Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated October 3, 2026. Quick answer: TIAA Wealth Management has the lower published fee at $500,000: $4,500 a year, versus up to $8,250 a year (the published maximum) for Northwestern Mutual, computed from each firm’s own SEC-filed fee disclosure. Where a firm publishes only a maximum rate, the figure shown is that maximum, and what you pay may be lower. See the full side-by-side table below for $250,000, $1 million and $2 million.
What each firm charges, side by side
| Account balance | Northwestern Mutual (annual fee) | TIAA Wealth Management (annual fee) |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | Up to $4,125 | $2,250 |
| $500,000 | Up to $8,250 | $4,500 |
| $1,000,000 | Up to $16,500 | $9,000 |
| $2,000,000 | Up to $33,000 | $16,000 |
Northwestern Mutual discloses a published maximum rate of 1.65% (Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company Private Client Services Disclosure Brochure, September 2026); TIAA Wealth Management discloses a tiered schedule starting at 0.90% (TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, Advice & Planning Services, Private Asset Management Disclosure Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A), March 31, 2026).
What the fee includes, in each firm’s own words
Northwestern Mutual (Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company Private Client Services Disclosure Brochure, September 2026): “NMWMC generally charges an annual Net Advisory Fee of no more than 1.65% on assets in a Private Client Services account. The corresponding annual Gross Advisory Fee is no more than 1.76% before the application of the 0.11% fee offset for proprietary investment management fees discussed below.”
Northwestern Mutual does not publish a public dollar-breakpoint schedule; the tiers on your account are negotiated with your advisor and recorded in a private Statement of Investment Selection. The figures above apply the disclosed 1.65% ceiling as a flat rate; your advisor may offer a lower custom schedule.
TIAA Wealth Management (TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, Advice & Planning Services, Private Asset Management Disclosure Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A), March 31, 2026): “The PAM Fee schedules for the discretionary accounts are provided below. They are subject to change with prior notice to materially impacted clients enrolled in PAM. … PAM Fee Blended Schedule Value Bracket Annual Fee as % First $1,000,000 of market value 0.90% Next $2,000,000 0.70% Next $2,000,000 0.50% Over $5,000,000 0.40%”
Marginal/tax-bracket-style tiers from the PAM Fee Blended Schedule (the Private Asset Management program run by TC Services, TIAA’s high-net-worth wealth-management arm, sub-advised by TIAA Wealth Investment Management LLC). TIAA Wealth Investment Management LLC (CRD 334925, SEC file 801-132296, the WIM sub-adviser entity) has no client-facing fee schedule of its own, it is paid a flat sub-advisory basis-point fee by TC Services/TIAA Trust; the PAM brochure sponsored by TC Services is the entity that actually bills clients and is the correct primary source for a buildable schedule. A separate ‘PAM Fee Exclusively Fixed Income Schedule’ (0.50%/0.35%/0.25%/0.20%/0.15% tiers) applies only to all-fixed-income accounts and was not used here. The dollar figures in the table apply the schedule’s rates to each balance.
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, Northwestern Mutual runs up to $8,250 a year (the published maximum) and TIAA Wealth Management runs $4,500 a year: a difference of $3,750 a year between those figures at that balance.
Want the full breakdown for either firm on its own? Read the Northwestern Mutual fee page or the TIAA Wealth Management fee page for the complete tier table and source citations.
Thinking about leaving one of these firms instead of pricing what you would pay to stay? See what it costs to leave Northwestern Mutual, or read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors.
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Answer againSources
- Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company Private Client Services Disclosure Brochure (September 2026): https://www.northwesternmutual.com/assets/pdf/brochures/private-client-services-disclosure.pdf
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (CRD #2881): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/2881
- TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, Advice & Planning Services, Private Asset Management Disclosure Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A) (March 31, 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1028127
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC (d/b/a Advice & Planning Services, sponsor of the Private Asset Management Program) (CRD #20472): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/20472
Methodology. This page was built October 3, 2026, re-pairing figures already archived and independently verified for Northwestern Mutual and TIAA Wealth Management from each firm’s own SEC-filed disclosure; sources linked above. Nothing here is personalized financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.