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Is Rockefeller Capital Management a Fiduciary? What Its Own Form CRS Says (2026)

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Updated September 23, 2026. Quick answer: It depends which hat Rockefeller Capital Management is wearing. As your investment adviser, Rockefeller Capital Management owes you a fiduciary duty under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. As your broker-dealer, Rockefeller Capital Management owes you Regulation Best Interest, a real and enforceable standard, but not a fiduciary duty. Rockefeller Capital Management’s own Form CRS states: “When we provide you with a recommendation as your broker-dealer or act as your investment adviser, we have to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours.”

How it’s registered

From Rockefeller Capital Management Form CRS (Rockefeller Financial LLC and Rockefeller & Co. LLC) (Revised August 25, 2025): “Rockefeller Financial is dually registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as an investment adviser and broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”).”

Rockefeller Capital Management’s Form CRS is a single combined document for two affiliated legal entities: Rockefeller Financial LLC (CRD 291361, dual broker-dealer and investment adviser, the entity cited here and on the already-live fee page) and Rockefeller & Co. LLC (a separate, investment-adviser-only CRD, not examined here).

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 have to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours.”

On commissions: “Rockefeller Financial PAs receive compensation based on a percentage of eligible revenue earned on advisory and brokerage activities attributable to accounts they service.”

Fiduciary status by capacity

CapacityRegistrationStandard you’re owedCan earn commissionsSource
As your broker-dealerSEC-registered broker-dealerRegulation Best Interest (not a fiduciary duty)YesRockefeller Capital Management Form CRS (Rockefeller Financial LLC and Rockefeller & Co. LLC), Revised August 25, 2025
As your investment adviserSEC-registered investment adviserFiduciary duty (Investment Advisers Act of 1940)No (asset-based advisory fee: up to $10,350 a year, 2.07% on a $500,000 account, the sum of the firm’s published maximum fee components)Rockefeller Capital Management Form CRS (Rockefeller Financial LLC and Rockefeller & Co. LLC), Revised August 25, 2025

What this means for what you pay

Fiduciary status is one input, not the whole picture. Rockefeller Capital Management discloses a published fee that runs up to $10,350 a year on a $500,000 account (the sum of the firm’s published maximum fee components); see the full dollar breakdown from Rockefeller Capital Management’s own fee disclosure before deciding whether the standard of conduct here changes your answer.

If the answer above changes your mind about staying, read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors, or use a dated termination letter once you decide.

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Sources

Methodology. This page was built September 23, 2026, quoting directly from Rockefeller Capital Management’s 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 take to open an account? See Rockefeller Capital Management’s minimum investment, straight from its own Form ADV Part 2A brochure.

Weighing whether to move ahead? Read the full Rockefeller Capital Management review, including its fiduciary status and what it costs to leave.

Comparing Rockefeller Capital Management against other options? See Rockefeller Capital Management alternatives, including a lower-fee full-service firm, a flat-fee route, and a robo/hybrid.

Already with Rockefeller Capital Management and weighing a move? How to leave Rockefeller Capital Management covers what it costs to transfer out.