Fee-based programs have become the fastest growing programs in the financial services industry and for good reason. Clients want independent advice and transparent costs. You want to maximize your revenue. A fee-based relationship does all that and more, and exchange traded funds are the perfect vehicle to help you make that transition. With ETFs you can easily sell the investment parts and the value-added labour separately.

Because ETFs are such low cost investments, it is easy to add a robust advisory fee to an ETF portfolio and still provide your clients with a cost effective, well diversified portfolio covering an extremely broad range of asset classes that will outperform most mutual funds more often than not. MERs on ETFs in Canada range from 0.17% to 0.55%. Adding 100 – 150 basis points to that for an advisory fee will still give your clients a portfolio well below the cost of conventional mutual funds and most wrap programs.

Your clients will appreciate the cost-savings and the tax efficiency of ETFs. You’ll appreciate the flexibility ETFs give you. Fee-based advisors are better able to position themselves as money coaches and they have the time to offer estate planning and other services high net worth clients find very attractive. The steadier, more reliable income stream of a fee-based practice has greater resale value, too. Going fee-based is a win-win for both you and your clients and ETFs are the ideal way to do it.

Sponsored by Barclays Global Investors Canada Limited.
Contact Howard Atkinson at howard.atkinson@barclaysglobal.com

The rate of return is used only to illustrate the effects of the compound growth rate and is not intended to reflect future values of the mutual fund or returns on investment in the mutual fund.

Commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with Exchange Traded Funds. Please read the relevant prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.