Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 19, 2026. Quick answer: Buckingham Strategic Wealth is less expensive at $500,000: $6,250 a year, versus $12,500 a year for Equitable Advisors, 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 | Buckingham Strategic Wealth (annual fee) | Equitable Advisors (annual fee) |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $3,125 | $6,250 |
| $500,000 | $6,250 | $12,500 |
| $1,000,000 | $12,500 | $25,000 |
| $2,000,000 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
Buckingham Strategic Wealth discloses a maximum, individually negotiated rate of 1.25% (Focus Partners Wealth, LLC Form ADV Part 2A Brochure, April 29, 2026); Equitable Advisors discloses a maximum, individually negotiated rate of 2.5% (Equitable Advisors, LLC 2026 Firm Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A), March 2026).
What the fee includes, in each firm’s own words
Buckingham Strategic Wealth (Focus Partners Wealth, LLC Form ADV Part 2A Brochure, April 29, 2026): “Our fees are generally based on a percentage of the client’s assets under management with Focus Partners, generally as much as 1.25%; are negotiable; will vary from client to client, and are based on a number of factors, such as the client’s assets under Focus Partners’ management, scope of services to be provided, origins of the client relationship (including whether the client joined Focus Partners through a merger with another firm), and potential future revenues from the client relationship.”
Buckingham Strategic Wealth, LLC merged its advisory practice into Focus Partners Wealth, LLC on June 30, 2024; former Buckingham clients’ advisory agreements were assigned to Focus Partners, which is now the operating legal entity and CRD of record for what was Buckingham. Focus Partners’ current Form ADV discloses a single ceiling of ‘generally as much as 1.25%’ rather than a breakpoint table; rates are individually negotiated. The dollar figures apply the disclosed 1.25% ceiling as a flat rate to each balance (balance x 0.0125).
Equitable Advisors (Equitable Advisors, LLC 2026 Firm Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A), March 2026): “The Account Fee is customarily negotiable (in whole or in part). Each LPL Program as its own maximum Account Fee; the highest account fee in an LPL Program is 2.5% of the client’s account value on an annualized basis, and is usually payable quarterly in advance.”
Equitable Advisors’ current (March 2026) Form ADV Part 2A explicitly states in its Item 2 material-changes summary that its old advisory fee chart ‘has been removed and language has been added to provide for negotiability of fees.’ No per-tier, per-dollar-bracket schedule is published; clients invest through LPL advisory programs and the brochure states only a ceiling: the highest Account Fee across LPL Programs generally is 2.5% of account value annually (Retirement Plan/ERISA services are capped lower, generally 0.75%). dollar_at values apply this 2.5% ceiling uniformly (250,000 x 0.025 = $6,250; 500,000 x 0.025 = $12,500; 1,000,000 x 0.025 = $25,000; 2,000,000 x 0.025 = $50,000) as the worst-case/maximum figure a client could be charged; actual negotiated rates are typically lower and are not disclosed in bracket form anywhere in the brochure.
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, Buckingham Strategic Wealth runs $6,250 a year and Equitable Advisors runs $12,500 a year: a difference of $6,250 a year at that balance.
Want the full breakdown for either firm on its own? Read the Buckingham Strategic Wealth fee page or the Equitable Advisors 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 Equitable Advisors, or read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors.
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- Focus Partners Wealth, LLC Form ADV Part 2A Brochure (April 29, 2026): https://focus-financial.files.svdcdn.com/production/documents/Focus-Partners-Wealth-ADV-Part-2A-04.29.26.pdf?dm=1777575178
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Focus Partners Wealth, LLC (successor by merger to Buckingham Strategic Wealth, LLC, effective June 30, 2024) (CRD #159289): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/159289
- Equitable Advisors, LLC 2026 Firm Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A) (March 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1036195
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Equitable Advisors, LLC (CRD #6627): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/6627
Methodology. This page was built September 19, 2026, re-pairing figures already archived and independently verified for Buckingham Strategic Wealth and Equitable Advisors 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.