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. Waverly Advisors, LLC’s Form ADV Part 2A states “The Investment Advisory Agreement continues until terminated upon written notice by either party in accordance with its terms.” Waverly Advisors, LLC names six possible custodians in its brochure, with no single default: Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC / National Financial Services, LLC, Charles Schwab and Company, Inc., Mid Atlantic Trust Company, Pershing Advisor Solutions, LLC, Raymond James and Associates, Inc., and Trade-PMR, Inc. 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 Solutions LLC’s own current fee schedule. If you are custodied at Raymond James, budget $125.00 per account, per Steward Partners Investment Solutions, LLC’s own fee schedule for Raymond James-custodied accounts, which states that the fees it lists are the fees charged by Raymond James. Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC / National Financial Services LLC’s own published fee schedule has no comparable line item for a full transfer-out, an honest gap rather than a confirmed $0. No primary-source public fee schedule was located for Mid Atlantic Trust Company, an honest gap rather than a confirmed figure. No primary-source public fee schedule was located for Trade-PMR, Inc., an honest gap rather than a confirmed figure.
The published numbers
From Waverly Advisors, LLC’s own Waverly Advisors, LLC, “Form ADV Part 2A, Brochure” (August 19, 2026), Item 5, Fees and Compensation, “General Advisory Fee Related Terms” (pages 18-19): “The Investment Advisory Agreement continues until terminated upon written notice by either party in accordance with its terms. Clients incur a pro rata charge for services rendered prior to termination; if the Advisory Fee was paid in advance, the client receives a pro-rated refund for the unexpired portion of the billing period.” The same brochure names its custodians (Item 12(A), Brokerage Practices, “Recommendations of Brokers, Dealers or Custodians” (pages 51-52)): “Adviser generally recommends the following Institutional Brokers/Custodians: 1) Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, and National Financial Services, LLC (collectively “Fidelity”) 2) Charles Schwab and Company, Inc. (“Schwab”) 3) Mid Atlantic Trust Company (“MATC”) 4) Pershing Advisor Solutions, LLC (“Pershing”) 5) Raymond James and Associates, Inc. (“Raymond James”) 6) Trade-PMR, Inc. (“Trade-PMR”)” From Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.’s own Charles Schwab, “Pricing Guide for Clients of Independent Investment Advisors” (July 2026): “Full transfer (out) of assets: $50 per account.” From Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC’s own Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC, “Schedule of Maximum Charges”: “Account Termination $150.00 per account.” From Steward Partners Investment Solutions, LLC, “Fee Schedule (Raymond James)” (July 21, 2025): “ACAT Outgoing Transfer 1 $125 $125” Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC / National Financial Services LLC’s own Fidelity, “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. No primary-source public fee schedule was located for Mid Atlantic Trust Company; left as an honest gap rather than assumed to be $0. No primary-source public fee schedule was located for Trade-PMR, Inc.; left as an honest gap rather than assumed to be $0.
| What | Figure |
|---|---|
| Waverly Advisors’ 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 Charles Schwab, “Pricing Guide for Clients of Independent Investment Advisors” (July 2026)) |
| Full transfer-out at Pershing | $150.00 per account (Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC’s own Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC, “Schedule of Maximum Charges”) |
| Full transfer-out at Raymond James | $125.00 (“ACAT Outgoing Transfer”) (Steward Partners Investment Solutions, LLC, “Fee Schedule (Raymond James)” (July 21, 2025)) |
| Full transfer-out at Fidelity | Honest gap: no comparable line item found |
| Full transfer-out at Mid Atlantic Trust Company | Honest gap: no comparable line item found |
| Full transfer-out at Trade-PMR | 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 Waverly Advisors charges before you decide whether to leave? See the dollar breakdown from Waverly Advisors’ own fee disclosure.
Sources
- Waverly Advisors, LLC, “Form ADV Part 2A, Brochure” (August 19, 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1056528
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Waverly Advisors, LLC firm summary (CRD 115332): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/115332
- 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
- Steward Partners Investment Solutions, LLC, “Fee Schedule (Raymond James)” (July 21, 2025): https://www.stewardpartners.com/files/118678/Fee%20Schedule%20RJ%2098000_20250721.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 Waverly Advisors’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.
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