How do your fees work? What does ‘flat fee’ mean?

To remove any conflict of interest, our advisors charge on a transparent, flat fee basis directly to their clients. This is either on a project or subscription basis. A project is quoted upfront and lays out timelines, meetings and deliverables. The subscription is also quoted upfront, is charged monthly and can be canceled at any time. 

Most financial advisors earn a living through commission or taking a percentage of the assets. This means that they only earn if a client buys a product that they’re selling. Typically there are two ways in which financial advisors earn money:

1. Commission: Much like a salesperson in a retail environment, some financial advisors profit from selling products like retirement annuities to their clients, regardless of whether it’s the correct fit.
2. Assets Under Management (AUM) Fees: A financial advisor deducts their fees from the assets they manage for you. Over time, and as your assets grow, these AUM fees can accumulate to surprisingly large amounts.

We don’t allow anyone through our platform to get paid on the basis of what they sell. This means no commission, no percentage of assets invested and no third party payments of any kind. The only remuneration that DoshGuide advisors receive is their flat fee from the client directly without any financial services company or product involved.

Who are the advisors and how are they vetted? Do the advisors work for DoshGuide?

DoshGuide is a platform to help connect clients with their ideal flat fee advisor (see FAQ above for explanation of what flat fee means) for your needs. These advisors typically work for themselves or are part of small financial planning businesses, who have the flexibility to work on a flat fee basis and can therefore join our platform. The advisors are independent service providers listed on our platform and are not employees, partners nor agents of DoshGuide.

What are the requirements to become a DoshGuide advisor?

1. Flat fee model: The only way advisors are remunerated through our platform is on a transparent flat fee basis, in the form of a monthly subscription directly from their clients. They can advise on financial products, but there is no incentive to sell them. This means no commission, no fees based on a percentage of assets invested and no third party payments of any kind  Our advisors work on a flat fee basis only (see FAQ above for details on our flat fee model)
2. Qualified: Registered with one of South Africa’s top licensing and regulatory bodies: Financial Planning Institute (FPI) or the Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA)
3. Vetted: DoshGuide management personally vets all applicants for ethical, philosophical and service alignment
4. Peer screening: via a committee of existing DoshGuide advisors to ensure good standing amongst industry peers
5. Clean record:No prior regulatory fines, arbitration or settlement