Fees are modeled monthly after growth for a simple, apples-to-apples comparison.
Projected Outcomes
DIY / Benchmark Portfolio
$0
Self-Managed (0% Adv. Fee)
AUM Portfolio
$0
at 1.0% Fee
Cumulative Fees Over Time (Fees Paid vs Wealth Lost)
Final Balance
Fees Paid
Lost Value*
DIY
-
$0
$0
Flat-Fee
-
-
-
AUM
-
-
-
Wait, what did that 1% actually cost you?
$0
Total Wealth Lost to Fees
(Compared to DIY)
0%
of Your Gains Gone
The advisor took this slice
0 Years
of Retirement Spending
Assuming 4% withdrawal rate
You worked for the money, but your advisor kept 0 years worth of your contributions.
This fee drag is effectively a $0/month subscription for their service.
That’s roughly $0 of lost future value over the full horizon.
💡 Why is this happening?
Human brains aren't wired for exponential math. 1% sounds tiny. But investment fees calculate differently than other costs.
When you pay a 1% fee, you aren't just losing 1% of your money today. You are losing the 1% PLUS all the future growth that 1% would have generated over the next 30 years.
As your portfolio grows, the 1% slice gets bigger in dollar terms. In the final years of a successful retirement portfolio, your advisor might be taking out more in fees each year than you contributed annually during your working career!