In many of my interactions with prospective clients, a familiar question comes up:
“Will paying advisory fees lead to higher returns?”
Our honest answer is: Yes—and No.
Let me explain.
Financial planning is not about picking the highest-return product. It is about building a comprehensive strategy that aligns with a client’s unique situation.
This includes:
- Designing an appropriate asset allocation based on risk profile
- Creating an emergency corpus
- Reviewing health and term insurance
- Aligning investments to short, medium, and long-term goals
- Cleaning up unsuitable or inefficient portfolios
- Most importantly, helping and handholding the clients to stay disciplined and avoid costly mistakes
If returns alone are the focus, one could simply load the portfolio with high-risk products—often unsuitable for the client.
For instance, advising a retiree with a modest corpus to invest heavily in micro- or small-cap stocks may improve potential returns, but it significantly increases the risk of failure (not receiving regular income regularly).
A financial planner’s role is similar to that of a good doctor.
A doctor cannot guarantee perfect health. But through expertise and experience, they create a treatment plan tailored to the patient—considering history, risks, and sensitivities—to improve the likelihood of a good outcome.
The focus is on the process. Outcomes follow the process.
At Naveen Rego Capital (a fee only financial planning firm), we are deeply focused on building and following a robust process—because we believe no two individuals are alike.
We believe that a disciplined approach not only improves long-term outcomes but also makes the journey smoother and less stressful.
It is also important to understand this distinction:
- Fund managers are paid to beat a benchmark
- Financial planners are responsible for helping clients achieve life goals within their risk capacity
Our fees are not for chasing returns—they are for building and managing a process that increases the probability of achieving meaningful financial outcomes. Higher returns are just a outcome for the good process.
Happy Financial Planning!
Naveen Julian Rego – CFP®
MD & Principal Officer
Naveen Rego Capital
SEBI Registered Investment Adviser
Reg No: INA000019211
BSE Membership ID: 2178
Date: 05-05-2026
Disclaimers:
- Investment in the securities market is subject to market risks. Read all the related documents carefully before investing.
- Registration granted by SEBI, membership of BSE and certification from NISM in no way guarantee performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors.
- Financial products recommended by us which are under the jurisdiction of other regulators are beyond the scope of SEBI’s grievance mechanism.
