One Fee to Bind Them

In 2009, broker-dealer Capital Analysts introduced a new flat-fee business model. So how's it going?

Last fall, Deena Katz, she of Texas Tech and Evensky & Katz, flagged me down at the FPA National Conference and said, "You have to talk to Matt Lynch. He's changing everything and no one really understands." Wow, I thought, who knew that a tweak to advisors' cost structure could change everything? How silly-of course it does. And of course there's more. Because what the pioneering new cost-structure at Lynch's firm, Cincinnati-based Capital Analysts Incorporated (CAI), does is empower advisors to do their best work.

In 2009, while the industry was in shock, CAI introduced a new flat fee program for its affiliated advisors called Wealth Manager Access: one fee, ranging from $40,000 to $120,000 per year, determined by the amount of assets and advisors in the practice. The basic fee covers three advisors, and additional desks cost $24,000 each. And that's it. Advisors can be reps, RIAs or dually registered. There are no extra charges for technology, marketing, compliance, licensing, E&O coverage. No quarreling over payouts or chargebacks. CAI eliminated fees for custodying IRAs, REITs and alternatives...

Financial Planning: One Fee to Bind Them