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:
1. Investment in the securities market is subject to market risks. Read all the related documents carefully before investing.
2. 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.
3. Financial products recommended by us which are under the jurisdiction of other regulators are beyond the scope of SEBI’s grievance mechanism.
