The Fee Model
AUM fees are a structural conflict of interest dressed up as a service model.
When your advisor's income grows as your account grows — regardless of your outcomes — the incentives are misaligned. Here's how our fee works instead: it's set by your career earnings, not by the size of your portfolio.
The Problem
The compressed earning window makes AUM fees even more destructive.
Most people have 40 years to earn, save, and invest. You have a fraction of that. That compression means every dollar matters more. Every fee matters more. Every year of compound growth you lose to advisory fees is a year you can't get back.
An AUM advisor charges you more as your portfolio grows — even though the work doesn't change. Your jock tax return is the same complexity at $500K as it is at $5M. Your estate plan doesn't get 10x harder when your net worth hits 10x. But an AUM advisor charges you 10x more.
The Math
What AUM fees actually cost at different career earnings levels.
$400K career earnings
$160K saved1% AUM Fee
~$1,600/year in AUM fees
TSPW Fee (set by career earnings)
~$15,000/year (Call-Up)
At this level our fee is higher in dollar terms — and it buys comprehensive planning that no AUM advisor provides on a $160K account. This is the tier where our fee costs you more and is still the right call.
$8M career earnings
$3.2M saved1% AUM Fee
~$32,000/year in AUM fees
TSPW Fee (set by career earnings)
~$35,000/year (Core Four)
Roughly the crossover. Same work, same services — but an AUM fee keeps climbing as the portfolio grows and a fee set by career earnings does not.
$30M career earnings
$12M saved1% AUM Fee
~$120,000/year in AUM fees
TSPW Fee (set by career earnings)
Starting at $75,000 (still dramatically less)
At this level, the AUM model charges $120K — a fee set by career earnings is structurally different.
* Illustrative only. Assumes a 40% savings rate on career earnings and a 1% AUM fee, and ignores tax — a real player's investable balance is lower than these figures once federal, state and jock tax are paid, so treat the AUM column as a ceiling. Tier names and prices follow our pricing page. Actual advisor fees vary. Nothing here is a guaranteed saving. Consult a qualified financial advisor for advice specific to your situation.
The Incentive
A fee set by career earnings aligns interests. AUM fees don't.
An AUM advisor has a financial incentive to keep your money invested with them — even when paying down a mortgage, funding a business, or buying real estate might be better for you. Every dollar that leaves the portfolio reduces their income.
An advisor whose fee is set by career earnings has no such conflict. We get paid the same whether your portfolio is $500K or $5M. Our only incentive is to give you advice that actually serves your life — not advice that serves our revenue.
Your agent has a role. Your trainer has a role. Your advisor should have one too — not a piece of everything you own. Every specialist on your team gets paid for the work, not a percentage of your success. Your financial advisor should work the same way.
Top shelf standards on the ice. Apply them to your money.
Book your Opening Faceoff call. We'll show you exactly what you'd pay, and how that compares to what an AUM fee would cost at your asset level.
Book Your Opening Faceoff