Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 19, 2026. Quick answer: Betterment Premium is less expensive at $500,000: $3,250 a year, versus $11,875 a year for Cetera, computed from each firm’s own SEC-filed fee disclosure. See the full side-by-side table below for $250,000, $1 million and $2 million.
What each firm charges, side by side
| Account balance | Betterment Premium (annual fee) | Cetera (annual fee) |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $1,625 | $6,250 |
| $500,000 | $3,250 | $11,875 |
| $1,000,000 | $6,500 | $20,625 |
| $2,000,000 | $5,000 | $35,625 |
Betterment Premium discloses a tiered schedule starting at 0.65% (Form ADV Part 2A – Betterment Client Brochure (Betterment LLC), 2026-07-31); Cetera discloses a tiered schedule starting at 2.50% (Cetera Investment Advisers LLC Form ADV Part 2A Brochure, August 12, 2026).
What the fee includes, in each firm’s own words
Betterment Premium (Form ADV Part 2A – Betterment Client Brochure (Betterment LLC), 2026-07-31): “Retail Clients who receive Betterment Premium Services pay a wrap fee of 0.65% of their account balance in annualized fees, which includes Betterment’s 0.25% annualized wrap fee plus 0.40% for access to Premium Services provided by Betterment’s team of financial consultants (subject to the Discount described in Item 5B. below). Betterment waives the 0.40% fee for Premium Services on account balances above $1 million. … A balance of at least $100,000 is required to be eligible to participate in the Betterment Premium plan.”
Whole-balance (breakpoint) fee, not marginal: the 0.65% combined rate (0.25% base wrap fee + 0.40% Premium access fee) applies to the full balance once the $100,000 Premium minimum is met, up to and including $1,000,000 ($250,000 x 0.0065 = $1,625; $500,000 x 0.0065 = $3,250; $1,000,000 x 0.0065 = $6,500, since the brochure waives the 0.40% Premium fee only on balances ‘above’ $1 million, not at exactly $1 million). Above $1,000,000 the 0.40% Premium fee is waived, leaving only the 0.25% base wrap fee on the entire balance ($2,000,000 x 0.0025 = $5,000). This produces a real fee cliff where a $1,000,000 account pays more in dollar terms than a $2,000,000 account – that is a direct, disclosed consequence of the waiver threshold, not an error.
Cetera (Cetera Investment Advisers LLC Form ADV Part 2A Brochure, August 12, 2026): “Preferred Asset Management Program Advisory Fee Schedules Preferred Fee Schedule Account Size Maximum Annual Fee First $0 – $250,000 2.50% Next $250,001 – $500,000 2.25% Next $500,001 – $1,000,000 1.75% Next $1,000,001 – $2,500,000 1.50% Next $2,500,001 – $5,000,000 1.25% Next $5,000,001 – Over 1.00%”
This is the maximum allowable fee schedule for Cetera’s Preferred Asset Management Program (used as the representative program; Cetera discloses several similar programs – Prime, Premier, xMA – with slightly different max rates). It is a marginal/tiered schedule like a tax bracket: each dollar slice is billed at its own bracket’s rate and the amounts are summed. $250,000: 250,000×2.50%=$6,250. $500,000: $6,250 + (250,000×2.25%=$5,625) = $11,875. $1,000,000: +$8,750 (500,000×1.75%, the 500,001-1,000,000 slice) = $20,625. $2,000,000: +$15,000 (1,000,000×1.50%, the portion of the 1,000,001-2,500,000 slice up to $2,000,000) = $35,625. Bracket boundaries treated as contiguous $-width slices (e.g. 250,000 wide) for the arithmetic, consistent with how Cetera’s own brochure works a similar blended-fee example elsewhere in the document. Advisor may charge less; this is the stated maximum.
How this compares
Our benchmark of published adviser fee schedules puts the weighted median annual cost near $2,000 to $2,500 on $250,000 (the benchmark). At $500,000, Betterment Premium runs $3,250 a year and Cetera runs $11,875 a year: a difference of $8,625 a year at that balance.
Want the full breakdown for either firm on its own? Read the Betterment Premium fee page or the Cetera fee page for the complete tier table and source citations.
Thinking about leaving one of these firms instead of pricing what you would pay to stay? See what it costs to leave Betterment Premium, or read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors.
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- Form ADV Part 2A – Betterment Client Brochure (Betterment LLC) (2026-07-31): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1053566
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Betterment LLC (CRD #149117): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/149117
- Cetera Investment Advisers LLC Form ADV Part 2A Brochure (August 12, 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1054832
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Cetera Investment Advisers LLC (CRD #105644): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/105644
Methodology. This page was built September 19, 2026, re-pairing figures already archived and independently verified for Betterment Premium and Cetera from each firm’s own SEC-filed disclosure; sources linked above. Nothing here is personalized financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.