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Valmark Advisers Review (2026): Fees and SEC Registration

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Updated September 28, 2026. Quick answer: Valmark Advisers is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser (CRD #108050, confirmed ACTIVE this session via SEC IAPD). Per its own current fee brochure, a $500,000 account would run $9,750 a year under its published fee schedule. Already a client and thinking about leaving? Budget $50 at Schwab, or $150 at Pershing, depending on your custodian. This review covers what its own fee brochure and current SEC registration confirm today; it does not assess fiduciary status or account minimums.

Valmark Advisers at a glance

FactWhat Valmark Advisers’ own pages say
Legal entityValMark Advisers, Inc.
RegistrationValMark Advisers, Inc. is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser (CRD #108050, confirmed ACTIVE this session via SEC IAPD).
Fee on a $500,000 account$9,750 a year, per its own current brochure
Minimum to open an accountNot assessed in this review; see Item 5 of its Form ADV Part 2A
Cost to leave (exit fee)$50 at Schwab, or $150 at Pershing, depending on your custodian

What Valmark Advisers’ own fee schedule charges

The registrant is ValMark Advisers, Inc. of Akron, Ohio, the advisory arm of ValMark Securities, and it presents itself as Valmark Advisers. The priced schedule is the ACCESS program maximum, and the brochure says the firm provides portfolio management primarily to individuals, including high net worth individuals, and generally asks for a $50,000 initial ACCESS investment.

“These fees charged to the Client by Valmark and/or the IAR will not exceed these established percentages: Average Account Balance Total Annual Fee Will Not Exceed Less than $1,000,000 1.95% $1,000,001 to $2,000,000 1.75% $2,000,001 and above 1.50%”

The brochure states the fee as a set percentage of the total assets in the account, set by the average account balance, so each balance is priced at the single maximum percentage for its bracket applied to the whole balance rather than stacked by band. The printed bracket says less than $1,000,000 and the next begins at $1,000,001, so a balance of exactly $1,000,000 is priced in the lower bracket at 1.95%. The brochure discloses no minimum annual dollar fee, so no floor applies. These are maximums, not typical charges, because the fee is negotiated below them.

What the same brochure says about fees charged on top of this schedule: “Each VWS Strategist Portfolios manager utilized will also charge additional management fees, and in some cases, there will be additional transactional costs for trading securities in the account.” The table below is the firm’s own advisory fee schedule and does not include any such additional fee.

Account balanceAnnual fee
$250,000$4,875
$500,000$9,750
$1,000,000$19,500
$2,000,000$35,000

These figures come directly from Valmark Advisers’ own current fee brochure, cited in Sources below.

Registration

ValMark Advisers, Inc. is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser (CRD #108050, confirmed ACTIVE this session via SEC IAPD).

This is a registration confirmation only, not a fiduciary-standard verdict (a registered investment adviser can still be a dual registrant with a broker-dealer, which changes which standard applies in each capacity).

What it costs to leave

ValMark Advisers, Inc.’s Form ADV Part 2A states “Upon termination of any account, any prepaid, unearned fees will be handled in accordance with the applicable manager’s description of services.” ValMark Advisers, Inc. names two possible custodians in its brochure, with no single default. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.’s own published fee schedule states “Full transfer (out) of assets” Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC’s own published fee schedule states “Account Termination”

The general mechanics of switching financial advisors and a dated termination letter apply regardless of firm.

Other advisor-firm reviews

Read our review, this one too, and one more.

What we would compare it against

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Sources

Methodology. This page was built September 28, 2026, drawing directly on Valmark Advisers’ own current fee brochure, cited in Sources below, and a fresh SEC IAPD registration check run the same day. Where exit-fee facts are cited, they trace to the named custodian’s own published schedule. Any fact we could not independently confirm is named as an honest gap rather than presented as verified. Nothing here is personalized financial, tax, legal, or investment advice, and it is not a substitute for reading Valmark Advisers’ own Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS. We have not used Valmark Advisers as a client. Valmark Advisers did not pay for, review, or influence this content. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.