🇦🇺Australia

Fehlberechnete AUM-Gebühren durch fehlerhafte Portfolio- und Saldenbasis

Updated: Feb 20263 verified sources

Definition

Australian financial advisers commonly charge asset-based fees of around 0.5%–2% p.a. of assets managed, often on a tiered basis that declines for larger portfolios.[3][6][1] When AUM is maintained in separate systems from billing (platform vs. CRM/accounting), manual exports and spreadsheets are used to apply fee tiers client by client. Any omission of assets (e.g. new accounts not tagged as fee-eligible, off-platform assets excluded in error) or misapplied tier thresholds immediately reduces the billed fee percentage. For example, a client with AUD 1,000,000 under advice should be billed between AUD 5,000–20,000 p.a. in AUM fees at typical Australian rates.[3][6] If only AUD 800,000 is picked up in the fee file due to mapping errors, the practice loses 20% of the expected fee on that client alone. Across a book of, say, AUD 100m FUA, even a conservative 0.05% underbilling error (5 bps) equates to AUD 50,000 p.a. of lost revenue. This is a logical extrapolation from the documented fee ranges and typical FUA sizes, not explicitly quantified in sources. Revenue leakage is amplified where hybrid models are used (AUM plus flat retainers), as complexity increases the chance of mis- or non-billing.

Key Findings

Financial Impact: Quantified (logic-based): Typical AUM fee range in AU is ~0.5%–2% p.a.[3][6]. For a practice with AUD 100m FUA, a modest 0.05% systematic underbilling error equals AUD 50,000 p.a. lost fees; at client level, a mis-captured AUD 200k for a 1% fee equals AUD 2,000 p.a. per client.
Frequency: Ongoing; fee files generally run monthly or quarterly, so errors repeat each billing cycle until detected.
Root Cause: Siloed systems between investment platforms and billing; spreadsheet-based fee schedules; complex tiering rules; manual data entry; missing reconciliation of billed fees to FUA reports.

Why This Matters

The Pitch: Investment advisers in Australia 🇦🇺 waste AUD 10,000–50,000 p.a. in underbilled AUM fees per practice due to spreadsheet-based fee calculations. Automation of fee calculation on accurate daily balances eliminates this revenue leakage.