Clear Money Guide
What this review evaluates
A decision brief covering fit, cost, limitations and alternatives.
Comparison tables scroll horizontally on smaller screens.
Updated on May 30, 2026
Quick answer (2026): At a $250,000 portfolio balance, a 1.00% AUM fee costs about $2,500/year, 0.75% costs about $1,875/year, 0.50% costs about $1,250/year, and 0.25% costs about $625/year before fund, platform, overlay, UMA/program, trading, tax-prep, legal, or implementation costs. A $3,000 flat annual planning fee is about 1.20% of $250,000, while a $300/hour advisor working six hours costs about $1,800 total.
Use this page to compare AUM fees at $250k against flat annual, retainer, hourly, and project-fee advisor quotes. At this balance, AUM can be cheaper than a full flat annual planning relationship, but advisor minimums can also make the effective percentage much higher than the headline AUM rate. The useful question is not only “is 1% normal?” It is “what do I pay in dollars, what is included, what is excluded, and would a capped hourly or project engagement fit better?”
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: $500k · $750k · $1M · $2M · $3M
AUM fees at $250k: cost benchmarks
| AUM rate | Annual advisory fee | Monthly equivalent | What to compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00% | $2,500/year | About $208/month | Advisor minimums, hourly/project quotes, and included planning scope |
| 0.75% | $1,875/year | About $156/month | Whether planning is included or investment management only |
| 0.50% | $1,250/year | About $104/month | Hourly/project planning if your need is narrow |
| 0.25% | $625/year | About $52/month | Whether the fee includes advice, portfolio management, or only a platform layer |
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 $250k
At $250,000, the account usually sits inside the first AUM tier. That means the effective AUM rate often equals the first-tier rate unless the advisor has a minimum annual fee or a separate planning charge.
| Example schedule | Fee calculation | Annual advisory fee | Effective AUM rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00% on first $500k | $250,000 × 1.00% | $2,500/year | 1.00% |
| 0.90% on first $500k | $250,000 × 0.90% | $2,250/year | 0.90% |
| 0.85% on first $250k; 0.70% above that | $250,000 × 0.85% | $2,125/year | 0.85% |
| 0.75% on full $250k | $250,000 × 0.75% | $1,875/year | 0.75% |
| 0.50% on full $250k | $250,000 × 0.50% | $1,250/year | 0.50% |
Effective AUM rate equals total annual advisory dollars divided by portfolio balance. Run your exact quote with the AUM Fee Calculator.
Minimum-fee watchout at $250k
At $250,000, advisor minimums can matter more than the headline percentage. A proposal may say 0.75% or 1.00%, but if the firm has a minimum annual fee, your effective cost can be higher.
| Minimum annual fee | Effective cost on $250k | Monthly equivalent | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2,500/year | 1.00% | About $208/month | Is this the advisory fee only, or does it include planning? |
| $3,000/year | 1.20% | About $250/month | What deliverables justify the minimum? |
| $5,000/year | 2.00% | About $417/month | Would hourly, project, or flat-fee planning be more appropriate? |
| $7,500/year | 3.00% | About $625/month | Is there a lower-scope engagement before committing to full service? |
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.
Opens on WiserAdvisor’s site in a new tab.
All-in AUM cost at $250k
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 | $2,500 | $150 | $250 | $2,900/year |
| 0.75% AUM | $1,875 | $150 | $250 | $2,275/year |
| 0.90% on first $500k | $2,250 | $150 | $250 | $2,650/year |
| $3,000 flat annual planning fee | $3,000 | $150 | Confirm if separate | $3,150/year before any platform/overlay cost |
AUM vs flat fee vs retainer vs hourly at $250k
| Fee model | Example quote | Cost in dollars | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUM | 1.00% on $250,000 | $2,500/year before other costs | Ongoing portfolio management bundled with planning, if the scope is clear |
| Flat annual | $3,000/year | $3,000/year | Predictable planning relationship with clear deliverables and service calendar |
| Monthly retainer | $250/month | $3,000/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 $250k
| Comparison | AUM cost | Alternative quote | Price difference if scope is equal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00% AUM vs $2,500 flat fee | $2,500/year | $2,500/year | Same price before other costs |
| 1.00% AUM vs $3,000 flat fee | $2,500/year | $3,000/year | AUM is $500/year lower before other costs |
| 0.75% AUM vs $3,000 flat fee | $1,875/year | $3,000/year | AUM is $1,125/year lower before other costs |
| 1.00% AUM vs $1,800 hourly project | $2,500/year | $1,800 total | Hourly is $700 lower if the scope is narrow and capped |
Price only matters when the scope is comparable. A lower hourly project can be a good fit for a narrow question, but it may not replace ongoing planning, investment management, implementation help, or year-round access. That makes the harder question who sits on the other side of the quote: what to check before hiring an advisor covers fiduciary status and who actually does the planning work.
When AUM may fit at $250k
- You want ongoing discretionary portfolio management, rebalancing, and implementation help.
- The advisor’s written scope includes planning, investment policy, cash reserves, retirement-income basics, tax-aware withdrawals, 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.
- There is no high minimum annual fee that pushes the effective percentage far above the headline AUM rate.
- Fund, platform, overlay, and program costs are low and disclosed in annual dollars.
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 advisor minimum creates an effective cost above the headline AUM rate.
- The proposal is vague about planning scope, response time, implementation help, or what becomes out-of-scope.
- You want advice before deciding whether to move assets into an AUM relationship.
- You are paying separately for fund, platform, overlay, tax-prep, legal, 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 $250k AUM quote in dollars
Subject: AUM fee at $250k — annual dollars and all-in cost Hi — I’m reviewing an advisor quote for a roughly $250,000 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 $250,000 portfolio balance. 2) The AUM tier schedule and whether tiers are billed by slice or applied to the full balance. 3) Whether there is a minimum annual fee, and what my effective AUM rate would be after that minimum. 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 $250,000 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 $250,000 by the stated advisory percentage.
- By-slice examples. By-slice examples apply the listed rate to the applicable tier slice, then divide total advisory dollars by $250,000 to show the effective AUM rate.
- Minimum-fee examples. Minimum-fee examples divide the annual minimum by $250,000 to estimate the effective percentage before fund, platform, overlay, or implementation costs.
- 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 the $250k AUM result with flat-fee break-even points
After converting 1.00%, 0.75%, and 0.50% into annual dollars, use the flat fee vs AUM comparison at $250k, $750k, and $2M. Then check the wider advisor fee comparison chart and test the exact quote in the flat-fee vs AUM break-even calculator.