How much do you pay your financial advisor? Most investors have no idea — and neither do their advisors. And what return do you get on your portfolio? That’s another question most investors and again, advisors, can’t answer. These are problems. GuardVest is a new Dallas-based startup looking to solve them by introducing transparency to the investing process. Users link up their accounts to GuardVest, whose freemium model allows seven days of free service, to see how fees, returns and risk stack up to benchmarks, industry averages, and peers. GuardVest co-founder Audie Apple told Bank Innovation during a visit with us that the fee problem was crystallized in a 2013 Cerulean Advisors study: 40% of guesses were off by an average of $5,000; 31% didn’t know; and 29% said — incorrectly — that they paid no compensation.

http://bankinnovation.net/2015/02/guardvest-aims-to-shine-a-light-on-investment-fees/