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The Evolution of Lee Munson | People content from WealthManagement.com
“I was a NAPFA cult member—if it wasn’t fee-only, it was evil,” Munson says.
“The fee-only thing is a real disservice,” Munson says. He compares it to Alcoholics Anonymous; financial planners are basically saying they cannot be trusted to engage with any financial product that pays a commission. “I have a problem, and I can’t control myself. So I have to join this cult called NAPFA, and I have to tell everybody, ‘I’m not allowed to drive because I’ll get drunk and crash.’”
“Basically I do all this work, but somebody else is getting a big fat check,” he says. When he asked other NAPFA members how they did it, they suggested he charge an hourly fee for the work, which Munson considers “double-dipping.”
“Economically, I don’t play these little shenanigans. Economically, this money is being generated; it’s going to somebody. Have it go to the person who’s actually doing the work.”
“We got into this business because we wanted to make money. You stay in the business because you realize that people need help. If not, I’d be a stockbroker still. I got into the business as a stockbroker, so that should tell you something: I like to make money. But I changed to an RIA. Why? Because as I got older and started a family and started to think about who I was as a person, I thought, ‘You know, I’m not giving up the money. What I will do is give up being an ass.’”
