The Head Start.
Negotiating the fee at the very start of a managed relationship
— before a single basis point has time to compound against you.
The lowest fee you will ever pay is the one set first.
When you begin a relationship with an advisor or a firm, a number gets agreed to — often quickly, often without much discussion. That number then rides on your full balance, every year, for as long as the relationship lasts.
A fraction of a percent, agreed to in a single afternoon, quietly shapes decades of outcomes.
The Head Start is simple: we make sure that number is right before it is ever set. A fee negotiated at the outset never has to be recovered later — because it never costs you in the first place.
Illustration only. Assumes consistent 7% gross return, no withdrawals. Not a guarantee of any outcome.
How the Head Start
actually works.
The Strategy Call
We review the relationship you're entering — the firm, the proposed fee, the account type, and the benchmark. We identify what's negotiable, what's standard, and what's excessive before you sign anything.
The Benchmark
We establish what the fee should be — not what the firm prefers, but what the evidence supports. We use a fixed, neutral benchmark against which the proposed arrangement is measured.
The Negotiation
Armed with documented evidence, we negotiate the fee on your behalf — or prepare you to negotiate it yourself. Either way, you enter the conversation with leverage you didn't have before.
The Documentation
You receive a written record of what was agreed, what was benchmarked, and what was preserved. The evidence is yours — permanently, regardless of what happens with the relationship.
What this is.
What this is not.
"Get the fee right before a single basis point compounds against you. That's the whole idea."
Nate SillymanFOUNDER · THE KEEPMORE COMPANYFour courses.
One foundation.
What Markets Are, and Why People Move Too Late
What a market actually is — and the costly habit of reacting after the fact.
Money, Trust, and the Forces That Move Markets
Why prices move, and how trust — not prediction — drives them.
Taxes Are a System, Not a Season
Stop treating taxes as an April event. See the system underneath.
Time in the Market, Not Timing the Market
Why patience compounds — and timing rarely does.
Visual audio-books that plant the same principles early — for children ages 3 and up.
Book a Head Start
Strategy Call.
Appointment first, pressure never. We review your situation, establish the benchmark, and tell you exactly what the fee should be — before you agree to anything.
BOOK YOUR CALL →No products. No commissions. No custody. Paid from the savings, never on top of them.