Charles Schwab vs MassMutual Fees: What Each Costs in Dollars at $250k, $500k, $1M

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Updated September 19, 2026. Quick answer: Charles Schwab is less expensive at $500,000: $4,000 a year, versus $10,350 a year for MassMutual, 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

Charles Schwab discloses a tiered schedule starting at 0.80% (Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Disclosure Brochure for the Schwab Wealth Advisory Wrap Fee Program, June 30, 2026 (Standard SWA Fee Schedule effective October 1, 2024)); MassMutual discloses a maximum, individually negotiated rate of 2.07% (MML Investors Services, LLC – MMLIS Wealth Management Services Portfolio Solutions Programs Wrap Fee Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A Appendix 1), July 10, 2026).

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

Charles Schwab (Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Disclosure Brochure for the Schwab Wealth Advisory Wrap Fee Program, June 30, 2026 (Standard SWA Fee Schedule effective October 1, 2024)): “Standard SWA Fee Schedule (effective October 1, 2024): Amounts up to US$1 million, 0.80%; Next US$1 million (more than US$1M up to US$2M), 0.75%; Next US$3 million (more than US$2M up to US$5M), 0.70%; Next US$5 million (more than US$5M up to US$10M), 0.50%; Next US$15 million (more than US$10M up to US$25M), 0.30%; Assets over US$25 million, 0.30% (or less, as negotiated). The SWA Fee is subject to a quarterly minimum, which represents the minimum amount charged for the advisory services provided during a quarter. The quarterly minimum is equal to the lesser of: $1,000, or 1.60% of your total billable assets, calculated on a quarterly basis.”

Schwab Wealth Advisory (SWA) bills a marginal (tiered) schedule, but every account is also subject to a quarterly minimum equal to the lesser of $1,000 or 1.6% of that quarter’s billable assets, which for any balance above about $62,500 works out to a flat $1,000-a-quarter ($4,000-a-year) floor. At $250,000, the marginal schedule alone would compute to $2,000 a year, but the $4,000 floor overrides it, so $4,000 is what is actually billed. At $500,000, the marginal schedule and the floor land on the same number, $4,000, by design: Schwab sets SWA’s own account minimum at $500,000. At $1,000,000 and $2,000,000, the marginal schedule exceeds the floor, so the schedule rate applies directly ($8,000 and $8,000 plus 0.75% on the next $1,000,000, or $15,500). Clients enrolled before October 1, 2024 sit on a different, Grandfathered SWA Fee Schedule; the figures here are for current, Standard enrollees.

MassMutual (MML Investors Services, LLC – MMLIS Wealth Management Services Portfolio Solutions Programs Wrap Fee Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A Appendix 1), July 10, 2026): “The Client Fee includes an Execution, Clearing and Custody Fee of 0.06%, a negotiable Advisory Fee up to a maximum of 1.54%, and any applicable fees to Strategists. … Strategist Fees range from 0.05% to 0.47%.”

MMLIS’s Client Fee for the Portfolio Solutions Programs is built from three disclosed components rather than one published schedule: a fixed 0.06% Execution/Clearing/Custody Fee, a negotiable Advisory Fee capped at 1.54% of AUM, and a Strategist Fee ranging 0.05%-0.47% depending on which asset-allocation model/strategist is selected (or 0% if none). Worst-case ceiling = 0.06% + 1.54% + 0.47% = 2.07%, applied uniformly to compute dollar_at as the maximum a client could be charged (250000*0.0207=5175; 500000*0.0207=10350; 1000000*0.0207=20700; 2000000*0.0207=41400). A client’s actual fee would typically be lower depending on the negotiated Advisory Fee and the Strategist Fee of the specific model chosen.

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, Charles Schwab runs $4,000 a year and MassMutual runs $10,350 a year: a difference of $6,350 a year at that balance.

Want the full breakdown for either firm on its own? Read the Charles Schwab fee page or the MassMutual 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 Charles Schwab, or read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors.

Sources

• Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Disclosure Brochure for the Schwab Wealth Advisory Wrap Fee Program (June 30, 2026 (Standard SWA Fee Schedule effective October 1, 2024)): https://www.schwab.com/transparency
• SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (CRD #5393): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/5393
• MML Investors Services, LLC – MMLIS Wealth Management Services Portfolio Solutions Programs Wrap Fee Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A Appendix 1) (July 10, 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1051357
• SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, MML Investors Services, LLC (CRD #10409): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/10409

Methodology. This page was built September 19, 2026, re-pairing figures already archived and independently verified for Charles Schwab and MassMutual 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.