From: Jim Schneider |
I recently read an article that you are going to be closely looking at 12b-1 fees and considering doing away with them or reducing them. I understand that there is a possible discrepancy between the "marketing" that these fees were implemented to compensate and servicing and advising clients. Our team spends a ton of time servicing clients, helping them coordinate with their accountants, lawyers, estate planners, and so on. These are all things for which we are not paid ONE DIME! The .25% trail on mutual funds is not much, but at least it is something for all the time we spend on these clients. It also allows us to provide some service to clients with smaller amounts of assets. Possibly these fees need to be renamed or restructured to also include servicing clients. If these fees are to go away or be reduced, I believe it will further limit "smaller" clients' access to competent financial advisors, and possibly reduce the service that all clients receive. The great majority of financial advisors have gone through many years of school, hold advanced degrees or designations (I am a CPA and also plan to sit for the CFP exam), and spend a lot of hours serving our clients. This needs to be taken seriously into account when deciding whether or not to reduce or eliminate fees that we are paid from the investments that our clients own. Thank you for your consideration. Jim |