Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 19, 2026. Quick answer: Equitable Advisors is registered with the SEC as both a broker-dealer and an investment adviser. Per its own current fee brochure, a $500,000 account would run up to $12,500 a year (the published maximum, which the firm says is negotiable) under its published fee schedule; the minimum to open an account is no fixed published minimum for LPL Programs. Already a client and thinking about leaving? Budget $150 per account (retirement or not). Is it a fiduciary? Yes, when it is acting as your investment adviser; when the same representative acts as your broker-dealer instead, the applicable standard is best-interest, not fiduciary, and its own Form CRS states representatives can earn commissions in that capacity.
Equitable Advisors at a glance
| Fact | What Equitable Advisors’ own pages say |
|---|---|
| Legal entity | Equitable Advisors, LLC |
| Registration | Equitable Advisors, LLC (member FINRA, SIPC) (Equitable Financial Advisors in MI & TN), a broker-dealer and investment adviser registered with the SEC. |
| Fee on a $500,000 account | Up to $12,500 a year (the published maximum, which the firm says is negotiable), per its own current brochure |
| Minimum to open an account | No fixed published minimum for LPL Programs |
| Cost to leave (exit fee) | $150 per account (retirement or not) |
What Equitable Advisors’ own fee schedule charges
“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.
| Account balance | Annual fee |
|---|---|
| $250,000 | $6,250 |
| $500,000 | $12,500 |
| $1,000,000 | $25,000 |
| $2,000,000 | $50,000 |
See the full breakdown, including how the figure is calculated, on Equitable Advisors’ own fee page.
Is Equitable Advisors a fiduciary?
Equitable Advisors, LLC (member FINRA, SIPC) (Equitable Financial Advisors in MI & TN), a broker-dealer and investment adviser registered with the SEC.
“When we provide you with a recommendation as your broker-dealer, we must act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours. At the same time, the way we make money inherently creates some conflicts with your interests.”
Commission for each trade. In connection with brokerage accounts, the firm and your FP typically (see exceptions discussed above) make money in the form of a commission each time you place a trade (even initial purchases are “trades”).
Full detail, including the exact registration type and source: Equitable Advisors’ fiduciary status, explained.
The minimum to open an account
“Each TAMP program and LPL program has its own minimum account size, but the minimums do not vary based on the type of client. Please refer to the applicable LPL Program brochure or the applicable TAMP’s Form ADV Part 2A, or equivalent program brochure, for details regarding the minimum account size for each program, or contact your Equitable Advisors IAR.”
No fixed published minimum for LPL Programs. See the full minimum-investment breakdown, including what that minimum would cost per year, on Equitable Advisors’ minimum investment page.
What it costs to leave
Equitable Advisors prices an outgoing account transfer at $150, a fee its own schedule explicitly says excludes retirement accounts, and charges the same $150 again under a separate “IRA/QRP and 403(b)(7) Termination” line for retirement accounts specifically.
Full mechanics, sources, and the ACATS transfer process: how to leave Equitable Advisors.
What we would compare it against
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- 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
- Form CRS (Client Relationship Summary) (March 2026 (inferred; the document has no explicit “Effective Date” statement, but its footer print code reads “GE-20260331.1 | G3468450 | Cat. #165454 (3/26)”)): https://files.brokercheck.finra.org/crs_6627.pdf
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Equitable Advisors, LLC (CRD #6627): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/6627
- Equitable Advisors, LLC, SEC Form ADV filing: https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/6627/PDF/6627.pdf
Methodology. This page was built September 19, 2026, drawing directly on Equitable Advisors’ own current fee brochure and Form CRS, both linked above, plus this site’s own already-published fiduciary, minimum-investment, and (where one exists) how-to-leave pages for the same firm, each independently sourced when it was built. 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 Equitable Advisors’ own Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS. We have not used Equitable Advisors as a client. Equitable Advisors did not pay for, review, or influence this content. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.
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