Phil Bray: Busting the biggest myth about online fee disclosure

“We’ll get tyre-kickers asking us to reduce our fees.”

That, and variations of it, is the biggest objection advisers and planners give us when we recommend they consider publishing fees on their website.

I understand the logic and resulting nervousness. I really do. If people can compare prices more easily, surely that’ll lead to more potential clients negotiating on fees?

Except the evidence and our experience show that the reality is very different from the perception.

There are two reasons why.

Firstly, our latest research shows that only 40.60% of advice/planning firms publish their fees online. Yet separate Yardstick research found that 76% of advisers and planners had been asked to reduce their fees in the previous 12 months.

In other words, prospects are already negotiating, despite most firms not fully disclosing what they charge online. Hiding your fees doesn’t stop some people asking for a discount; it simply delays the conversation.

One firm we work with saw its conversion rate rise by 99.41% after adding a fee calculator to its website

Secondly, all the anecdotes we hear and evidence we see show that firms generally experience an increase in lead quality when they publish fees on their website. For example, one firm we work with saw its conversion rate rise by 99.41% after adding a fee calculator to its website.

That’s right. Its conversion rate didn’t fall because price-sensitive tyre-kickers flooded its inbox. It almost doubled. And that isn’t an isolated example; almost every advice/planning firm we’ve seen add fees to its website tells us that three things happen:

Intent levels rise
Conversations about fees become easier
Average assets under management increase

We believe there are four reasons why these benefits occur.

Reason 1: Firms stand out

Our 2026 research into 500 adviser/planner websites shows that 40.60% of firms now fully disclose fees on their websites. However, that proportion drops to just 21.43% when St James’s Place firms are excluded from the research.

Many advice and planning firms describe themselves as open and transparent. But saying you’re transparent isn’t the same as proving it

So, among independent advice and planning firms, fewer than one in four fully publishes its fees. That means the firms brave enough to be open immediately stand out from the crowd.

When most websites dodge the question, use vague language or invite visitors to “contact us to discuss fees”, the firm providing a clear answer feels refreshingly different.

Reason 2: They prove transparency

Many advice and planning firms describe themselves as open and transparent. Those words appear on hundreds of websites. Unfortunately, saying you’re transparent isn’t the same as proving it.

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The firms that publish their fees live those values. They aren’t simply asking potential clients to take their word for it. Instead, they’re saying:

“We have nothing to hide.”
“We’re confident in the value we provide.”
“We respect your time enough to give you useful information before asking you to contact us.”

That transparency creates trust, which improves conversion.

Reason 3: They give consumers what they want

Research from Wealthtender in the US found that 61.80% of consumers want to see information about fees and pricing before contacting an adviser.

That shouldn’t surprise anyone. Consumers expect to see prices when booking a hotel, choosing a solicitor or buying almost any other professional service. Financial advice should be any different.

Disclosing fees creates useful friction because it helps unsuitable prospects qualify themselves out

Potential clients don’t necessarily expect one simple number. They understand that the final fee might depend on the complexity of their circumstances and the work required. However, many still want guidance, an estimate or a ballpark figure before making contact.

Reason 4: Fees create useful friction

Not all friction is bad.

Adding unnecessary steps to an enquiry journey is usually a mistake. However, disclosing fees creates useful friction because it helps unsuitable prospects qualify themselves out.

Someone who sees your fees and decides they’re unwilling or unable to pay them probably wasn’t going to become a client. So it’s better for them to discover that before making an enquiry than after you’ve spent time exchanging emails, holding an initial call and preparing for a meeting.

The firms that have done it rarely regret it; most simply wish they’d done it sooner

Meanwhile, the people who do contact you already understand roughly what working with you will cost. They arrive better informed and more comfortable with the cost. That means you can spend more time explaining the value you provide instead of nervously revealing the fee.

Stop letting fear make the decision

There are legitimate questions to consider when deciding how to disclose fees online:

How much detail should you provide?
Should you show fixed fees, percentages, examples or ranges?
How do you show the value of working with you and not just the cost?

Those are sensible questions, but the fear that publishing fees will unleash an army of tyre-kickers who force you to compete on price shouldn’t be one of them. They’re already asking for discounts; hiding your fees won’t stop them.

Instead, publishing useful pricing information will help you stand out, prove your transparency, give consumers what they want and improve enquiry quality.

The firms that have done it rarely regret it; most simply wish they’d done it sooner.

Phil Bray is founder and director of The Yardstick Agency