Clear Money Guide
What this review evaluates
A decision brief covering fit, cost, limitations and alternatives.
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Updated on May 30, 2026
Quick answer (2026): At a $750,000 portfolio balance, a 1.00% AUM fee costs about $7,500/year, 0.75% costs about $5,625/year, 0.50% costs about $3,750/year, and 0.25% costs about $1,875/year before fund, platform, overlay, UMA/program, trading, tax-prep, or implementation costs. A $5,000 flat annual planning fee is about 0.67% of $750,000, while a $300/hour advisor working six hours costs about $1,800 total.
Use this page to compare AUM fees at $750k against flat annual, retainer, hourly, and project-fee advisor quotes. At this balance, AUM can still be reasonable if the advisor provides real portfolio management and planning, but it is high enough to compare alternatives carefully. The useful question is not only “is the AUM percentage normal?” It is “what do I pay in dollars, what is included, what is excluded, and would the same planning scope cost less under a flat-fee, retainer, or capped hourly model?”
Fast tools: AUM Fee Calculator · Advisor Fee Calculator · Flat Fee vs AUM Break-Even · AUM Fees by Balance · AUM Fee Breakpoints · Average Financial Advisor Fees
Balance guides: $250k · $500k · $1M · $2M · $3M
AUM fees at $750k: cost benchmarks
| AUM rate | Annual advisory fee | Monthly equivalent | What to compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00% | $7,500/year | About $625/month | Flat annual planning, lower breakpoint, or dollar cap |
| 0.75% | $5,625/year | About $469/month | Retainer quote, flat annual quote, and included service calendar |
| 0.50% | $3,750/year | About $313/month | Hourly/project planning if your need is narrow |
| 0.25% | $1,875/year | About $156/month | Whether planning is included or investment management only |
These are advisory-fee examples only. They do not include ETF or mutual-fund expense ratios, platform fees, overlay fees, UMA/program fees, trading costs, taxes, tax-prep costs, legal fees, or implementation charges.
By-slice AUM math at $750k
At $750,000, many AUM schedules start to cross a breakpoint. Ask whether lower rates apply by slice, like tax brackets, or whether one lower rate applies to the whole balance.
| Example schedule | Fee calculation | Annual advisory fee | Effective AUM rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00% on full $750k | $750,000 × 1.00% | $7,500/year | 1.00% |
| 1.00% first $500k; 0.80% next $250k | $5,000 + $2,000 | $7,000/year | 0.93% |
| 1.00% first $250k; 0.75% next $250k; 0.50% next $250k | $2,500 + $1,875 + $1,250 | $5,625/year | 0.75% |
| 0.75% on full $750k | $750,000 × 0.75% | $5,625/year | 0.75% |
| 0.50% on full $750k | $750,000 × 0.50% | $3,750/year | 0.50% |
Effective AUM rate equals total annual advisory dollars divided by portfolio balance. Run your exact quote with the AUM Fee Calculator.
All-in AUM cost at $750k
The AUM advisory fee is usually only one layer. Ask for fund expenses, platform fees, overlay fees, UMA/program fees, trading costs, tax-prep costs, legal costs, and implementation charges separately.
| Example | Advisory fee | Fund cost at 0.06% | Platform/overlay at 0.10% | All-in annual example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00% AUM | $7,500 | $450 | $750 | $8,700/year |
| 0.75% AUM | $5,625 | $450 | $750 | $6,825/year |
| 1.00% first $500k; 0.80% next $250k | $7,000 | $450 | $750 | $8,200/year |
| $5,000 flat annual planning fee | $5,000 | $450 | Confirm if separate | $5,450/year before any platform/overlay cost |
At $750,000, a tenth of a percent is $750 a year.
That is the whole argument for getting more than one quote. Take the figures above into the conversation and ask each firm what they would charge on $750,000, all in, and what that buys beyond investment management.
If your portfolio is $250,000 or more, this connects you — free, with no obligation to hire anyone — with 2 to 3 vetted advisors.
Before you start, what actually happens. The matching service is run by WiserAdvisor, an independent advisor-matching company. It opens on their site, asks for your ZIP code and a few questions, and matches you with 2 to 3 vetted advisors. It is free to you.
WiserAdvisor states the service is built for portfolios of $250,000 and above. By submitting, you consent to emails, phone calls and text messages from WiserAdvisor and up to three advisors, so expect to be contacted. Clear Money Guide is paid when you complete the form, whether or not you ever hire anyone.
Compare fees, scope, conflicts, credentials and fiduciary duty before you hire anyone. This is not the only way to find an adviser.
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AUM vs flat fee vs retainer vs hourly at $750k
| Fee model | Example quote | Cost in dollars | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUM | 0.75% on $750,000 | $5,625/year before other costs | Ongoing portfolio management bundled with planning and implementation help |
| Flat annual | $5,000/year | $5,000/year | Predictable planning relationship with clear deliverables and service calendar |
| Monthly retainer | $450/month | $5,400/year | Recurring planning access without pure asset-based pricing |
| Hourly/project | $300/hour × 6 hours | $1,800 total | Second opinion, fee audit, rollover review, Roth-conversion check, or focused planning project |
For apples-to-apples math, use the Financial Advisor Fee Calculator. To find the balance where a flat annual quote becomes cheaper than AUM, use the Flat Fee vs AUM Break-Even Calculator.
