Potential Savings from Working with a Financial Advisor

Income Tax Benefits

  • Tax-free investing - Deductions and credits (e.g., Roth IRAs, 529 plans) → $1,000s – $100,000s

  • Tax deferral investing - Retirement contributions, tax-loss harvesting → $10,000s – $100,000s

  • Tax bracket arbitrage - Roth conversions, tax-sensitive liquidations → 0% – 30% of portfolio

Investment Planning Benefits

  • Closing the behavior gap → Up to 1.50% annually

  • Lower-cost investments → 0.45% – 0.82% annually

  • Rebalancing → 0.35% – 0.44% annually

  • Tax-loss harvesting → 0.20% – 0.60% annually

  • Asset location → Up to 0.75% annually

  • Alpha-generating investment selection → >0% annually

  • Diversification → Risk reduction

Estate Tax Benefits

  • Federal estate tax avoidance (estates >$13.61M in 2025) → Millions

  • State estate tax savings → $100,000s – Millions

  • Probate & settlement cost avoidance → $1,000s – $10,000s

  • Ensuring assets go where & when intended → Priceless

Retirement Planning Benefits

  • Tax-efficient withdrawal sequencing → 0.50% – 0.70% annual portfolio boost

  • Maximizing Social Security → +$10,000 lifetime

  • Avoiding Medicare IRMAA surcharges → $1,000s – $100,000s

  • Spending policies & budgeting → Makes retirement sustainable

  • Determining safe retirement date → Priceless

Insurance Planning Benefits

  • Optimized coverage → $100s – $1,000s annually

  • Catastrophe protection → Priceless

Delegation Benefits

  • Time-value enhancement → $1,000s – $10,000s

  • Freeing mental bandwidth → Emotional well-being

  • Task completion → Priceless

Behavioral Benefits

  • Emotional Guardrails → Unquantifiable

  • Implementation coaching → Priceless

Source: Michael Kitces