. January is a useful starting point: gather year-end statements, fund expense information, and any fee statement from the prior year before discussing a new proposal.
Before you file your return in the spring, review whether taxable sales, practice distributions, or an inheritance changed the cash available for investing. At each billing date named in the agreement, check the billed balance, rate, and services before another charge posts. At year-end, compare current costs with the expected cost after practice debt, college funding, or a large deposit.
- January: gather year-end statements, fund expense information, and the prior year's fee statement
- By the tax filing deadline: review taxable sales, practice distributions, and inheritance cash
- At each agreement billing date: check the billed balance, rate, and services before the next charge
- At year-end: compare current cost with the projected cost after debt payments, college funding, or a large deposit
Which popular fee beliefs fail under inspection?
A percentage fee is not automatically cheaper for a smaller portfolio; calculate its annual dollars beside the flat quote. Depending on the balance and the agreement, a flat fee can cost less or more, so the label doesn't settle the question.
Fund expenses may sit outside the advisory quote. Ask for both the advisor charge and the weighted fund expense, meaning the average expense across the funds based on how much you hold in each. A flat fee doesn't remove every possible conflict either. The agreement still has to list the services you get for that fee and the work it excludes, such as practice valuation or tax filing.
A fee comparison also has limits: it cannot tell you whether an advisor's investment process, tax work, or service level justifies the cost. It doesn't estimate taxes on Farid and Siobhan's practice or college choices.
A $120,000 inheritance changes Farid and Siobhan's math
Farid and Siobhan, a hypothetical couple, are 51 and 49. Farid owns a four-chair dental practice through an S corporation, Siobhan runs the front office, they have $650,000 saved, and the practice has a $400,000 loan. They receive a $120,000 inheritance while weighing college funding, paying down the practice loan, and a cash balance contribution.
If a 1% fee applies to the inherited amount, $120,000 x 1% = $1,200 each year. Over three years, $1,200 x 3 = $3,600. A $5,000 annual flat fee costs $5,000 x 3 = $15,000 over that period. Fund costs at 0.45% equal $120,000 x 0.45% = $540 each year, then $540 x 3 = $1,620 over three years.
Those calculations isolate the fee on the $120,000; the flat-fee figure is the full annual fee, not a fee assigned only to that inheritance. The inheritance doesn't make one option automatically right. If they expect to use the cash for a near-term college payment or loan reduction, they should ask whether it is billed before investment. Annex Wealth Management would first place the cash-flow needs and payment dates beside the quoted cost.
That is also why the table's $1 million case matters: the annual figures are $10,000, $5,000, and $4,500 for the three options. Multiply each by 20 for $200,000, $100,000, and $90,000 before growth. This arithmetic doesn't include taxes, changes in the fee, or changes in the balance.
Leave room for markets, health, and rule changes
Run the comparison at a low balance and a high balance. Markets can lower the amount billed under an asset-based agreement, while practice proceeds or an inheritance can raise it. Keep cash for a child's college start date or a debt payment outside a long-term investment comparison; investments can lose value, and you may receive less than you invested.
Recheck the agreement if a health change reduces work, the practice is sold, or a law changes the tax treatment of an account or transaction. Annex Wealth Management can compare the stated charges, but the agreement and the actual services still determine what you pay. This is general education, not individualized investment, tax, or legal advice.
The order matters more than the headline percentage
Accepting an asset-based quote before identifying which assets are managed can add $1,200 each year on a $120,000 inheritance, or $3,600 over three years, if the cash enters the billed balance before the family decides where it belongs. Waiting until several quarters have passed can also leave you discovering charges after the balance has grown.
Putting the fee comparison after a fund change can hide the cost of selling, taxes, and new fund expenses. Ask for those figures before switching. List the spending deadlines first, separate investable assets from operating or college cash, then compare the fee in dollars.
Use this rule today: calculate every quote at your current balance and at the balance you expect in five years. Choose a structure only when you can explain both dollar amounts and name the work each one buys.
- List spending deadlines
- Separate investable assets from operating or college cash
- Compare each fee in annual dollars
The question to bring to Annex Wealth Management
Ask Annex Wealth Management to show the annual dollar charge on your current balance, the charge after a large deposit or practice sale, and the investment expenses outside the advisory fee. Bring the fee proposal, recent account statements, the timing of an inheritance or practice sale, and the dates when college or debt payments are due.
What would each option cost at those dates, and which services are included? A useful answer ties the costs to your cash-flow plan; it doesn't promise an investment return.
Common follow-up questions
Is a 1% advisory fee too high for a physician with $1 million invested?
What happens if I change from an asset-based fee to a flat fee during the year?
Primary sources
This material is general information only and does not constitute investment, tax or legal advice tailored to your circumstances. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Before acting on any information here, speak with a financial advisor, tax professional or attorney about your specific situation.