Flat-fee break-even at $750k
| Comparison | AUM cost | Flat annual quote | Price difference if scope is equal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00% AUM vs $5,000 flat fee | $7,500/year | $5,000/year | Flat fee is $2,500/year lower |
| 0.75% AUM vs $5,000 flat fee | $5,625/year | $5,000/year | Flat fee is $625/year lower |
| 0.50% AUM vs $5,000 flat fee | $3,750/year | $5,000/year | AUM is $1,250/year lower before other costs |
| 0.50% AUM vs $3,000 flat fee | $3,750/year | $3,000/year | Flat fee is $750/year lower |
Price only matters when the scope is comparable. A higher AUM fee may be reasonable if it includes real portfolio management, retirement-income planning, tax-aware withdrawals, Roth-conversion windows, investment policy, estate-adjacent coordination, and implementation help. A lower flat fee may be incomplete if it excludes the work you actually need.
When AUM may fit at $750k
- You want ongoing discretionary portfolio management, rebalancing, and implementation help.
- The advisor’s written scope includes retirement planning, tax-aware withdrawals, investment policy, portfolio review, and regular access.
- The AUM fee is low enough that the annual dollar cost is competitive with flat annual or retainer quotes for the same work.
- Fund, platform, overlay, and program costs are low and disclosed in annual dollars.
- The advisor will show the all-in annual cost, not only the headline percentage.
When to compare against flat fee, retainer, or hourly
- You mainly need a second opinion, fee review, rollover analysis, Roth-conversion check, or focused planning project.
- The AUM quote is close to or above a flat annual planning quote for similar deliverables.
- The proposal is vague about planning scope, response time, implementation help, or what becomes out-of-scope.
- You want a predictable annual dollar amount instead of a fee that rises with portfolio value.
- You are paying separately for fund, platform, overlay, tax-prep, or implementation costs and need to compare the all-in total.
Helpful comparisons: Flat-Fee Financial Advisor · Average Flat Fee · Average Retainer Fee · Hourly Advisor Rates · Financial Advisor Fee Comparison
Copy/paste: ask for the $750k AUM quote in dollars
Subject: AUM fee at $750k — annual dollars and all-in cost Hi — I’m reviewing an advisor quote for a roughly $750,000 portfolio and want to compare AUM, flat-fee, retainer, hourly, and project-fee options apples-to-apples. Could you send a short written summary covering: 1) My annual advisory fee in dollars at a $750,000 portfolio balance. 2) The AUM tier schedule and whether tiers are billed by slice or applied to the full balance. 3) My effective AUM rate after any breakpoints or minimum fees. 4) Whether household, spouse, trust, taxable, IRA, Roth, HSA, inherited, and old employer accounts are aggregated for lower breakpoints. 5) Any fund expense ratios, platform fees, overlay fees, UMA/program fees, trading costs, tax-prep costs, legal costs, or implementation charges. 6) What is included: investment management, retirement-income planning, tax coordination, estate-adjacent coordination, and implementation support. 7) What is excluded and what becomes hourly, project-based, referred out, or out-of-scope. 8) Whether you can provide a flat annual, retainer, hourly, project-fee, or dollar-cap quote for the same planning scope. 9) Who does the work — lead advisor, associate planner, investment team, CPA, attorney, or outside specialist. 10) Whether you act as a fiduciary at all times. My goal is to compare the total annual cost and planning scope in dollars before deciding. Thanks!
What to do next
Methodology
- Dollar-first comparison. This page converts AUM percentages at a $750,000 portfolio balance into annual advisory dollars so readers can compare AUM, flat-fee, retainer, hourly, and project-fee proposals.
- AUM examples. Straight-percentage examples multiply $750,000 by the stated advisory percentage.
- By-slice examples. By-slice examples apply each rate only to that tier slice, then divide total advisory dollars by $750,000 to show the effective AUM rate.
- All-in examples. All-in examples add illustrative fund and platform/overlay costs to the advisory fee. Real proposals may include different fund expenses, platform fees, overlay fees, UMA/program fees, trading costs, tax-prep costs, legal costs, or implementation charges.
- Scope-first review. A fee is only meaningful when paired with written scope, deliverables, meeting cadence, implementation help, response-time expectations, specialist coordination, and exclusions.
- Data freshness. This page was last reviewed on May 30, 2026. Fee schedules, fund costs, platform costs, tax thresholds, and planning assumptions can change over time.
- Educational only. This is not tax, legal, or investment advice. For personal recommendations, talk to a qualified fiduciary advisor, CPA, or attorney.
Editorial standards: Editorial Policy · Corrections · Disclaimer
Compare AUM costs from $250k to $750k
Start with AUM fees at $250k to see how advisor minimums affect a smaller balance, then use the flat fee vs AUM balance comparison to check where annual-dollar costs diverge.
What the filings actually say. We measured the fee schedules 176 SEC-registered advisers publish in their Form ADV Part 2A filings: at $250,000 only 28.4% disclose a fee you can price at all, and the weighted median annual cost among those that do is $2,000 to $2,500. The full benchmark, with method.