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Updated September 19, 2026. Quick answer: TIAA Wealth Management is less expensive at $500,000: $4,500 a year, versus $11,250 a year for Commonwealth Financial Network, 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 | Commonwealth Financial Network (annual fee) | TIAA Wealth Management (annual fee) |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $5,625 | $2,250 |
| $500,000 | $11,250 | $4,500 |
| $1,000,000 | $17,500 | $9,000 |
| $2,000,000 | $30,000 | $16,000 |
Commonwealth Financial Network discloses a tiered schedule starting at 2.25% (Commonwealth Financial Network Form ADV Part 2A Brochure, March 30, 2026); TIAA Wealth Management discloses a tiered schedule starting at 0.90% (TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC – Advice & Planning Services – Private Asset Management Disclosure Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A), March 31, 2026).
What the fee includes, in each firm’s own words
Commonwealth Financial Network (Commonwealth Financial Network Form ADV Part 2A Brochure, March 30, 2026): “PPS Program Fee Schedules Following are the maximum allowable fee schedules for the various PPS programs. PPS Custom Program (Transactions) The maximum allowable annual management fee schedule for a new PPS Custom Program (Transactions) account is: Account Value Maximum Annual Management Fee Greater than or equal to Less than $0 $750,000 2.25% $750,000 $1,000,000 2.00% $1,000,000 $2,000,000 1.75% $2,000,000 – 1.50%”
This is Commonwealth’s disclosed maximum allowable annual management fee for the PPS Custom Program (Transactions), a whole-balance breakpoint schedule (the single rate for the bracket the account value falls into applies to the entire balance, per the brochure’s own worked breakpoint-schedule example on the preceding page). $250,000 and $500,000 both fall in the $0-<$750,000 bracket -> x2.25% = $5,625 and $11,250. $1,000,000 falls in the >=$1,000,000 and <$2,000,000 bracket -> x1.75% = $17,500. $2,000,000 falls in the >=$2,000,000 bracket -> x1.50% = $30,000. All Commonwealth advisory program management fees are stated to be negotiable between advisor and client, so this is a maximum, not necessarily what every client pays.
TIAA Wealth Management (TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC – Advice & Planning Services – Private Asset Management Disclosure Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A), March 31, 2026): “The PAM Fee schedules for the discretionary accounts are provided below. They are subject to change with prior notice to materially impacted clients enrolled in PAM. … PAM Fee Blended Schedule Value Bracket Annual Fee as % First $1,000,000 of market value 0.90% Next $2,000,000 0.70% Next $2,000,000 0.50% Over $5,000,000 0.40%”
Marginal/tax-bracket-style tiers from the PAM Fee Blended Schedule (the Private Asset Management program run by TC Services, TIAA’s high-net-worth wealth-management arm, sub-advised by TIAA Wealth Investment Management LLC). $250k: 250,000 x 0.90% = $2,250. $500k: 500,000 x 0.90% = $4,500. $1M: 1,000,000 x 0.90% = $9,000. $2M: first $1,000,000 x 0.90% = $9,000, plus the next $1,000,000 (of the $1,000,001-$3,000,000 tier) x 0.70% = $7,000, total $16,000. TIAA Wealth Investment Management LLC (CRD 334925, SEC file 801-132296, the WIM sub-adviser entity) has no client-facing fee schedule of its own – it is paid a flat sub-advisory basis-point fee by TC Services/TIAA Trust; the PAM brochure sponsored by TC Services is the entity that actually bills clients and is the correct primary source for a buildable schedule. A separate ‘PAM Fee Exclusively Fixed Income Schedule’ (0.50%/0.35%/0.25%/0.20%/0.15% tiers) applies only to all-fixed-income accounts and was not used here.
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, Commonwealth Financial Network runs $11,250 a year and TIAA Wealth Management runs $4,500 a year: a difference of $6,750 a year at that balance.
Want the full breakdown for either firm on its own? Read the Commonwealth Financial Network fee page or the TIAA Wealth Management 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 Commonwealth Financial Network, or read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors.
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- Commonwealth Financial Network Form ADV Part 2A Brochure (March 30, 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1032557
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Commonwealth Financial Network (CRD #8032): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/8032
- TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC – Advice & Planning Services – Private Asset Management Disclosure Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A) (March 31, 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1028127
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC (d/b/a Advice & Planning Services, sponsor of the Private Asset Management Program) (CRD #20472): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/20472
Methodology. This page was built September 19, 2026, re-pairing figures already archived and independently verified for Commonwealth Financial Network and TIAA Wealth Management 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.