Clear Money Guide
Guide and tool overview
See the questions covered here, then open the interactive utility.
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Updated July 7, 2026. Quick answer (2026): AUM fees are advisor fees based on assets under management. A 1.00% AUM fee costs about $5,000/year at $500k, $10,000/year at $1M, $20,000/year at $2M, and $30,000/year at $3M before fund, platform, overlay, trading, tax-prep, or implementation costs.
To compare that $500k AUM quote with total advisor fees and planning scope, see financial advisor fees for a $500k portfolio.
AUM can be simple to understand, but it is not automatically cheap or expensive. The useful question is what you pay in annual dollars, what planning work is included, what investment costs are separate, and whether a flat annual, retainer, hourly, project, or robo-supported model would include the same work for less.
What that rate costs you, in your own dollars
Percentages are hard to feel. The same rate that sounds small as a number is a specific amount of money leaving a specific account every year, and it compounds against you because the dollars taken out stop earning. Enter your balance and the rate you pay or have been quoted, and this converts it into dollars.
Reading your own fee schedule is the easy half.
Once you can read your own fee schedule, the useful next step is a second quote to compare it against. A matching service will introduce you to fiduciary advisors so you have a written comparison rather than a single quote.
Before you start, what actually happens. The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide is paid when you submit the form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. The matching service is free to you and there is no obligation to hire anyone.
The Kapitalwise form opens here. You stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It requests contact details and phone verification by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button. Submitting the form does not guarantee an adviser or a match.
AUM fee examples by balance
- AUM fees at $500k
- AUM fees at $1M
- AUM fees at $2M
- AUM fees at $3M
- AUM fees by balance
- Advisor fees by portfolio size
AUM fee cost table
| Portfolio balance | 1.00% AUM | 0.75% AUM | 0.50% AUM | What to compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500,000 | $5,000/year | $3,750/year | $2,500/year | Hourly/project planning and flat annual quotes. |
| $1,000,000 | $10,000/year | $7,500/year | $5,000/year | Flat annual planning, tax coordination, and implementation scope. |
| $2,000,000 | $20,000/year | $15,000/year | $10,000/year | Breakpoints, fund costs, platform costs, and service depth. |
| $3,000,000 | $30,000/year | $22,500/year | $15,000/year | Tax, estate, charitable, concentrated-stock, and implementation work. |
What an AUM fee should include
- Portfolio management, investment policy, rebalancing, and tax-aware implementation.
- Retirement income, Social Security, Roth conversions, RMDs, taxable withdrawals, and Medicare/IRMAA planning when relevant.
- Clear disclosure of fund costs, platform costs, overlay fees, trading costs, tax-prep fees, product compensation, and referral fees.
Calculator line: use the Financial advisor fee calculator, then compare AUM against the flat fee vs AUM break-even calculator and the 10-year advisor fee comparison.
Methodology
- We convert AUM percentages into annual dollar examples at common portfolio balances.
- We compare AUM against flat annual, retainer, hourly, project, and robo-supported pricing by first-year cost and written scope.
- This page was materially reviewed on July 7, 2026. It is educational, not personalized financial, tax, legal, or investment advice.
Editorial standards: Editorial Policy
Inside a UMA or wrap program? Use the UMA platform cost guide to unstack the program, manager, and advisor fee layers before comparing the total with a single AUM quote.
What the filings actually say. We measured the fee schedules 176 SEC-registered advisers publish in their Form ADV Part 2A filings: at $250,000 only 28.4% disclose a fee you can price at all, and the weighted median annual cost among those that do is $2,000 to $2,500. The full benchmark, with method.