Free AUM fee calculator
1% AUM Fee Calculator
Estimate what an assets-under-management fee can cost over time, including a simplified illustration of lost compounding.
Direct answer
How much does a 1% AUM fee cost over time?
A 1% AUM fee starts near $10,000 per year on a $1 million portfolio. If the portfolio grows, the fee can also grow. Over many years, the total impact may include both fees paid and the investment growth those dollars could otherwise have earned.
Interactive calculator
Estimate AUM fees and fee drag
Choose a starting portfolio, annual return, advisory rate, and number of years. The result models one fee deduction after growth each year.
Your assumptions
Adjust the values to model your scenario.
Estimated impact
Updates liveModeled ending balance
Assumptions and limitations: This is a simplified educational illustration, not a forecast. It assumes one annual return and one year-end AUM fee, with no deposits, withdrawals, taxes, fund expenses, tiered rates, quarterly billing, or market volatility. Actual advisory billing and investment results will differ.
Understand the output
Fees paid and fee impact are different
Cumulative fees are the dollars deducted. Total fee impact also estimates the growth those deducted dollars no longer receive.
First-year fee
The model applies the selected return, then deducts the selected AUM percentage at the end of the first year.
Cumulative fees
This is the sum of modeled annual advisory fees. It excludes fund expenses, trading costs, and taxes.
Total fee impact
This is the difference between the modeled ending balance with no AUM fee and the modeled balance after AUM fees.
Use with care
A calculator cannot measure advice quality
Good advice may improve behavior, taxes, risk management, retirement decisions, and coordination. The point of this calculator is to make the fee visible so you can judge whether the service and pricing make sense together.
Ask for dollars
Request the estimated first-year fee in dollars and how it changes if the portfolio rises, falls, or crosses a breakpoint.
Ask for total cost
Include advisor fees, fund expenses, platform charges, trading, tax preparation, and any commissions.
Ask for alternatives
Compare AUM pricing with flat-fee, hourly, and project arrangements that fit the work you need.
Watch and learn
Watch the Flat Fee vs AUM Walkthrough
Use the video for the walkthrough, then use the written guide for the details, examples, and next steps.
Flat Fee vs 1% Financial Advisor
See how a percentage fee changes in dollars as a portfolio grows and what to compare beyond the headline rate.
Watch and read the guideCommon questions
Questions About Financial Advisor Fees
Is 1% of assets a one-time fee?
Usually no. A 1% AUM fee is generally an annual rate billed periodically, often quarterly, based on account values defined in the advisory agreement.
Why is total fee impact larger than fees paid?
Money deducted for fees is no longer invested. If markets rise later, those removed dollars also miss potential growth, which creates an additional compounding effect.
Does this model quarterly AUM billing?
No. It deducts one fee after growth each year to create a clear educational estimate. Actual quarterly billing based on average or period-end values will produce different results.
Is a 1% AUM advisor necessarily a bad value?
No. Value depends on services, advice quality, complexity, implementation, behavior, and alternatives. The calculator helps make the cost visible; it does not score the advice.
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