Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 18, 2026. Quick answer: Buckingham Strategic Wealth does not publish a minimum dollar amount to open an Investment Management Services account. Instead, it enforces a $5,000-a-year minimum fee, which becomes the real floor for smaller balances once the percentage schedule alone would charge less than that.
The minimum, in the firm’s own words
“Clients engaging Focus Partners for Investment Management Services are typically subject to a minimum fee of $5,000.”
Minimum investment and what it would cost
| Program | Minimum investment | Annual fee at that minimum | Waivable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investment Management Services | No published minimum account size | $5,000 minimum annual fee | N/A (fee floor, not account-size minimum) |
| Source: Focus Partners Wealth, LLC Form ADV Part 2A Brochure, April 29, 2026 | |||
Buckingham Strategic Wealth’s own fee schedule at other balances
| Account balance | Annual fee |
|---|---|
| $250,000 | $3,125 |
| $500,000 | $6,250 |
| $1,000,000 | $12,500 |
| $2,000,000 | $25,000 |
What else to know
Focus Partners (the successor entity to Buckingham Strategic Wealth) discloses a $5,000 minimum annual fee for this program, not a minimum account size. Its Institutional Consulting and Institutional OCIO models carry much higher, separate minimums ($25 million and $50 million respectively) that do not apply to general wealth-management clients.
What a larger account would cost
The minimum is only the entry point. On a $500,000 account, Buckingham Strategic Wealth’s own published fee schedule runs up to $6,250 a year (the published maximum, which the firm says is negotiable); see the full dollar breakdown from Buckingham Strategic Wealth’s own fee disclosure across several account sizes.
Already a client and thinking about the minimum a different way, like whether you could get a better deal elsewhere? Read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors, or use a dated termination letter once you decide.
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- Focus Partners Wealth, LLC Form ADV Part 2A Brochure (April 29, 2026): https://focus-financial.files.svdcdn.com/production/documents/Focus-Partners-Wealth-ADV-Part-2A-04.29.26.pdf?dm=1777575178
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Focus Partners Wealth, LLC (successor by merger to Buckingham Strategic Wealth, LLC) (CRD #159289): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/159289
- Focus Partners Wealth, LLC (successor by merger to Buckingham Strategic Wealth, LLC), SEC Form ADV filing: https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/159289/PDF/159289.pdf
Methodology. This page was built September 18, 2026, quoting directly from Buckingham Strategic Wealth’s own current Form ADV Part 2A / wrap-fee brochure, with the source linked above. The annual-fee-at-the-minimum figure applies that same brochure’s own published fee schedule to the disclosed minimum dollar amount; any distinction we could not independently confirm this session 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 the firm’s own Form ADV Part 2A. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.
Already decided to move on? See what it actually costs to leave Buckingham Strategic Wealth.
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Comparing Buckingham Strategic Wealth against other options? See Buckingham Strategic Wealth alternatives, including a lower-fee full-service firm, a flat-fee route, and a robo/hybrid.
How much do you need to open an account? Compare the minimum investment at 128 advisory firms, each taken from the firm’s own Form ADV Part 2A brochure.