Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 23, 2026. Quick answer: Principal Securities discloses a tiered schedule starting at Up to 1.75% in its Form ADV Part 2A Firm Disclosure Brochure – Principal Direct Advisory Accounts (Item 5, SEI Investment Management Corporation Client Fee Schedule, Managed Account Solutions) (March 30, 2026). Converted to dollars, that runs $8,750 a year on a $500,000 account; see the full table below for $250,000, $1 million and $2 million.
The published numbers
From the Form ADV Part 2A Firm Disclosure Brochure – Principal Direct Advisory Accounts (Item 5, SEI Investment Management Corporation Client Fee Schedule, Managed Account Solutions) (March 30, 2026): “The annual fee Principal Securities charges under an investment adviser arrangement for each TPMM Program is listed below. Principal Securities, through its investment adviser arrangement with SEI, sets its advisory fee as a percent of the asset value of the client’s account at the end of each quarter. The advisory fee Principal Securities collects is negotiable, but will not exceed the following fee schedule (expressed as annualized fees): SEI Investment Management Corporation Client Fee Schedule, Managed Account Solutions – Asset Value / Principal Securities Fee: $0 – $149,999, Up to 1.75%; $150,000 – $249,999, Up to 1.75%; $250,000 – $500,000, Up to 1.75%; $500,001 – $999,999, Up to 1.20%; $1 million and up, Up to 1.10%.”
- $0 – $149,999: Up to 1.75%
- $150,000 – $249,999: Up to 1.75%
- $250,000 – $500,000: Up to 1.75%
- $500,001 – $999,999: Up to 1.20%
- $1 million and up: Up to 1.10%
What you would pay
| Account balance | Annual fee (dollars) | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $4,375 | 1.75% |
| $500,000 | $8,750 | 1.75% |
| $1,000,000 | $14,750 | 1.47% |
| $2,000,000 | $25,750 | 1.29% |
Treating the published breakpoints as marginal bands (the rate on each band applies only to the dollars within that band, consistent with how Principal Securities’ own wrap-fee brochure describes breakpoint reductions applying only to amounts above a threshold): the first three bands share the same 1.75% rate, so dollars $0 to $500,000 are charged at 1.75%, the next band $500,000 to $1,000,000 at 1.20%, and anything above $1,000,000 at 1.10%. At $250,000, all dollars are in the 1.75% band: 250000 x 0.0175 = 4375. At $500,000: 500000 x 0.0175 = 8750. At $1,000,000: (500000 x 0.0175) + (500000 x 0.0120) = 8750 + 6000 = 14750. At $2,000,000: (500000 x 0.0175) + (500000 x 0.0120) + (1000000 x 0.0110) = 8750 + 6000 + 11000 = 25750.
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, Principal Securities’s own published rate runs $8,750 a year.
Comparing Principal Securities against a full move? Read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors, or use a dated termination letter once you decide.
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 ADV Part 2A Firm Disclosure Brochure – Principal Direct Advisory Accounts (Item 5, SEI Investment Management Corporation Client Fee Schedule, Managed Account Solutions) (March 30, 2026): https://secure02.principal.com/publicvsupply/GetFile?fm=MM10943C&ty=VOP&EXT=.VOP
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Principal Securities, Inc. (CRD #1137): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/1137
- Principal Securities, Inc., SEC Form ADV filing: https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/1137/PDF/1137.pdf
Methodology. This page was built September 23, 2026, drawing on Principal Securities’s own SEC-filed disclosure and, where cited, its published fee schedule, with sources linked above; any figure 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. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.
Is Principal Securities a fiduciary? See what its own Form CRS says, and how that compares to what you would pay.
What does it take to open an account? See Principal Securities’s minimum investment, straight from its own Form ADV Part 2A brochure.
Weighing whether to move ahead? Read the full Principal Securities review, including its fiduciary status and what it costs to leave.
Comparing Principal Securities against other options? See Principal Securities alternatives, including a lower-fee full-service firm, a flat-fee route, and a robo/hybrid.
Thinking about leaving Principal Securities instead of pricing what you would pay to stay? See what it costs to leave, or read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors.