When we say transparency, we really mean it. So much so that we’re listing the current expenses and costs that our financial advisors pay to be affiliated with L.M. Kohn right on our website for all to see. There’s no big reveal after you’ve jumped through hoops and spent hours in discussions with us. You know what you’ll pay before we even have a conversation.
We strive to keep our costs as low as possible. Each of our advisors are also entrepreneurs. We know the effect that each added expense has on their bottom line. We don’t believe in additional costs that yield nothing in return and leaves you frustrated and wondering ‘what am I getting in return for this?’
Affiliation fees are common at other firms (we don’t have them). What do you get for it? The pleasure of being able to give them your business. Other firms will also hide additional markups of technology and services that they require you to purchase. And, you’re not just being charged for the cost, they mark it up to leverage it as a profit center (but at least they’ll tell you there’s no affiliation fees!).
We take a different approach. We believe that our success and your success should be on the same side of the fence. We achieve this by providing a low-cost platform that allows you to leverage the tools and services provided at a reasonable cost. This type of structure incentivizes rather than prohibits growth.
Our payout grids are always negotiable and there are never gross production haircuts that skim a percentage off the top before it hits the grid. Our negotiations on payout grids are focused on helping put you in a better situation. We recognize that not every practice is the same, and that your business may or may not be traditional. Our experience working with a diverse array of practices means that we recognize that a one-size-fits-all approach in this industry does not make a lot of sense.
We factor in many variables in addition to production during our payout discussions. We evaluate your business goals and strategy, types of business conducted, types of products, anticipated supervision efforts, and compliance history, to name a few. We then come up with a win-win agreement.
This more holistic analysis means that while you may be classified as a smaller fish at many other firms and be given the lowest range of the pre-set compensation grid, that that’s not necessarily the case here. Gross production alone does not determine whether you’re a small fish or big fish at L.M. Kohn. Many small fish producers get big fish payouts when they join our team.
You know how we frequently have to remind our clients that it’s not the total investment return that matters, but the return after fees and taxes? Well, the same is true here.
Many other firms tout that their producers get 90+% payouts, and some even as high as the 97%. But after the padded fees and after-payout compensation haircuts, I think you’ll find that our payout actually pays out a whole lot more. Make sure you’re always comparing net payouts and not falling for a marketing trap.
