September 15, 2010
If C shares are elminated, most first time investors and small investors with under $100,000 to invest will not be serviced. A lot of my clients are in this situation. They do not want to spend cash up front for financial advice, but if I can set them up in C shares are get paid a little bit each quarter, I feel that I can build a long term relationship with them and eventually get paid for my time. Many other benefits come from getting young people to begin investing. I end up helping them long term with tax planning, retirement planning and estate planning. Getting on a savings plan and managing cash flow comes as a result of a long term relationship with a financial planner.
With my clients that do have more than $100,000 to invest, or are longer term investors, A shares offer a much lower cost to them. Many advisors charge 1% of assets over the long run. That ends up being more costly than the .25% 12B-1 fee that I end up earning for this class of investor. The up front fee that I earn pays me to help them with overall financial planning.
I ask that you reconsider the proposed changes to the 12B-1 rules.
Kathleen Hansen
President
Financial Planning Dept., Inc.