Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 19, 2026. Quick answer: Vanguard Personal Advisor is less expensive at $500,000: $1,750 a year, versus $7,750 a year for Thrivent, 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.
More head-to-head fee comparisons: Equitable Advisors vs Vanguard Personal Advisor Fees, J.P. Morgan vs Vanguard Personal Advisor Fees and Kestra (Kestra Private Wealth Services / Kestra Advisory Services) vs Vanguard Personal Advisor Fees.
What each firm charges, side by side
| Account balance | Thrivent (annual fee) | Vanguard Personal Advisor (annual fee) |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $4,250 | $875 |
| $500,000 | $7,750 | $1,750 |
| $1,000,000 | $14,500 | $3,500 |
| $2,000,000 | $29,000 | $7,000 |
Thrivent discloses a tiered schedule starting at 2.00% (Thrivent Investment Management Inc. Managed Accounts Program Brochure, Form ADV Part 2A Appendix 1, July 2026); Vanguard Personal Advisor discloses a published gross rate of 0.35% (Vanguard Digital Advisor and Vanguard Personal Advisor Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A), 2026-08-20).
What the fee includes, in each firm’s own words
Thrivent (Thrivent Investment Management Inc. Managed Accounts Program Brochure, Form ADV Part 2A Appendix 1, July 2026): “You will be charged a Program Fee for each Account in the Program. The Program Fee will not exceed the applicable rate from the following fee schedule(s). Those maximums are the Advisor, Advisor Guided, SELECT, Income-Focused, Genesis, Shepherd, Impact and Shield schedule: Up to $99,999 2.00%, $100,000-$249,999 1.85%, $250,000-$499,999 1.70%, $500,000-$999,999 1.55%, $1,000,000-$2,999,999 1.45%, $3,000,000-$4,999,999 1.25%, $5,000,000-$9,999,999 1.00%, $10,000,000 and above 0.90%.”
Thrivent uses a breakpoint schedule: the single rate for your bracket applies to the whole balance, not just the amount above the breakpoint. These are the Maximum Program Fee rates on Thrivent’s Advisor, Advisor Guided, SELECT, Income-Focused, Genesis, Shepherd, Impact and Shield schedule, the one covering the programs open to new investors at the $25,000 minimum; the brochure states the Program Fee is negotiable, so an individual account can be lower. Thrivent’s separate SMA/UMA schedule runs higher, to a 2.50% maximum, and its Advantage schedule is closed to new investors. Optional Dedicated Planning Services is a separate fee component, but the brochure states the sum cannot exceed these same maximums. This is Thrivent Investment Management’s Managed Accounts Program (TIMI); the separate Thrivent Advisor Network channel discloses only a ceiling, not these breakpoints.
Vanguard Personal Advisor (Vanguard Digital Advisor and Vanguard Personal Advisor Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A), 2026-08-20): “Personal Advisor’s annual gross advisory fee for Vanguard Brokerage Accounts is 0.35% for its all‐index investment options and 0.40% for the exclusive active/index mix. … Enrollments in Personal Advisor require an aggregate $50,000 balance or greater” All-index investment option (any enrolled balance; $50,000 aggregate minimum to enroll): 0.35%; Active/index mix investment option (any enrolled balance): 0.40%.
Flat (non-tiered) gross advisory fee applied to the entire enrolled Vanguard Brokerage Account balance regardless of balance size: 0.35% for the all-index investment option (used here as the base case) or 0.40% if the active/index mix is elected. Dollar figures = balance x 0.0035. This is Vanguard’s disclosed gross fee before the affiliate-revenue credit that Vanguard also applies (which further lowers the net fee actually charged, per the same brochure); the gross rate is used here because it is the stated contractual rate, not an estimate.
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, Thrivent runs $7,750 a year and Vanguard Personal Advisor runs $1,750 a year: a difference of $6,000 a year at that balance.
Want the full breakdown for either firm on its own? Read the Thrivent fee page or the Vanguard Personal Advisor 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 Thrivent, or read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors.
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- Thrivent Investment Management Inc. Managed Accounts Program Brochure, Form ADV Part 2A Appendix 1 (July 2026): https://www.thrivent.com/files/24839.pdf
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Thrivent Investment Management Inc. (CRD #18387): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/18387
- Vanguard Digital Advisor and Vanguard Personal Advisor Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A) (2026-08-20): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1055528
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Vanguard Advisers, Inc. (CRD #106715): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/106715
Methodology. This page was built September 19, 2026, re-pairing figures already archived and independently verified for Thrivent and Vanguard Personal Advisor 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.