Guides › Switching Financial Advisors
Updated September 28, 2026. Quick answer: you open an account at the receiving firm and sign the transfer form there; the new firm pulls the account through ACATS. Cresset Asset Management, LLC’s Form ADV Part 2A states “In general, an engagement agreement can be terminated by either party at any time, by providing advance written notice to the other party.” Cresset Asset Management, LLC names three possible custodians in its brochure, with no single default: Fidelity Family Office Services (Fidelity), Pershing LLC, and Schwab Advisor Family Office (Schwab). If you are custodied at Schwab, budget $50.00 per account, per Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.’s own current fee schedule. If you are custodied at Pershing, budget $150.00 per account, per Pershing LLC’s own current fee schedule. Fidelity Family Office Services’ own published fee schedule has no comparable line item for a full transfer-out, an honest gap rather than a confirmed $0.
The published numbers
From Cresset Asset Management, LLC’s own Form ADV Part 2A Brochure (March 27, 2026), Item 4, Advisory Business, “Termination of Services” (page 8): “In general, an engagement agreement can be terminated by either party at any time, by providing advance written notice to the other party. The Client can terminate the agreement within five (5) business days of signing the engagement agreement at no cost to the Client if the Client first received this Brochure at the time of signing. After the five-day period, the Client will incur charges for bona fide advisory services rendered to the point of termination and such fees will be due and payable by the Client.” The same brochure names its custodians (Item 12, Brokerage Practices, “Recommendation of Custodian(s)” (page 43)): “Cresset will generally recommend that Clients establish their account(s) at Fidelity Family Office Services, a division of Fidelity Clearing and Custody Services, a part of Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC (together with all affiliates “Fidelity”), Pershing LLC (“Pershing”) and Schwab Advisor Family Office (“Schwab”), each a FINRA-registered broker-dealer and member of Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).” From Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.’s own Pricing Guide for Clients of Independent Investment Advisors: “Full transfer (out) of assets: $50 per account.” From Pershing LLC’s own Schedule of Maximum Charges: “Account Termination $150.00 per account.” Fidelity Family Office Services’ own Brokerage Commission and Fee Schedule contains no comparable line item for a full account transfer out; left as an honest gap rather than assumed to be $0.
| What | Figure |
|---|---|
| Cresset Asset Management’s own exit charge | $0.00 extra: pro-rated refund of any prepaid fee (Form ADV) |
| Full transfer-out at Schwab | $50.00 per account (Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.’s own Pricing Guide for Clients of Independent Investment Advisors) |
| Full transfer-out at Pershing | $150.00 per account (“Account Termination”) (Pershing LLC’s own Schedule of Maximum Charges) |
| Full transfer-out at Fidelity | Honest gap: no comparable line item found |
| ACATS validation and completion window | 1 day to validate, 3 days to complete under FINRA Rule 11870 (measured in business days) |
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Source: WiserAdvisor’s service descriptionThe sequence
1. Pull a current statement for every account, showing the exact registration, account numbers and complete holdings list. 2. Check the holdings for anything that will not move. Ask the receiving firm directly: “Can you hold every position on this statement?” Anything they cannot hold has to be sold, and in a taxable account that is a realised gain in the year you switch: the categories that commonly do not transfer. 3. Open the receiving account and sign the transfer form there. Under FINRA Rule 11870 the delivering firm then has one business day to validate and three business days after validation to complete. 4. Send a dated termination letter for the record: the generator writes it, and confirm in writing that billing has stopped.
Two things to get right
Cost basis. Under IRC §6045A the delivering broker must furnish a transfer statement carrying basis for covered securities within 15 days of the transfer. Keep your final statements anyway, and check the first statement at the new firm for positions showing a missing or zero basis. Retirement accounts move as a direct transfer, trustee to trustee, not as a distribution to you. Why that distinction matters. Whether a transfer fee is worth paying at all is a question of what you are moving to: our benchmark of published adviser fee schedules puts the weighted median annual cost near $2,000 to $2,500 on $250,000: the benchmark. The general mechanics: switching financial advisors.
Want to know what Cresset Asset Management charges before you decide whether to leave? See the dollar breakdown from Cresset Asset Management’s own fee disclosure.
Sources
- Cresset Asset Management, LLC, “Form ADV Part 2A Brochure” (March 27, 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1029832
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Cresset Asset Management, LLC firm summary (CRD 288566): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/288566
- Charles Schwab, “Pricing Guide for Clients of Independent Investment Advisors” (July 2026): https://disclosures.schwab.com/SchwabDashboard/61256/REG23060SI.pdf
- Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC, “Schedule of Maximum Charges”: https://www.pershing.com/content/dam/pershing/documents/pdfs/disclosures/pas-schedule-of-maximum-charges.pdf
- Fidelity, “Brokerage Commission and Fee Schedule”: https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/Brokerage_Commissions_Fee_Schedule.pdf
Methodology. This page was built September 28, 2026, drawing on Cresset Asset Management’s own Form ADV/wrap-fee brochure/fee schedule plus each named custodian’s own published fee schedule, with sources linked inline; any figure we could not independently confirm this session on a firm-owned or custodian-owned document is named as an honest gap above rather than presented as verified. Nothing here is personalized financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.
Before you decide to leave Cresset Asset Management, check whether it owes you a fiduciary duty in the first place.
What does it take to open an account? See Cresset Asset Management’s minimum investment, straight from its own Form ADV Part 2A brochure.
Leaving a different firm? See the exit guides for all 189 firms, with the four steps every exit shares.