The Elephant in the Room: Your Adviser Is Getting Paid

If you're like most Americans, you may not know how much you pay in investment fees. In fact, 61% of Americans reported that they don't. It's no wonder -- the financial services and advisory industry boasts a confusing array of fees.

Those fees also directly impact investment performance, which means that it's no surprise that you and many other investors are increasingly cost-sensitive in terms of what you pay in investment fees and for investment advice. Advisers, for their part, spend much time and energy building financial plans and portfolios tailored to the needs of individual clients.

After holding fee discussions with thousands of prospects over the years, I believe that the subject has in some ways become too simplified and too complicated at the same time. It's true that the financial services industry may have over-complicated the issue -- instead of being more forthcoming