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. Foster Group, Inc.’s Form ADV Part 2A states “Either the client or Advisor may terminate the Investment Advisory Agreement under the following circumstances: 1) by a mutual agreement of both the client and Advisor 2) by either party giving verbal or written notice to the other party specifying the date of termination, with verbal notice being confirmed by written notice within 30 days.” Foster Group, Inc. names two possible custodians in its brochure, with no single default: Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., and Pershing Advisor Services, LLC (a division of BNY Mellon). 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 Advisor Services, LLC (a division of BNY Mellon)’s own current fee schedule.
The published numbers
From Foster Group, Inc.’s own Part 2A Form ADV: Disclosure Brochure (March 25, 2026), Item 5, Fees and Compensation, “Termination of Advisory Agreement” (page 16): “Either the client or Advisor may terminate the Investment Advisory Agreement under the following circumstances: 1) by a mutual agreement of both the client and Advisor 2) by either party giving verbal or written notice to the other party specifying the date of termination, with verbal notice being confirmed by written notice within 30 days.” The same brochure names its custodians (Item 12, Brokerage Practices, “Recommending Brokerage Firms” (page 22)): “Advisor typically recommends that clients establish an account with Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. (“Schwab”) or Pershing Advisor Services, LLC, a division of BNY Mellon and its affiliates (“Pershing”). Charles Schwab & Co. Inc is an independent FINRA registered broker dealer, member SIPC. Advisor is separate and unaffiliated with Schwab and Pershing.” 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 Advisor Services, LLC (a division of BNY Mellon)’s own Schedule of Maximum Charges: “Account Termination $150.00 per account.”
| What | Figure |
|---|---|
| Foster Group’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 Advisor Services, LLC (a division of BNY Mellon)’s own Schedule of Maximum Charges) |
| 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 Foster Group charges before you decide whether to leave? See the dollar breakdown from Foster Group’s own fee disclosure.
Sources
- Foster Group, Inc., “Part 2A Form ADV: Disclosure Brochure” (March 25, 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1025669
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Foster Group, Inc. firm summary (CRD 107148): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/107148
- 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
Methodology. This page was built September 28, 2026, drawing on Foster Group’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 Foster Group, check whether it owes you a fiduciary duty in the first place.
What does it take to open an account? See Foster Group’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.