Skip to content
Clear Money Guide Calculate fees
Menu

AUM Fees by Balance 2026: What You Pay at Each Account Size

Updated July 25, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Compare advisory fees at your own balance in annual dollars, not as a percentage label. At 1.00%, a $250,000 portfolio costs $2,500/year, $500,000 costs $5,000/year, $1,000,000 costs $10,000/year and $3,000,000 costs $30,000/year. At 0.75% those same balances cost $1,875, $3,750, $7,500 and $22,500. Then check for a second layer: some advisors add a unified managed account, model marketplace, or overlay platform fee on top of the base rate. If the advisor charges 0.75% and a platform layer adds 0.10%, your combined cost is 0.85% — $8,500/year on $1,000,000 — before fund, trading, tax-prep, or product costs.

This page compares what AUM fees cost at each balance, how a tiered schedule changes the effective rate you actually pay, when a platform or overlay layer is added on top, and when a flat fee is cheaper. It does not say UMA platforms are good or bad. The useful question is whether the managed-account layer adds enough portfolio construction, tax management, customization, reporting, or implementation help to justify the extra cost for your household.

Fast tools: AUM fee calculator | Financial advisor fee calculator | Financial advisor fee comparison chart | RIA fee schedule | Wealth management fee structure | Financial advisor fee structures

What that rate costs you, in your own dollars

Percentages are hard to feel. The same rate that sounds small as a number is a specific amount of money leaving a specific account every year, and it compounds against you because the dollars taken out stop earning. Enter your balance and the rate you pay or have been quoted, and this converts it into dollars.

You know what your balance costs. Make the next adviser beat it.

That figure is what a percentage turns into on your actual balance. Take it into the conversation: the advisers below pay for the introduction, which means you open with the number rather than being told it. It is free to you, and it is not the only way to find an adviser.

Before you start, what actually happens. The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. It asks about nine questions — age, investable assets, location — then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text.

Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide is paid when you submit the form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.

Compare fees, scope, conflicts, credentials and fiduciary duty before you hire anyone.

The Kapitalwise form opens here — you stay on this page.

Check your all-in advisory cost before a call

Ask for the base advisor fee, UMA or platform fee, overlay fee, model fee, fund expense ratios, trading costs, account minimums, one-time setup or transition costs, and what implementation work is actually included. Then compare the same scope against flat annual, retainer, hourly, project, and AUM-only pricing.

UMA platform implementation cost: what to separate

Cost line item How it may appear Dollar check Question to ask
Base advisor AUM fee 0.50%-1.00%+ of managed assets 0.75% on $1,000,000 = $7,500/year Is planning included, or is the fee only for portfolio management?
UMA, model, platform, or overlay layer Separate percentage or bundled into the advisory fee 0.10% on $1,000,000 = $1,000/year What does the layer do: model access, tax management, customization, trading, reporting, or rebalancing?
Fund or ETF expense ratios Costs inside the underlying investments Ask for weighted average fund cost in dollars Are lower-cost share classes or ETFs available for the same allocation?
Trading, transition, or implementation costs One-time account transition, tax transition, trading, or setup work Ask for the one-time dollar estimate before moving assets What taxable gains, transaction costs, or model changes happen during implementation?
Outside planning costs Tax prep, estate documents, insurance work, legal review, or project planning Separate vendor or hourly/project quote Which services are included in the advisory agreement and which require another professional?

AUM fees by balance with a UMA layer

Managed balance 0.75% advisor fee 0.10% platform layer Combined 0.85% What to compare
$250,000 $1,875/year $250/year $2,125/year Hourly or project planning may be cheaper if implementation need is narrow.
$500,000 $3,750/year $500/year $4,250/year Compare against flat annual planning and AUM-only quotes.
$1,000,000 $7,500/year $1,000/year $8,500/year Ask whether the platform adds tax management, customization, or only model access.
$2,000,000 $15,000/year $2,000/year $17,000/year Request breakpoints and household aggregation rules.
$3,000,000 $22,500/year $3,000/year $25,500/year Compare against flat annual, retainer, and lower breakpoint schedules.

Calculator line: Use the AUM fee calculator for the percentage math, then use the financial advisor fee calculator to compare AUM plus platform layers against flat annual, retainer, hourly, and project quotes.

Cost of UMA platforms vs AUM-only pricing

  • UMA or platform layer: may add model access, sleeve-level reporting, tax management, overlay management, rebalancing, trading, or customization.
  • AUM-only pricing: may be simpler if the advisor manages the portfolio directly and does not use a separate managed-account layer.
  • Flat annual or retainer pricing: may be easier to compare when you mainly need planning, tax coordination, retirement-income work, or a second opinion.
  • Hourly or project pricing: may fit when you need a narrow review before implementing or transferring assets.

