Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 17, 2026. Quick answer: Charles Schwab is less expensive at $500,000: $4,000 a year, versus $6,875 a year for Edward Jones, computed from each firm’s own SEC-filed fee disclosure. At $250,000 it is the other way round, $4,000 versus $3,500. 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 | Edward Jones (annual fee) | Charles Schwab (annual fee) |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $3,500 | $4,000 |
| $500,000 | $6,875 | $4,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $13,075 | $8,000 |
| $2,000,000 | $23,375 | $15,500 |
Edward Jones discloses a tiered schedule starting at 1.40% (Edward Jones Guided Solutions Flex Account Schedule of Fees, February 2025 (REV. FEB 2025, document IAS-10455O-A-FS)); 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)).
What the fee includes, in each firm’s own words
Edward Jones (Edward Jones Guided Solutions Flex Account Schedule of Fees, February 2025 (REV. FEB 2025, document IAS-10455O-A-FS)): “The Guided Solutions Flex Fee is comprised of the Program Fee and the Platform Fee, net of any applicable fee reduction or fee offset. The Program Fee is assessed beginning at an annual fee rate of 1.35%, payable monthly in arrears: First $250,000, 1.35%; Next $250,000, 1.30%; Next $500,000, 1.20%; Next $1,500,000, 1.00%; Next $2,500,000, 0.80%; Next $5,000,000, 0.60%; Over $10,000,000, 0.50%. A Platform Fee is charged on accounts enrolled in Guided Solutions Flex. This fee is in addition to the Program Fee. The Platform Fee is assessed beginning at an annual fee rate of 0.05%, payable monthly in arrears.”
Edward Jones’s Guided Solutions Flex Fee is a marginal (tiered) schedule: each bracket’s combined rate (Program Fee plus Platform Fee) applies only to the slice of assets inside that bracket, like a tax bracket, not the whole balance. Arithmetic: $250,000 pays 1.40% on the whole amount ($3,500, since it fits entirely in the first bracket); $500,000 pays $3,500 plus 1.35% on the next $250,000 ($3,375) for $6,875; $1,000,000 pays $6,875 plus 1.24% on the next $500,000 ($6,200) for $13,075; $2,000,000 pays $13,075 plus 1.03% on the next $1,000,000 ($10,300, since $2,000,000 still falls inside the $1,000,000-to-$2,500,000 bracket) for $23,375. Edward Jones also offers a separate, generally non-discretionary brokerage-style program (Guided Solutions Fund, mutual-fund-only) that carries the identical rate table; this page uses the broader Guided Solutions Flex version, which covers stocks, bonds, ETFs and mutual funds.
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.
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, Edward Jones runs $6,875 a year and Charles Schwab runs $4,000 a year: a difference of $2,875 a year at that balance.
Want the full breakdown for either firm on its own? Read the Edward Jones fee page or the Charles Schwab 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 Edward Jones or what it costs to leave Charles Schwab, or read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors.
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- Edward Jones Guided Solutions Flex Account Schedule of Fees (February 2025 (REV. FEB 2025, document IAS-10455O-A-FS)): https://www.edwardjones.com/us-en/disclosures
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P. (CRD #250): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/250
- 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
Methodology. This page was built September 17, 2026, re-pairing figures already archived and independently verified for Edward Jones and Charles Schwab 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.
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