First Ascent Asset Management, a portfolio strategist serving financial advisers, is now offering its outsourced portfolio management strategies for an annual flat fee of USD500 per account.
The flat fee applies to all adviser accounts, no matter how large, that use First Ascent’s Global Explorer portfolios.
“We looked critically at the traditional assets under management fee model and decided it just didn’t make sense for our business,” says First Ascent CEO Scott MacKillop. “As the investment world moves inexorably to a fiduciary business model, flat asset management fees make sense – for advisers and their clients. They’re rational, cost-effective and fair to clients. They fit perfectly in a world where client and adviser interests intersect.”
First Ascent’s flat-fee pricing is calculated on a “cost plus reasonable margin” basis, tying fees directly to the amount of work required to provide its portfolio management services. MacKillop says the firm – which outsources all back office functions and generates efficiencies through the use of technology – was designed to keep costs low, enabling it to focus on asset management and high-touch client service.