Tiered fee schedule checks

A tiered fee schedule can be billed on the whole balance or by slice. Those are not the same. If a schedule says 1.00% on the first $1,000,000 and 0.75% after that, ask whether the 0.75% applies only to assets above $1,000,000 or to the full balance after you cross the breakpoint. Then ask whether any UMA, model, platform, fund, overlay, or implementation cost sits on top of the tiered schedule.

Schedule type How it works Risk Ask this before signing
Whole-balance breakpoint One rate applies to the full balance after a threshold The headline rate can hide separate platform or fund layers What is the all-in annual dollar cost at my exact balance?
By-slice or marginal tier Each tier applies only to that slice of assets The effective rate may be higher than the lowest tier shown What is my effective blended rate after all layers?
Blended AUM plus platform Advisor fee plus platform, overlay, fund, or program fee Multiple small percentages can add up at high balances Which line items are negotiable, avoidable, or included?

When a UMA platform may fit

  • You need tax-aware transition work across multiple accounts.
  • You want model management, rebalancing, or overlay coordination across managers.
  • You need customization, restrictions, or household-level implementation beyond a simple allocation.
  • The advisor can clearly explain what the platform does and what it costs in dollars.

When to question the platform layer

  • The proposal does not separate advisor, platform, fund, overlay, trading, and implementation costs.
  • The platform layer only provides model access that could be replicated more cheaply.
  • The advisor cannot show the after-fee reason for using the platform.
  • The platform fee makes the total cost higher than a flat annual, retainer, hourly, project, or AUM-only option with similar scope.

Copy/paste questions for UMA and AUM proposals

  1. What is my total annual dollar cost, including advisor fee, UMA/platform fee, overlay fee, model fee, fund expenses, trading, and implementation costs?
  2. Is the UMA or platform fee separate, bundled, negotiable, waived, or paid to an affiliated firm?
  3. What exactly does the platform do for me that the advisor would not otherwise do directly?
  4. Are fees billed on the whole balance, by slice, by account, by sleeve, or by household?
  5. What one-time implementation, transition, trading, tax, or setup costs should I expect?
  6. How would the same planning and investment scope price under flat annual, retainer, hourly, project, or AUM-only pricing?
  7. Are you acting as a fiduciary for the entire recommendation, including platform selection and rollover advice?

Related fee guides

Wealth management fee route

For AUM proposals that include planning, private wealth, platform, or UMA layers, use the average wealth management fees guide to compare the all-in fee against the included scope.

RIA schedule route

When an AUM proposal uses tiers or breakpoints, use the financial advisor fee schedule guide to compare by-slice billing, all-assets billing, minimums, and platform layers, then test the calculation with the AUM fee breakpoint examples at $250k, $500k, $1M, and $3M.

AUM calculator and fee-tool route

For more calculators, use the financial advisor fee calculator tools hub, then compare AUM fees by balance with the advisor fee calculator, fee comparison chart, flat-fee break-even calculator, hourly-rate guide, and local advisor-fee pages.

Portfolio-size advisor fee route

Pair this AUM-by-balance guide with advisor fees by portfolio size when comparing $500k, $1 million, $2 million, and $3 million advisor proposals against flat annual, retainer, hourly, and project quotes.

AUM explainer and balance route

For definitions and balance-specific examples, compare AUM fees explained, AUM fees at $500k, AUM fees at $1M, AUM fees at $2M, and AUM fees at $3M.

The other cost that scales with balance

An AUM fee scales smoothly with the balance. State estate tax does not: it is threshold-based, so it is zero right up to an exemption and then applies to the excess. That makes it a step change rather than a slope, and portfolios in the range this page covers are exactly the ones that cross state exemptions well below the federal one. Check where your balance sits with the personalised ranker, or read the corridor comparisons at retirement tax relocation.

Methodology

  • We convert AUM percentages, UMA/platform layers, and implementation costs into annual-dollar examples so proposals can be compared side by side.
  • We separate advisor fees, platform costs, fund costs, overlay costs, trading costs, and implementation costs because those may be bundled or billed separately.
  • We do not rank advisors, sell directory placement, publish fake reviews, or claim that one fee model is best for every household.
  • This page was materially reviewed on July 6, 2026. Fee examples are educational ranges and scenarios, not personalized financial, tax, legal, or investment advice.

Editorial standards: Editorial Policy | Corrections | Disclaimer

$250,000 balance check: Use the AUM fees at $250k guide to convert 1.00%, 0.75%, 0.50%, and 0.25% quotes into annual dollars and compare flat, hourly, and minimum-fee alternatives.

Selling a business? The structure decides the tax

A liquidity event is where portfolio size actually gets set — and several of these rules are commonly stated backwards: