I have $3 Million – Should I Switch My 1% Advisor?

If you have $3 million in investable assets and your financial advisor charges 1% of assets under management, you are paying approximately $30,000 per year in advisory fees. Over 10 years, assuming modest portfolio growth, your cumulative fees will likely exceed $350,000. Over 20 years, that number can surpass $800,000 when you account for the returns those fee dollars would have generated had they remained invested. Those are real numbers — not hypothetical projections designed to alarm you. They are the straightforward math of what a percentage-based fee costs at your wealth level. And the question worth asking is not whether your advisor is good. It is whether the service you receive is worth $30,000 per year — and whether comparable or better service is available for less.

What $30,000 per year should buy you

At $30,000 annually, you should be receiving deep, comprehensive financial planning — not just portfolio management with a quarterly check-in. That means a written, regularly updated retirement income plan that specifies which accounts to draw from, in what order, and why. It means annual tax return analysis that identifies Roth conversion windows, bracket management opportunities, and strategies for reducing your lifetime tax burden. It means Social Security optimization modeling for both you and your spouse, coordinated with your income plan and tax projections. It means estate planning coordination — working directly with your attorney to ensure beneficiary designations, trust structures, and gifting strategies are aligned with your financial plan. And it means proactive communication — your advisor reaching out to you when opportunities or risks emerge, not waiting for you to call. If you are receiving all of that, your advisor may well be worth $30,000. Comprehensive planning at that level takes significant time, expertise, and technology. But here is what I have found in hundreds of conversations with prospective clients who come to Evergreen from AUM relationships: most of them were not receiving that full scope of service. The most common experience is quarterly portfolio reviews, an annual plan update that is largely software-generated, and responsive (rather than proactive) communication. That is a legitimate service — but it is not a $30,000 service.

The math at $3 million

Let’s put the fee comparison in concrete terms. Under a 1% AUM model on a $3 million portfolio, your annual fee is approximately $30,000. Some advisors offer slight discounts at this level — perhaps 0.85% — but even at $25,500, the number is significant. At Evergreen, the fee is a flat monthly fee regardless of portfolio size. The difference is $21,300 per year in your favor. Over 10 years, that savings is roughly $213,000 in fees alone. When you factor in the compound growth of those saved dollars — money that stays in your portfolio working for you instead of being deducted as fees — the real difference is closer to $280,000 over a decade. And the service is not less comprehensive. Evergreen clients receive investment management through Charles Schwab with tax-aware rebalancing via iRebal, comprehensive financial planning through eMoney, annual tax return analysis through Holistiplan, retirement income planning, Social Security and Medicare optimization, Roth conversion modeling, estate planning coordination, and unlimited access to their advisor. That is the same or broader scope of service than what most AUM advisors provide — at less than a third of the cost. For a full breakdown of what is included in the flat fee, visit our pricing page.

When switching makes sense

Switching advisors makes the most sense when there is a clear gap between what you are paying and what you are receiving — and when a comparable or better alternative is available at a lower cost. At the $3 million level, that gap is often substantial. The planning work required for a $3 million household is not meaningfully different from the planning work required for a $1 million household. The retirement projections, the tax analysis, the Social Security modeling, the estate planning coordination — the scope and complexity are similar. But under a percentage model, the $3 million client pays three times as much for essentially the same work. Switching also makes sense if you have experienced any of the following: your advisor is reactive rather than proactive, your advisor has not analyzed your tax return in the past year, you are unsure what your total advisory fees are in dollar terms, you have never received a written retirement income or withdrawal strategy, or you feel like the relationship has been on autopilot. None of these are signs that your advisor is bad. They are signs that the volume-based model — where advisors manage hundreds of relationships at varying portfolio sizes — creates structural limits on the depth of service any single client receives.

When staying makes sense

Switching does not make sense for everyone, and it is worth being honest about that. If your advisor provides genuinely comprehensive planning — deep tax strategy, proactive Roth conversion analysis, estate coordination, retirement income planning — and you value the relationship highly, the fee may be worth it to you. Peace of mind, trust, and continuity have real value that cannot be reduced to a dollar comparison. If your financial situation is exceptionally complex — multiple businesses, international tax obligations, concentrated stock positions requiring sophisticated hedging — a specialized team at a larger firm may offer capabilities that a solo advisor cannot. And if you are someone who places significant value on the prestige and infrastructure of a large institution — dedicated client service teams, in-house legal specialists, private banking relationships — those features come at a cost, and a boutique flat-fee advisor is not going to replicate them. The decision is not about finding the cheapest option. It is about finding the best alignment between what you need, what you are getting, and what you are paying.

How to evaluate the switch

If you are considering a move, start with a side-by-side comparison. Ask your current advisor to provide a written summary of every service included in your fee — not a marketing brochure, but a specific list of what they do for you each year. Convert your percentage fee to a dollar amount and write it down. Then have a conversation with a flat-fee advisor and ask for the same information. Compare the two lists. Compare the costs. And ask yourself whether the difference in fee is justified by a difference in service — or whether it is simply the result of a pricing model that rewards gathering assets rather than providing deeper planning. At Evergreen, we offer a complimentary fee analysis for prospective clients that shows exactly what you are paying under your current arrangement, what you would pay under our flat-fee model, and what the difference compounds to over 10 and 20 years. There is no obligation and no sales pressure — just the math. For more on how different fee models compare, see our guide to choosing the right financial advisor, or schedule a free introductory call to discuss your specific situation.

If your portfolio is closer to $5 million, the stakes on taxes and fees grow further. I walked through what changes at that level in whether you need a financial advisor with $5 million.

Nick Stevens, CFP® is the founder of Evergreen Wealth Management, a flat-fee, fee-only fiduciary firm in Boston serving clients nationwide. Every client works directly with Nick — one advisor, one relationship, a flat monthly fee regardless of portfolio size.