Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 19, 2026. Quick answer: Edward Jones is less expensive at $500,000: $6,875 a year, versus $11,875 a year for Cetera, 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: Buckingham Strategic Wealth vs Cetera Fees, Cetera vs Charles Schwab Fees and Cetera vs Creative Planning Fees.
What each firm charges, side by side
| Account balance | Cetera (annual fee) | Edward Jones (annual fee) |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $6,250 | $3,500 |
| $500,000 | $11,875 | $6,875 |
| $1,000,000 | $20,625 | $13,075 |
| $2,000,000 | $35,625 | $23,375 |
Cetera discloses a tiered schedule starting at 2.50% (Cetera Investment Advisers LLC Form ADV Part 2A Brochure, August 12, 2026); Edward Jones discloses a tiered schedule starting at 1.40% (Edward Jones Guided Solutions Flex Account Schedule of Fees, February 2025 (REV. FEB 2025, document IAS-10455O-A-FS)).
What the fee includes, in each firm’s own words
Cetera (Cetera Investment Advisers LLC Form ADV Part 2A Brochure, August 12, 2026): “Preferred Asset Management Program Advisory Fee Schedules Preferred Fee Schedule Account Size Maximum Annual Fee First $0 – $250,000 2.50% Next $250,001 – $500,000 2.25% Next $500,001 – $1,000,000 1.75% Next $1,000,001 – $2,500,000 1.50% Next $2,500,001 – $5,000,000 1.25% Next $5,000,001 – Over 1.00%”
This is the maximum allowable fee schedule for Cetera’s Preferred Asset Management Program (used as the representative program; Cetera discloses several similar programs – Prime, Premier, xMA – with slightly different max rates). It is a marginal/tiered schedule like a tax bracket: each dollar slice is billed at its own bracket’s rate and the amounts are summed. $250,000: 250,000×2.50%=$6,250. $500,000: $6,250 + (250,000×2.25%=$5,625) = $11,875. $1,000,000: +$8,750 (500,000×1.75%, the 500,001-1,000,000 slice) = $20,625. $2,000,000: +$15,000 (1,000,000×1.50%, the portion of the 1,000,001-2,500,000 slice up to $2,000,000) = $35,625. Bracket boundaries treated as contiguous $-width slices (e.g. 250,000 wide) for the arithmetic, consistent with how Cetera’s own brochure works a similar blended-fee example elsewhere in the document. Advisor may charge less; this is the stated maximum.
Edward Jones (Edward Jones Guided Solutions Flex Account Schedule of Fees, February 2025 (REV. FEB 2025, document IAS-10455O-A-FS)): “The Guided Solutions Flex Fee is comprised of the Program Fee and the Platform Fee, net of any applicable fee reduction or fee offset. The Program Fee is assessed beginning at an annual fee rate of 1.35%, payable monthly in arrears: First $250,000, 1.35%; Next $250,000, 1.30%; Next $500,000, 1.20%; Next $1,500,000, 1.00%; Next $2,500,000, 0.80%; Next $5,000,000, 0.60%; Over $10,000,000, 0.50%. A Platform Fee is charged on accounts enrolled in Guided Solutions Flex. This fee is in addition to the Program Fee. The Platform Fee is assessed beginning at an annual fee rate of 0.05%, payable monthly in arrears.”
Edward Jones’s Guided Solutions Flex Fee is a marginal (tiered) schedule: each bracket’s combined rate (Program Fee plus Platform Fee) applies only to the slice of assets inside that bracket, like a tax bracket, not the whole balance. Arithmetic: $250,000 pays 1.40% on the whole amount ($3,500, since it fits entirely in the first bracket); $500,000 pays $3,500 plus 1.35% on the next $250,000 ($3,375) for $6,875; $1,000,000 pays $6,875 plus 1.24% on the next $500,000 ($6,200) for $13,075; $2,000,000 pays $13,075 plus 1.03% on the next $1,000,000 ($10,300, since $2,000,000 still falls inside the $1,000,000-to-$2,500,000 bracket) for $23,375. Edward Jones also offers a separate, generally non-discretionary brokerage-style program (Guided Solutions Fund, mutual-fund-only) that carries the identical rate table; this page uses the broader Guided Solutions Flex version, which covers stocks, bonds, ETFs and mutual funds.
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, Cetera runs $11,875 a year and Edward Jones runs $6,875 a year: a difference of $5,000 a year at that balance.
Want the full breakdown for either firm on its own? Read the Cetera fee page or the Edward Jones 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 Edward Jones, or read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors.
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- Cetera Investment Advisers LLC Form ADV Part 2A Brochure (August 12, 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1054832
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Cetera Investment Advisers LLC (CRD #105644): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/105644
- Edward Jones Guided Solutions Flex Account Schedule of Fees (February 2025 (REV. FEB 2025, document IAS-10455O-A-FS)): https://www.edwardjones.com/us-en/disclosures
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P. (CRD #250): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/250
Methodology. This page was built September 19, 2026, re-pairing figures already archived and independently verified for Cetera and Edward Jones 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.