Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 28, 2026. Quick answer: Cresset Asset Management is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser (CRD #288566, confirmed ACTIVE this session via SEC IAPD). Per its own current fee brochure, a $500,000 account would run $10,000 a year under its published fee schedule. Already a client and thinking about leaving? Budget $50 at Schwab, or $150 at Pershing (“Account Termination”), depending on your custodian. This review covers what its fee brochure and current SEC registration confirm today; this firm also has a fiduciary-status page and minimum-investment page on this site.
Cresset Asset Management at a glance
| Fact | What Cresset Asset Management’s own pages say |
|---|---|
| Legal entity | Cresset Asset Management, LLC |
| Registration | Cresset Asset Management, LLC is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser (CRD #288566, confirmed ACTIVE this session via SEC IAPD). |
| Fee on a $500,000 account | $10,000 a year, per its own current brochure |
| Minimum to open an account | See the minimum-investment page for Cresset Asset Management |
| Cost to leave (exit fee) | $50 at Schwab, or $150 at Pershing (“Account Termination”), depending on your custodian |
What Cresset Asset Management’s own fee schedule charges
CRD 288566 independently re-verified ACTIVE/isSECRegistered=Y, effective 7/10/2017. AUM $78,936,263,960. The brochure presents parallel Top-Tier and Waterfall columns with no worked example distinguishing marginal vs whole-balance mechanics anywhere in the document; both columns are identical (1.25%) in the $0-5M band covering all four target balances, so the ambiguity is moot for this page’s numbers.
“The Adviser’s current standard fee schedules are as follows: Top-Tier Fee Waterfall Fee Fair Market Value of Managed Accounts Annualized Rate* Annualized Rate* $0 million to $5 million 1.25% 1.25% … Investment advisory fees that are based on the market value of managed assets could be subject to a minimum annual fee of $25,000 (not to exceed 2.00% annually) in certain circumstances.”
Cresset’s Top-Tier and Waterfall schedules are identical (1.25%) across the $0-$5,000,000 band, which covers all four benchmark balances, so the marginal-vs-whole-balance ambiguity between the two named columns does not affect this page’s figures. The brochure’s own stated minimum fee, the lesser of $25,000 or 2.00% of managed assets, is applied as a floor: it dominates the computed percentage fee at $250,000, $500,000 and $1,000,000, and exactly equals it at $2,000,000.
| Account balance | Annual fee |
|---|---|
| $250,000 | $5,000 |
| $500,000 | $10,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $20,000 |
| $2,000,000 | $25,000 |
See the full breakdown, including how the figure is calculated, on Cresset Asset Management’s own fee page.
Registration
Cresset Asset Management, LLC is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser (CRD #288566, confirmed ACTIVE this session via SEC IAPD).
This is a registration confirmation only, not a fiduciary-standard verdict (a registered investment adviser can still be a dual registrant with a broker-dealer, which changes which standard applies in each capacity). For the fiduciary-standard question itself, see the fiduciary-status page for Cresset Asset Management.
What it costs to leave
Cresset Asset Management, LLC’s Form ADV Part 2A states “In general, an engagement agreement can be terminated by either party at any time, by providing advance written notice to the other party.” Cresset Asset Management, LLC names 3 possible custodians in its brochure, with no single default. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.’s own published fee schedule states “Full transfer (out) of assets: $50 per account.” Pershing LLC’s own published fee schedule states “Account Termination $150.00 per account.” Fidelity Family Office Services discloses no comparable line item (an honest gap).
A dedicated how-to-leave page for Cresset Asset Management covers the exit costs in full; the general mechanics of switching financial advisors and a dated termination letter apply regardless of firm.
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- Form ADV Part 2A Brochure (March 27, 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1029832
- SEC IAPD firm summary (CRD #288566, checked September 28, 2026): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/288566
Methodology. This page was built September 28, 2026, drawing directly on Cresset Asset Management’s own current fee brochure, linked above, and a fresh SEC IAPD registration check run the same day. As of September 28, 2026, this site publishes a fiduciary-status page and a minimum-investment page for Cresset Asset Management; where the exit-fee page already exists it is linked above and drawn from that already-sourced page. Any fact we could not independently confirm 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 Cresset Asset Management’s own Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS. We have not used Cresset Asset Management as a client. Cresset Asset Management did not pay for, review, or influence this content. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.
What does it take to open an account? See Cresset Asset Management’s minimum investment, straight from its own Form ADV Part 2A brochure.
Comparing Cresset Asset Management against other options? See Cresset Asset Management alternatives, including a lower-fee full-service firm, a flat-fee route and a robo/hybrid.
Comparing firms? See all 182 advisor firm reviews in one table, with each firm’s type and its fee on a $500,000 account.