Fees

Full Service

  • 0.35% (AUM)
  • $1400 Household Maximum

Investment Only

  • 0.35% (AUM)
  • $1200 Household Maximum

Account Minimums

Global Explorer Series - $50,000

Global ETF Series - $25,000

Factor Select Series - $25,000

Dimensional Select Series - $50,000

ESG Global Core - $50,000

Short-Term Reserve - $25,000

Voyager - $3,000 (requires pre-approval)

Customized Index Portfolio - $250,000

Fees for Large Households

Our standard flat fee schedule applies to households up to $3M. There are additional costs and risks associated with larger households, and First Ascent applies a fee adjustment in those cases. Contact First Ascent to discuss pricing prior to submitting an application for a household over $3M.

Frequency and Process

  • All fees are billed quarterly (calendar quarter) and in advance.
  • All billing calculations are based on the ending account value on the last day of the prior quarter and are calculated based on the number of days in the year.
  • Accounts opened during a quarter will be charged a pro-rata fee, based on the number of days the account was opened and substantially funded, which will be collected at the beginning of the first full calendar quarter that the account is open.  Thus, a new account will have 2 fees initially, 1 for the prior pro-rated quarter and 1 for the upcoming full quarter.    
  • Unmanaged and non-model assets are included in First Ascent’s fee calculation. 

Options for First Ascent’s Fees

There are three options for how First Ascent’s fees can be billed. Each advisor should choose one method as their default.

  • First Ascent’s management fee can be billed directly to client accounts as a separate fee in addition to an advisor’s fee. Fees are combined at the custodian and reflected in the client’s account as 1 fee. The client’s quarterly performance report will detail and distinguish the 2 fees.
  • First Ascent’s fee may be included within an advisor’s fee (“all-in fee”). Only the advisor’s fee will be billed to client accounts. First Ascent will collect that fee and deduct its fee from the advisor’s payout and send the remainder to the advisor. The client’s quarterly performance report will reflect 1 fee (the advisor’s).
  • If the advisor wishes to pay for First Ascent’s fee directly, First Ascent can collect its fee directly from the advisor’s bank via an ACH.

Options for Advisor’s Fees

First Ascent can accommodate many different fee calculation methodologies for advisors. These include:

  • Asset based fees (%)
  • Flat dollar ($) fees
  • Tiered fee schedules
  • Linear fee schedules

Fees can also be billed prorated across all accounts in a client household or taken from any single account(s).

Advisors can also include a separate financial planning fee.

Collected advisor fees are sent to the advisor’s bank via ACH with a target date by the 15th of month following quarter-end.

Fee Reporting

  • All fees and calculation methodology appear on each client’s quarterly performance report. Reports are posted to client portals each quarter, as well as posted in Orion’s Reporting application for advisor access.
  • All fees and calculation methodology are also posted in an aggregated report for each advisor showing all fees billed on all accounts each quarter. These are posted in Orion’s Secure Exchange application each quarter for advisor access. This report is posted prior to debiting client accounts and advisors are notified by email to review.
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