We make available the professional money managers that are most suitable for accomplishing our client's investment objectives and those that are consistent with our investment philosophy. Usually their investment services are pre-packaged, along with the custodial services that are required in order to manage money on behalf of individual investors. The management expenses that are incurred to provide this service include commissions that are paid to your advisor.

Deferred sales commissions (DSC's) allow the investor to put the full value of their investments to work without a deduction for a commission. As long as the money remains invested for a fixed period of time, say six to eight years, a commission is not deducted from the investment. Most mutual fund companies pay the advisor the same percentage of commission on a DSC basis: 5% on new deposits and 1/2 of 1 % each year on the accumulated investment amount.

Alternatively, you could pay a negotiated front-end commission where a fee is deducted from your investment. Provided you are a long- term investor (five years or more), paying a commission fee up front may not necessarily result in a higher return on your investment. That's because the management expense ratio is often the same whether a commission is paid up front or on a DSC basis.

A "no load" mutual fund company does not pay commission and often the companies that provide these products do not provide the advisor with adequate administrative support. As a result, some of these mutual funds may have a lower management expense ratio (MER).

However, a low MER is not necessarily an indicator of a good investment discipline. The amount of return and how you earned it may have more to do with your long term success as an investor than what you paid on the MER. Wrap accounts, pooled accounts and all other money management product variations charge fees (commissions) in one way or another. Perhaps the relevant issue to consider is the net return after fees are deducted, the services rendered and the ability of the manager to regenerate those returns with the greatest of certainty going forward.

Our intent is to serve an important function in the financial affairs of our clients. If we can't satisfy someone due to the way we are compensated, we can't be much help to them. So, we try to be flexible.

Tying compensation to hours of billable time may discourage open, frank and ongoing communication with some people. At the same time, using the client's asset base to determine fees may disadvantage people that may need help the most. Either of these alternatives could impair certain clients from meeting their investment objectives.

We prefer to use the DSC model, with allowances made for short-term income needs. Congruent with this approach is our intention to minimize DSC charges beyond the original purchases. We make every effort and can usually avoid fees for switches or conversions.