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Merit Financial Advisors Fees (2026): What You Pay in Dollars at $250k, $500k, $1M

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Updated September 28, 2026. Quick answer: Merit Financial Advisors discloses a maximum, individually negotiated rate of 2.5% in its Form ADV Part 2A (June 8, 2026). Converted to dollars, that runs $12,500 a year on a $500,000 account; see the full table below for $250,000, $1 million and $2 million.

Fee schedules at comparable advisory firms: LPL Financial Fees (2026), M1 Finance Fees (2026) and Mariner Wealth Advisors Fees (2026).

The published numbers

From the Form ADV Part 2A (June 8, 2026): “The annual investment advisory fee charged ranges up to a maximum of 2.50% of the assets held in the account.”

Note: CRD 142457 is ACTIVE and SEC-registered (Approved 1/31/2007), confirmed live via IAPD on 2026-09-28. The brochure dated June 8, 2026 states total AUM of $10,576,048,244 (about $10.58 billion) as of December 31, 2024. No dollar minimum fee is stated for the direct asset management fee; Item 7 notes the firm may impose a minimum fee or minimum account balance but discloses no figure.

The published maximum: 2.5% per year (Clients of independent-contractor IARs also pay a separate platform fee of 0.25% (Merit corporate-managed accounts) to 0.35% (IAR-managed accounts) of AUM, disclosed as additive to the advisory fee. That platform fee is not included in the dollar figures below, which price the direct asset management fee only.).

What you would pay

Account balanceAnnual fee (dollars)Effective rate
$250,000$6,2502.50%
$500,000$12,5002.50%
$1,000,000$25,0002.50%
$2,000,000$50,0002.50%

Merit’s Item 5 sets a single stated ceiling of up to 2.50% of AUM for its direct asset management fee, so the figures below price a new client at that maximum rate; no dollar minimum fee applies to override it.

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, Merit Financial Advisors’s own published maximum rate runs up to $12,500 a year.

Comparing Merit Financial Advisors against a full move? Read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors, or use a dated termination letter once you decide.

Compare your next step

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Just comparing fees? Keep reading the fee guide.

Sources

Methodology. This page was built September 28, 2026, drawing on Merit Financial Advisors’s own SEC-filed disclosure and, where cited, its published fee schedule, with sources linked above; any figure we could not independently confirm this session is named as an honest gap rather than presented as verified. Nothing here is personalized financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.

Thinking about leaving Merit Financial Advisors instead of pricing what you would pay to stay? See what it costs to leave, or read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors.

Weighing whether to move ahead? Read the full Merit Financial Advisors review.

Is Merit Financial Advisors a fiduciary? See what its own Form CRS says, and how that compares to what you would pay.

What does it take to open an account? See Merit Financial Advisors’s minimum investment, straight from its own Form ADV Part 2A brochure.

Comparing Merit Financial Advisors against other options? See Merit Financial Advisors alternatives, including a lower-fee full-service firm, a flat-fee route and a robo/hybrid.