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. Hornor, Townsend & Kent, LLC’s Form ADV Part 2A states “The Investment Advisory Agreement can be terminated by either party upon written notice to the other party.” Hornor, Townsend & Kent, LLC names exactly one custodian in its brochure: Pershing LLC. If you are custodied at Pershing, budget $150.00 per account, per Pershing LLC’s own current fee schedule.
The published numbers
From Hornor, Townsend & Kent, LLC’s own Wrap Fee Program Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A Appendix 1) (April 24, 2026), “Termination” subsection (page 5): “The Investment Advisory Agreement can be terminated by either party upon written notice to the other party. Clients will receive a pro-rated refund of any quarterly advisory fees assessed, based upon the number of days remaining in the quarter after the termination date.” The same brochure names its custodian (Item 12, Brokerage Practices, “Clearing and Custodial Arrangements” (pages 18-21); Item 15, Custody (page 22)): “Pershing serves as the correspondent clearing firm for HTK. HTK introduces client transactions to Pershing for clearing… and use Pershing for custodial and execution services.” From Pershing LLC’s own Schedule of Maximum Charges: “Account Termination $150.00 per account.”
| What | Figure |
|---|---|
| Hornor, Townsend & Kent’s own exit charge | $0.00 extra: pro-rated refund of any prepaid fee (Form ADV) |
| Full transfer-out at Pershing | $150.00 per account (“Account Termination”) (Pershing LLC’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 Hornor, Townsend & Kent charges before you decide whether to leave? See the dollar breakdown from Hornor, Townsend & Kent’s own fee disclosure.
Sources
- Hornor, Townsend & Kent, LLC, “Wrap Fee Program Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A Appendix 1)” (April 24, 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1042721
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Hornor, Townsend & Kent, LLC firm summary (CRD 4031): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/4031
- 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 Hornor, Townsend & Kent’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 Hornor, Townsend & Kent, check whether it owes you a fiduciary duty in the first place.
What does it take to open an account? See Hornor, Townsend & Kent’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.