Most advisors are paid a percentage of the assets they manage, a fee quietly deducted from your investment each month rather than billed to you directly. Adrian argues that's the real barrier: not that advice is inherently unaffordable, but that many consumers are not entirely clear on what fees they're paying. He walks through why Fynbos charges a flat monthly fee instead (R100, or R50 if you're under 30), why an emergency fund has to come before any investing, and why he believes competition, not new rules, is what will finally force the industry to change.

What this episode covers:

• Why a percentage-based fee is quietly taken out of your investment each month instead of billed to you directly, and why that makes it hard to know what you're really paying

• How Fynbos Money's flat monthly fee works as an alternative, and why it separates advice from the products you invest in

• Why competition, not regulation, is what Adrian believes will actually change the industry

• Why people love learning about money but rarely act on it unless someone helps them do the work

• Why an emergency fund, not a TFSA or RA, should always be your first move

• Why Adrian sees trust, not money or knowledge, as South Africans' real barrier to investing

"I'm a capitalist, I'm afraid. If you want to change how businesses do business, you can't just use rules and laws to stop them. You bring up better versions of what they're building, and you compete, and you do a better job." - Adrian Hope-Bailie