The fee that sounds like nothing

1% AUM. Small number. Enormous bill.

One percent of your portfolio, every year, forever, compounding against you. Here's what it adds up to. Then run a free Fee X-Ray and see your own number in about two minutes.

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  • Read-only. We can't move a dollar.
  • Never sold. Never used to train AI.
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$500,000. 7% return. One advisor at 1%.

The fee is charged on your whole balance, not on your gains. That's how 1% becomes a quarter of everything.

Year No advisor With 1% AUM Gone
10$983,576$895,424-$88,152
20$1,934,842$1,603,568-$331,274
30$3,806,128$2,871,746-$934,382

In a 7% year, a 1% fee takes a seventh of your gain. In a 3% year, a third. In a down year, it takes 1% of your principal and calls it a service. Same math as the calculator on our homepage.

And it's rarely just 1%.

The advisory fee is the layer you were told about. The funds underneath it have their own.

1.00%

The advisory fee. The one on the agreement you signed, charged on your entire balance every year.

0.50%+

Typical expense ratios on the actively managed funds advisors favor. A total-market index fund charges 0.03%.

$0

What the Fee X-Ray costs. It adds up both layers on your actual holdings and shows you the total in dollars.

What the Fee X-Ray shows you

The two numbers your quarterly report is designed not to include.

Your advisory fee, in dollars

Not "1%." The actual annual amount coming out of your accounts, and what it grows to if you keep paying it.

The funds you're overpaying for

Every holding's expense ratio next to the cheapest equivalent. Plenty of advised portfolios still hold funds that pay the firm more. You'll see whether yours does.

What you'd keep

Both layers, added up and projected forward. Your table, with your numbers in it.

Two minutes. No forms.

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Through SnapTrade, the same read-only link most investing apps use. We can see your holdings. We cannot touch them.

Read your Fee X-Ray

Advisory fee and fund costs in dollars, projected forward. Free.

Want the full picture - allocation gaps, benchmark comparison, a specific action plan? That's the full report, from $149. The Fee X-Ray is free either way. See a sample report

"It's only 1%."

That's what they say when you ask. Here's what they don't add up for you.

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