Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 18, 2026. Quick answer: It depends which hat Morgan Stanley is wearing. As your investment adviser, Morgan Stanley owes you a fiduciary duty under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. As your broker-dealer, Morgan Stanley owes you Regulation Best Interest, a real and enforceable standard, but not a fiduciary duty. Morgan Stanley’s own Form CRS states: “When we provide you with a recommendation as your broker-dealer or act as your investment adviser, we have to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours.”
How it’s registered
From Form CRS (Client Relationship Summary) (Effective January 1, 2023): “Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley,” “we,” or “us”) is registered as a broker-dealer and an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).”
The standard of conduct, in its own words
“When we provide you with a recommendation as your broker-dealer or act as your investment adviser, we have to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours.”
On commissions: “Full-Service Accounts: You generally pay a commission or markup/markdown (a fee added to or subtracted from the market price) each time you make a trade.”
Fiduciary status by capacity
| Capacity | Registration | Standard you’re owed | Can earn commissions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| As your broker-dealer | SEC-registered broker-dealer | Regulation Best Interest (not a fiduciary duty) | Yes | Form CRS (Client Relationship Summary), Effective January 1, 2023 |
| As your investment adviser | SEC-registered investment adviser | Fiduciary duty (Investment Advisers Act of 1940) | No (asset-based advisory fee: up to $10,175 a year, 2.04% on a $500,000 account, the sum of the firm’s published maximum fee components) | Form CRS (Client Relationship Summary), Effective January 1, 2023 |
What this means for what you pay
Fiduciary status is one input, not the whole picture. Morgan Stanley discloses a published fee that runs up to $10,175 a year on a $500,000 account (the sum of the firm’s published maximum fee components); see the full dollar breakdown from Morgan Stanley’s own fee disclosure before deciding whether the standard of conduct here changes your answer.
If the answer above changes your mind about staying, see what it costs to leave Morgan Stanley, or read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors.
Compare your next step
Just comparing fees? Keep reading the fee guide.Optional next step
Explore an adviser match
Compare the services and the full fee before deciding whether to hire anyone.
- No fee to request a match
- No obligation to hire
Expect questions about your situation, your name, email and phone, and phone verification by text. A match is not guaranteed.
The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. 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. This is free to you and there is no obligation to hire anyone.
Opens here. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
How our partner relationships workCompare an adviser match before you decide
Ask about the full fee, what it covers and how the adviser is paid. A match is an introduction, not a recommendation from Clear Money Guide.
- Free matching service
- No obligation to hire
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. Advisers pay for the introduction. Clear Money Guide is paid when you complete the form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. There is no obligation to hire anyone.
Continue to WiserAdvisorOpens on WiserAdvisor’s site in a new tab.
Source: WiserAdvisor’s service descriptionSources
- Form CRS (Client Relationship Summary) (Effective January 1, 2023): https://files.brokercheck.finra.org/crs_149777.pdf
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (CRD #149777): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/149777
- Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, SEC Form ADV filing: https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/149777/PDF/149777.pdf
Methodology. This page was built September 18, 2026, quoting directly from Morgan Stanley’s own current Form CRS, with the source linked above; any distinction we could not independently confirm this session is named as an honest gap rather than presented as verified. Nothing here is personalized financial, tax, legal, or investment advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the firm’s own Form CRS. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.
What does it actually take to open an account? See Morgan Stanley’s minimum investment, quoted verbatim from its own Form ADV Part 2A / wrap-fee brochure.
Weighing whether to move ahead? Read the full Morgan Stanley review, including its fiduciary status and what it costs to leave.
Comparing Morgan Stanley against other options? See Morgan Stanley alternatives, including a lower-fee full-service firm, a flat-fee route, and a robo/hybrid.
How does this compare? See how 127 advisory firms are registered, from each firm’s own SEC record.