"[A]sset placement fees ... have come under intense scrutiny because it is an area of significant abuse and because it is easy to detect and quantify the impact of that abuse, making it a logical target for lawsuits.... There are generally four parties that are compensated for their roles in support of an investment product: The money manager who selects the stocks and bonds for the portfolio; The brokerage firm that is executing the trades; The custodian that is holding and safeguarding the securities; and The investment advisor or broker that is servicing the account. The fiduciary should investigate how each of those various service vendors are compensated. In the case of a bundled investment program, such as a wrap fee account, the services and costs should be broken down into those four categories and compared to a la carte alternatives."

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