Hi, dear reader,

I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to take some of your precious time to explain something important to your finances.

Financial planning is necessary for a stable and secure life. You have to plan at least something.

Many times, people don’t know where to start with financial planning. Or they lack financial knowledge, or they simply don’t have time. Then, they contact professionals, aka “financial advisors/planners.”

This is the topic of my writing today. I want to show you the big difference between fee-only and commission-based financial advising.

Key Takeaways

• Fee-Only Advisors: Paid directly by clients, ensuring unbiased advice tailored to your best interests without conflicts of interest from product sales.
• Commission-Based Advisors: Earn income from product sales, which can lead to biased recommendations aimed at closing sales rather than providing comprehensive financial planning.
• Transparent and Fair Fees: At Bona Fide Finance, clients are charged a simple, transparent fee of 1% of their annual household income plus 0.5% of their net worth, divided into manageable monthly or quarterly payments.
• Client-Focused Planning: Fee-only advisors prioritize ongoing financial planning and goal setting over product pitching, aligning their success with your financial well-being.
• Free Consultation: Bona Fide Finance offers a free, no-obligation, 45-minute call to discuss your finances and see how they can assist you, ensuring accessibility and initial peace of mind.

Commission-Based Advisors

I just met with a local friend who is an all-around good guy but handles financial planning in a more conventional model — his compensation is entirely decided by product sales.

Typically, product-based advisors only get paid if you purchase a product from them, as they earn a commission from the sale.

So, all their “advice” is tailored to closing the product. Whenever you meet them, they pitch you on the next new thing. If you are not interested in buying, then it’s not worth it to them to “advise” you.

Fee-Only Advisors

Our entire client relationship at Bona Fide Finance is different.

(Bona Fide Finance is Magni Tax Expert’s sister company in financial planning.)

We rarely advocate for products in client meetings, especially after the initial onboarding.

Once clients are settled, we typically don’t need to recommend new products or discuss additional purchases.

Instead, our work is “planning” focused.

What do you want to accomplish?

What would it take for us to accomplish that?

When do we think we can make this change happen?

We are much more interested in making positive changes for our clients than in pitching them something new in our lineup.

Our priority lies in delivering tailored solutions that align with your best interests, not our bottom line.

How can we do that? Because we are fee-only advisors – insurance companies and banks don’t pay us.

And our fees are transparent.

Transparent and Fair Fees

All of our clients are charged a simple metric: 1% of their annual household income plus .5% of their net worth.

This annual fee is then divided into monthly or quarterly payments, which can be paid via the client’s cash flow or investments.

It’s incredibly more lucrative to be in product sales, and it doesn’t really require much “technical competence.”

All you need to be good at is convincing the client to “sign on the bottom line.” As long as you can get the client to do this, you’ll make bunches of money.

(Successful “advisors” make as much money as physicians, some even more. Indeed, some advisors have compensation in the millions, well beyond that of a highly trained surgeon who went to school and received training beyond a decade.)

But is this really “advice,” and do clients want to be served this way? I think the vast majority of them would say No. They just don’t know that it can be any different than this.

I want to show you that it CAN BE through our services at Bona Fide Finance.

Why Choose Bona Fide Finance?

Whether you need help with student loans, investment management, or retirement planning – we've got you covered! And all with YOUR best interest in mind!

Here is the thing: I know people are reluctant to jump into financial planning. They think it’s too much work, too expensive, or not for them. You know what? I get it.

To help you relax, we offer you a free, no-obligation, 45-minute call with us. We will go over the basics of your finances at no cost to you. Again – with no obligation. Let’s just see if we can help you.

👉Schedule the meeting here.

That’s it from me for today. I hope to see you on a call soon 😁

Have a great day,

Ben Martinek, CFP®, EA, CSLP®, RICP®

Founder & President

Bona Fide Finance

Magni Tax Experts