Should a financial advisor publish their fees?

Compensation is among the most searched and least answered questions in this category, and prospective clients are increasingly looking for the answer before they make contact.

The practical argument for describing it plainly:

• People are already searching for it. The distinctions between compensation models are more widely understood by the public than they were a decade ago, and many prospects screen on it.
• It filters mismatched inquiries, which matters for a practice limited by advisor capacity.
• It builds trust in a category where opacity is a common complaint. Answering the question before it is asked reads as confidence.

What is less clear is exactly how it must be described. How compensation is presented, what disclosures accompany it, and what comparative or characterizing language is permitted all depend on registration type and firm policy. This is genuinely a compliance question rather than a marketing preference.

So the practical answer: yes, describe it, and have the wording reviewed before publication rather than after. The reviewed version is almost always still clearer than saying nothing.

This is general marketing information, not compliance guidance. Requirements differ by registration type, firm and jurisdiction, and change over time. Confirm anything in this area with your compliance function before acting on it.