Indeed, larger advisors are often viewed as valued guests. "The more money an advisory firm has to invest, the more likely a fund manager will take a meeting with you or take your call," says Michael Kitces, director of research at the Pinnacle Advisory Group in Columbia, Md., which has $1 billion under management. 

He adds that Pinnacle likes to meet fund companies to get a better sense of how they're creating value because quantitative numbers give you a result, but not the process. "The fund manager will give you more qualitative analysis and insight," he says. 

Meeting one-on-one with fund companies has other potential benefits, too. "You've got your finger on the pulse of the industry," says Cupkovic, adding that ARGI discovered a good third-party asset manager while meeting with fund managers. "We wouldn't have found them if we weren't out and about doing due diligence," he says.