BufferLabs Research: Is the Juice Worth The Squeeze?

BufferLABS’ Goal is to deliver maximum value-added to our customers for a fair price. 

In setting our prices, we wanted to have offerings that could economically meet the needs of advisors across the spectrum: from small practices to large practices. Our tiered pricing provides just that: a way for advisors of almost any size to access our value-added insights at an economic level that suits their practice. Our entry level pricing tier, which we call “Essential” starts at $149 per month. With as little as $2 million invested in buffered ETFs, an entry level Essential subscription pays for itself. If you spend $1,788 per year on a BufferLABS subscription, you will add substantial value to your clients and to your practice.

Let’s break it down. 

Assume you are a smaller advisor with $2 million invested in buffered ETFs. Assuming you charge a management fee of 1%, your allocation to buffered ETFs generates $20,000 per year in gross revenue. You probably spend a minimum of five hours a month managing that allocation which costs around $500 per month in your labor. We figure our research saves four of those five hours. Annual time savings alone will add $4800, which more than pays for the cost of the research.

We also know from experience that a buy-and-hold portfolio of buffered ETFs becomes stale. Our research helps keep your portfolio invested in timely ETFs which will dramatically improve performance over a buy and hold approach. In our experience, we were able to improve our returns by over 300 basis points per year by using methods similar to our research offering. Assuming your experience is like ours, then you will be adding another $60,000 in “new” assets per year via a performance pick up. This means every year you will pick up an additional source of revenue equal to 1% of $60,000 or $600 per year in “new” gross revenue.

We also provide access to our BufferLABS 100 Index and its returns. This index will help you show your clients the value you add every month as compared to an unmanaged index of Buffered ETFs.  As you are aware, a fair, representative, transparent benchmark is essential for performance reporting and for building client confidence. Until now, the industry has not provided advisors with a fair benchmark for buffered ETFs. We provide this as part of our research subscription. We are confident this benchmark will help you grow your business and retain your clients.

Let’s Review the Value-added Proposition

Here’s what you get for an Essential entry-level subscription costing $1,788 per year:

• Monthly ADOPT Model Research Reports
• Timely and Actionable Research Ranks
• $4,800 dollars per year in saved time
• $600 per year in “new” gross revenue
• Access to a new Buffered ETF Index for client reporting and interactions
• Practice Enhancement leading to Growth and Client Retention

We think this value-added proposition delivers on our goal of maximum value-added at a fair price. And this is for a minimum of $2 million invested in Buffered ETFs. The proposition becomes extremely compelling with larger commitments. Come partner with BufferLABS as we succeed together in growing your practice and creating satisfied clients!