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Baird vs Voya Financial Advisors Fees: What Each Costs in Dollars at $250k, $500k, $1M

Guides › Financial Advisor Fees

Updated October 3, 2026. Quick answer: Baird is less expensive at $500,000: $10,000 a year, versus $13,750 a year for Voya Financial Advisors, computed from each firm’s own SEC-filed fee disclosure. See the full side-by-side table below for $250,000, $1 million and $2 million.

What each firm charges, side by side

Account balanceBaird (annual fee)Voya Financial Advisors (annual fee)
$250,000$5,000$6,875
$500,000$10,000$13,750
$1,000,000$20,000$26,250
$2,000,000$35,000$49,750

Baird discloses a tiered schedule starting at 2.00% (Baird Private Wealth Management Wrap Fee Program Brochure, Form ADV Part 2A Appendix 1, March 27, 2026); Voya Financial Advisors discloses a tiered schedule starting at 2.75% (Voya Financial Advisors, Inc. Part 2A Appendix 1 of Form ADV: Investor Center Wrap Fee Program Brochure (IC UMA Program), September 16, 2026).

What the fee includes, in each firm’s own words

Baird (Baird Private Wealth Management Wrap Fee Program Brochure, Form ADV Part 2A Appendix 1, March 27, 2026): “Baird generally offers two types of asset-based fee arrangements: a tiered fee schedule and a breakpoint fee schedule. Under a tiered fee schedule, the asset-based fee will vary for different segments of client assets, gradually decreasing as the Account balance increases. Tiered Advice Fee Schedule: First $1,000,000, 2.00%; Next $1,000,000, 1.50%; Next $3,000,000, 1.35%; Next $5,000,000, 1.25%; Above $10,000,000, 1.00%.”

This is Baird’s marginal (tiered) Advice Fee schedule, which applies across essentially all of Baird’s Private Wealth Management discretionary/advisory programs; each bracket’s rate applies only to the assets inside that bracket. Baird also publishes an alternative whole-balance Breakpoint Advice Fee Schedule (2.00% up to $1M, 1.75% from $1M to just under $2M, 1.50% at $2M and above) that a client and advisor may choose instead; this page uses the tiered version, the one named first in the brochure. For programs that layer on a separate Portfolio Fee (0.00% for several core programs, roughly 0.10% to 0.77% or more for SMA/UMA strategies), the total cost can run higher than the Advice Fee alone.

Voya Financial Advisors (Voya Financial Advisors, Inc. Part 2A Appendix 1 of Form ADV: Investor Center Wrap Fee Program Brochure (IC UMA Program), September 16, 2026): “Maximum Annual Total Client Fee Portfolio Value From To Annual Total Client Fee First $ 0-$ 250,000 2.75% Next $ 250,001-$ 500,000 2.75% Next $ 500,001-$ 1,000,000 2.50% Next $ 1,000,001-$ 2,000,000 2.35% Next $ 2,000,001-$ 5,000,000 2.10% Next $ 5,000,001-$ 10,000,000 2.05% Next $10,000,001 and over 2.00%”

Marginal/tiered schedule from VFA’s IC UMA Program wrap brochure table: each dollar band is billed only at its own rate (matching the Cambridge/industry convention for ‘Tiered Fee Structure’ presentation with First/Next bands). 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, Baird runs $10,000 a year and Voya Financial Advisors runs $13,750 a year: a difference of $3,750 a year at that balance.

Want the full breakdown for either firm on its own? Read the Baird fee page or the Voya Financial Advisors 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 Baird, or read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors.

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Sources

Methodology. This page was built October 3, 2026, re-pairing figures already archived and independently verified for Baird and Voya Financial Advisors 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.

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