Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 19, 2026. Quick answer: Empower Personal Wealth is less expensive at $500,000: $4,450 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.
More head-to-head fee comparisons: Betterment Premium vs MassMutual Fees, Cambridge Investment Research vs Empower Personal Wealth Fees and Cetera vs Empower Personal Wealth Fees.
What each firm charges, side by side
| Account balance | Empower Personal Wealth (annual fee) | MassMutual (annual fee) |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $2,225 | $5,175 |
| $500,000 | $4,450 | $10,350 |
| $1,000,000 | $7,900 | $20,700 |
| $2,000,000 | $15,800 | $41,400 |
Empower Personal Wealth discloses a tiered schedule starting at 0.89% (Empower Advisory Group Personal Strategy(R) Wrap Fee Program Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A / Appendix 1), 2026-05-15); 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
Empower Personal Wealth (Empower Advisory Group Personal Strategy(R) Wrap Fee Program Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A / Appendix 1), 2026-05-15): “On an annualized basis, EAG bases its Advisory Services fee on the following schedule calculated as a percentage of the total AUM: Investment Services Clients ($100,000 – $249,999 total AUM) 0.89% Wealth Management Clients ($250,000 – $999,999 total AUM) 0.89% Private Clients ($1 million or more total AUM) tiered structure $3MM or less AUM 0.79% On only the next $2MM AUM 0.69% On only the next $5MM AUM 0.59% On only the AUM over $10MM 0.49%”
Below $1,000,000 AUM, the whole balance is charged a flat 0.89% (identical rate for both the $100k-$249,999 and $250k-$999,999 bands, so $250,000 x 0.0089 = $2,225 and $500,000 x 0.0089 = $4,450). At $1,000,000 or more (‘Private Clients’), the schedule becomes marginal/tiered starting fresh at 0.79% for the first $3,000,000 of AUM (not just the amount above $1M) – the brochure’s own worked example for a $7.5M account confirms this marginal, first-$3M/next-$2M/next-$5M/over-$10M structure. So $1,000,000 x 0.0079 = $7,900 and, since $2,000,000 is still within the first-$3,000,000 tier, $2,000,000 x 0.0079 = $15,800. Note this creates a real disclosed rate drop right at the $1,000,000 breakpoint (0.89% below, 0.79% at/above), which is why the $1M and $2M dollar figures are proportionally lower relative to rate than the $250k/$500k figures. Entity is the successor to Personal Capital Advisors Corporation (SEC-registration terminated 2023-04-11 on a corp-to-LLC conversion); confirmed via Empower’s own site (empower.com/products-solutions/wealth-management, which names Empower Advisory Group, LLC as the RIA) and Empower’s own published one-page fee schedule (docs.empower.com/PDF/p/misc/management_fee.pdf), both of which restate this identical 0.89%/0.79%/0.69%/0.59%/0.49% schedule.
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, Empower Personal Wealth runs $4,450 a year and MassMutual runs $10,350 a year: a difference of $5,900 a year at that balance.
Want the full breakdown for either firm on its own? Read the Empower Personal Wealth fee page or the MassMutual fee page for the complete tier table and source citations.
Comparing these two against a full move? Read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors, or use a dated termination letter once you decide.
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- Empower Advisory Group Personal Strategy(R) Wrap Fee Program Brochure (Form ADV Part 2A / Appendix 1) (2026-05-15): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1045311
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Empower Advisory Group, LLC (CRD #112058): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/112058
- 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 Empower Personal Wealth 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.
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