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Updated September 18, 2026. Quick answer: It depends which hat Wells Fargo Advisors is wearing. As your investment adviser, Wells Fargo Advisors owes you a fiduciary duty under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. As your broker-dealer, Wells Fargo Advisors owes you Regulation Best Interest, a real and enforceable standard, but not a fiduciary duty. Wells Fargo Advisors’ own Form CRS states: “When we provide you with a recommendation as your broker-dealer or act as your investment adviser, we must act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours.”
How it’s registered
From Form CRS (Client Relationship Summary) (August 21, 2026 (Rev 08 – 08/26)): “We are dually registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a broker-dealer and investment adviser and can serve in either capacity when helping you invest.”
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 must act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours.”
On commissions: “In a brokerage relationship, you are charged for each trade you make, also known as transaction-based charges. These transaction-based charges can include commissions, commission equivalents, sales charges, mark-ups, mark-downs, and dealer spreads, which differ based on the product purchased, size of the transaction, overall value of your account, and frequency of trading activity in your account.”
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), August 21, 2026 (Rev 08 – 08/26) |
| As your investment adviser | SEC-registered investment adviser | Fiduciary duty (Investment Advisers Act of 1940) | No (asset-based advisory fee: $10,000 a year, 2.00% on a $500,000 account) | Form CRS (Client Relationship Summary), August 21, 2026 (Rev 08 – 08/26) |
What this means for what you pay
Fiduciary status is one input, not the whole picture. Wells Fargo Advisors discloses a published fee that runs $10,000 a year on a $500,000 account; see the full dollar breakdown from Wells Fargo Advisors’ 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 Wells Fargo Advisors, or read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors.
Find the right next step for your situation
About how much do you have invested? Pick the range that fits; your next step appears immediately below.
Fiduciary status is one factor. See who else competes for your business.
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.
Opens on WiserAdvisor’s site in a new tab.
Whatever the standard, price a fiduciary-only, fee-based alternative before you decide.
Price the destination before you decide. The matching service below introduces you to advisers who pay to meet you.
Before you start, what actually happens. 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.
The Kapitalwise form opens here; you stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions: age, investable assets, location; then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Prefer flat-fee or hourly pricing instead? Compare ranges here.
Answer againSources
- Form CRS (Client Relationship Summary) (August 21, 2026 (Rev 08 – 08/26)): https://files.brokercheck.finra.org/crs_19616.pdf
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC (CRD #19616): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/19616
- Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, SEC Form ADV filing: https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/19616/PDF/19616.pdf
Methodology. This page was built September 18, 2026, quoting directly from Wells Fargo Advisors’ 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 Wells Fargo Advisors’s minimum investment, quoted verbatim from its own Form ADV Part 2A / wrap-fee brochure.
Weighing whether to move ahead? Read the full Wells Fargo Advisors review, including its fiduciary status and what it costs to leave.
Comparing Wells Fargo Advisors against other options? See Wells Fargo Advisors alternatives, including a lower-fee full-service firm, a flat-fee route, and a robo/hybrid.
Checking how another firm describes its standard of conduct? See Is Ameriprise a Fiduciary? What Its Own Form CRS Says (2026).
Checking how another firm describes its standard of conduct? See Is Baird a Fiduciary? What Its Own Form CRS Says (2026).
Checking how another firm describes its standard of conduct? See Is Buckingham Strategic Wealth a Fiduciary? What Its Own Form CRS Says (2026).
Checking how another firm describes its standard of conduct? See Is Cambridge Investment Research a Fiduciary? What Its Own Form CRS Says (2026).
Checking how another firm describes its standard of conduct? See Is Commonwealth Financial Network a Fiduciary? What Its Own Form CRS Says (2026).
Checking how another firm describes its standard of conduct? See Is Creative Planning a Fiduciary? What Its Own Form CRS Says (2026).
Checking how another firm describes its standard of conduct? See Is Edelman Financial Engines a Fiduciary? What Its Own Form CRS Says (2026).
Checking how another firm describes its standard of conduct? See Is J.P. Morgan Advisors a Fiduciary? What Its Own Form CRS Says (2026).