renowned hedge fund manager Seth Klarman
Most of the Mutual Funds we invest our clients’ money in charge about 2.5% per year. Most people agree, and we concur, that 2.5% is too high. Pressures are building that could bring this fee down; we would love to see it go down to 2%, but we’ll have to wait and see.
The Mutual Fund companies send approximately 40% of that 2.5% (which is about 1% of clients’ asset value) to FundEX head office. This amount is used to pay for the Mutual Fund Dealer’s operating costs, general expenses and taxes; the remaining balance is for us to pay our operating costs, licensing, professional and insurance fees, and office expenses. What is left is our pay.
Yes, in three ways. First, since we are paid a percentage of our clients’ Mutual Fund investments, our pay goes up when the investment value goes up and goes down should our clients investments go down, so we are financially motivated to recommend investments that are both safe and will grow. Second, “we eat our own cooking”; we invest our own money the same way we advise our clients to. We start by researching the very best investment solutions for our own money and then share this strategy with our clients.
And third…it’s personal. We feel alive and worthy when we do a good job for our clients, and we couldn’t bear the personal disappointment should we let our clients down and do harm to them and to the relationship we have with them. It’s a big part of who we are and the life we live.
First and foremost we want our clients to hold investments that are safe and sound, and growing. Our goal is not achieving the highest rate of return. Our goal is “a consistent balancing act: protecting capital while pursuing growth”.
Our secondary goal is we want our clients to practice smart financial, tax, retirement and estate planning. We want our clients to emotionally experience financial security, financial peace of mind, financial freedom, financial empowerment and financial enrichment.
We consider our work a serious privilege. Thank you.
This memo was prepared solely by Terry and Patty Rempel who are registered representatives of FundEX (a member of the Mutual Funds Dealers Association of Canada and the MFDA Investor Protection Corporation). The views and opinions, including any recommendations, expressed in this memo are those of Terry and Patty Rempel. Bluestone Financial is a personal trade name of Terry and Patty Rempel.
