Detailed fee comparison

Model the fee schedule you actually pay.

Build marginal advisory tiers, keep fund expenses separate, and inspect each period of the comparison. Your assumptions stay in this browser and are not sent to PostHog.

One shared production engineMarket or steady returnsDownloadable visitor ledger

Your assumptions

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Starting portfolioTime horizonSmarter Way monthly feeFund/ETF expense ratio

Return model

Last calendar yearReplaying 2006–2025; annualized return 11.00%.

Advisory fee schedule

Model the fee as it is actually charged

Annual asset-based fee

Starting annual advisory fee

$10,000

Effective starting rate

1.000%

Detailed result

Same returns. Different costs.

How this math is verified

Flat-fee ending value

$7,954,359

Traditional ending value

$6,599,384

Potential difference

$1,354,975

Advisory fees modeled$483,362

Fund expenses modeled$0

Annualized gross return11.00%

Meet David

Inspectable ledger

Follow the calculation period by period

Period	Gross return	Flat-fee balance	Traditional balance	Advisory fee	Fund expense	Difference
2006	15.79%	$1,156,615	$1,146,374	$10,785	$0	$10,242
2007	5.49%	$1,218,884	$1,197,272	$11,747	$0	$21,612
2008	-37.00%	$766,917	$746,773	$9,365	$0	$20,144
2009	26.46%	$968,504	$934,969	$8,459	$0	$33,535
2010	15.06%	$1,113,080	$1,065,066	$10,049	$0	$48,014
2011	2.11%	$1,135,354	$1,076,714	$10,723	$0	$58,641
2012	16.00%	$1,315,726	$1,236,555	$11,624	$0	$79,171
2013	32.39%	$1,740,520	$1,620,779	$14,373	$0	$119,741
2014	13.69%	$1,977,524	$1,824,321	$17,305	$0	$153,202
2015	1.38%	$2,003,606	$1,831,087	$18,295	$0	$172,519
2016	11.96%	$2,241,973	$2,029,677	$19,386	$0	$212,295
2017	21.83%	$2,730,080	$2,448,141	$22,517	$0	$281,938
2018	-4.38%	$2,609,326	$2,317,611	$23,788	$0	$291,716
2019	31.49%	$3,429,639	$3,017,091	$26,835	$0	$412,547
2020	18.40%	$4,059,394	$3,536,677	$32,944	$0	$522,717
2021	28.71%	$5,223,495	$4,506,745	$40,461	$0	$716,751
2022	-18.11%	$4,276,423	$3,653,836	$40,333	$0	$622,587
2023	26.29%	$5,399,357	$4,568,496	$41,358	$0	$830,860
2024	25.02%	$6,748,944	$5,654,680	$51,420	$0	$1,094,264
2025	17.88%	$7,954,359	$6,599,384	$61,595	$0	$1,354,975

Important limitations

This is an educational illustration, not a quote, forecast, recommendation, or guarantee of fees, savings, or investment performance. The $100 monthly fee is guaranteed only for the first 12 months after becoming a client.

Advisory tiers are marginal: each rate applies only to assets inside that tier. They are recalculated monthly as the simulated balance changes. Fund/ETF expenses are modeled separately on the traditional path; an investor holding the same funds under a flat fee would also bear those costs, which would narrow the difference.

Historical mode replays actual S&P 500 calendar-year total returns in the order they occurred. Past performance does not guarantee or indicate future results, and no projection here is a forecast. Index returns are not investable: you cannot buy an index directly, and index figures carry no fund expenses, transaction costs, taxes, or advisory fees of any kind. The only costs reflected in this illustration are the ones you enter above. You choose the first and last year shown; a different period produces a materially different result. S&P 500 Total Return Index, calendar years 1986–2025, dividends reinvested, nominal (not inflation-adjusted). Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Values are nominal, before taxes, and displayed to the nearest dollar. The engine retains full JavaScript number precision and does not round intermediate values. See the public methodology and verification status.