Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 19, 2026. Quick answer: Fidelity is less expensive at $500,000: $6,250 a year, versus $11,875 a year for Cetera, 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 balance | Cetera (annual fee) | Fidelity (annual fee) |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $6,250 | $3,750 |
| $500,000 | $11,875 | $6,250 |
| $1,000,000 | $20,625 | $11,750 |
| $2,000,000 | $35,625 | $20,750 |
Cetera discloses a tiered schedule starting at 2.50% (Cetera Investment Advisers LLC Form ADV Part 2A Brochure, August 12, 2026); Fidelity discloses a tiered schedule starting at 1.50% (capped at $6,250) (Fidelity Wealth Services Form ADV Part 2A Brochure (Strategic Advisers LLC), March 30, 2026).
What the fee includes, in each firm’s own words
Cetera (Cetera Investment Advisers LLC Form ADV Part 2A Brochure, August 12, 2026): “Preferred Asset Management Program Advisory Fee Schedules Preferred Fee Schedule Account Size Maximum Annual Fee First $0 – $250,000 2.50% Next $250,001 – $500,000 2.25% Next $500,001 – $1,000,000 1.75% Next $1,000,001 – $2,500,000 1.50% Next $2,500,001 – $5,000,000 1.25% Next $5,000,001 – Over 1.00%”
This is the maximum allowable fee schedule for Cetera’s Preferred Asset Management Program (used as the representative program; Cetera discloses several similar programs – Prime, Premier, xMA – with slightly different max rates). It is a marginal/tiered schedule like a tax bracket: each dollar slice is billed at its own bracket’s rate and the amounts are summed. $250,000: 250,000×2.50%=$6,250. $500,000: $6,250 + (250,000×2.25%=$5,625) = $11,875. $1,000,000: +$8,750 (500,000×1.75%, the 500,001-1,000,000 slice) = $20,625. $2,000,000: +$15,000 (1,000,000×1.50%, the portion of the 1,000,001-2,500,000 slice up to $2,000,000) = $35,625. Bracket boundaries treated as contiguous $-width slices (e.g. 250,000 wide) for the arithmetic, consistent with how Cetera’s own brochure works a similar blended-fee example elsewhere in the document. Advisor may charge less; this is the stated maximum.
Fidelity Wealth Management (Fidelity Wealth Services Form ADV Part 2A Brochure (Strategic Advisers LLC), March 30, 2026): “ANNUAL ADVISORY FEE SCHEDULE FOR PROGRAM ACCOUNTS: Wealth Management and Private Wealth Management. If Average Daily Assets total $500,000 or less: For Average Daily Assets from $0 to $500,000, 1.50% (up to a maximum of $6,250). If Average Daily Assets total more than $500,000: For the first $500,000, 1.25%; for the next $500,000, 1.10%; for the next $1,000,000, 0.90%.”
This is the Gross Advisory Fee; Fidelity applies a Credit Amount that can lower the Net Advisory Fee a client actually pays, which is not quantified in the public schedule.
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, Cetera runs $11,875 a year and Fidelity runs $6,250 a year: a difference of $5,625 a year at that balance.
Want the full breakdown for either firm on its own? Read the Cetera fee page or the Fidelity 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 Fidelity, or read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors.
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- Cetera Investment Advisers LLC Form ADV Part 2A Brochure (August 12, 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1054832
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Cetera Investment Advisers LLC (CRD #105644): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/105644
- Fidelity Wealth Services Form ADV Part 2A Brochure (Strategic Advisers LLC) (March 30, 2026): https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/FWS-program-fundamentals.pdf
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Strategic Advisers LLC (CRD #104555): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/104555
Methodology. This page was built September 19, 2026, re-pairing figures already archived and independently verified for Cetera and Fidelity 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.