Published on Barron’s | August 2025

Jessi Chadd, chief wealth officer at Aspyre Wealth Partners discussed with Barron’s the fees clients pay for financial services. “I would change how we charge for our services so the emphasis is on financial planning and not investment management,” she explained.

Financial Services Fees

“We try our hardest at Aspyre to prioritize the planning process because that is where clients will glean the most value for the fees they pay. However, when the fee is a percentage of their managed assets, it is hard for clients not to associate that as a fee for the investments.”

“It doesn’t help that some in the industry ‘give away’ the financial plan, which further diminishes the importance of a plan to inform investment strategy. The way AI is shaking up things, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a model emerge where the investment management is ‘given away.’ We call our fee a wealth management fee, for both planning and investments, and that helps our clients understand.”

Wealth management professionals suggest the industry should transition from a focus on product sales and opacity to prioritizing client outcomes, trust, and transparency. This involves shifting advisor compensation to align with client strategies and outcomes rather than just portfolio size, and embracing full fee and conflict transparency to build trust and prioritize client needs.

Read the full analysis at Barron’s.

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