Since we charge based on an hourly rate, wouldn’t the fee be potentially unlimited? Implied in the question is the possibility of being overcharged. You will not be overcharged because we will be fair to you:

• Fairness among different clients - It is true that the Initial Planning fee is based on an hourly rate. This is the fairest method as a simple case will mean cheaper than a complicated case. All clients pay according to level of complexity of their own case. There is no cross subsidy among clients unlike a commission based model in which clients who buys products actually subsidizes those who do not.
• Fairness is about reasonable. We will not charge time spent in research that can be recycled for other cases. For example, if the planner spent time reading up on CPF rules, that amount of time spent will not be charged to the client since this research is applicable for other clients. Instead, only time spent on matters that are not-recycleable and non-reusable for other clients will be charged. Reasonable will also mean that we will not overcharge our clients. Remember that it is our duty to enhance our clients’ asset, not reduce it.
• Fairness is about remunerating the financial planner for actual work done. The popular commission-based model adopted by almost all advisers is an unfair method because clients pay commissions in proportion to the type of products bought – not in proportion to the actual service rendered.
• Fairness could also mean that we will not accept certain cases. If we found your case to be relatively complicated in which you will eventually not afford our service, we will inform you upfront that we cannot accept your case.

We received numerous feedbacks that clients would like us to quote a fix fee for initial planning rather than an hourly rate. Since we have not done any work on the case, it is impossible to know in advance what the scope of work is. If we quote a fee lower than actual service rendered, we make a lost. The planner will have to quote a higher fee to other clients to make up for the loss. If we quote a higher fee for others, those clients are being overcharged. Effectively, providing a fix fee for initial planning will result in cross-subsidy problems among clients. In other words, a fix fee rate is an unfair method for the client. The fee that client ultimate pays is wide ranging. Typically a case would require between 10 to 30 hours of work. Based on past cases, the client should budget a four figure sum in fee.