Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 18, 2026. Quick answer: Empower Personal Wealth is less expensive at $500,000: $4,450 a year, versus $13,750 a year for Voya Financial Advisors, 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 | Empower Personal Wealth (annual fee) | Voya Financial Advisors (annual fee) |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $2,225 | $6,875 |
| $500,000 | $4,450 | $13,750 |
| $1,000,000 | $7,900 | $26,250 |
| $2,000,000 | $15,800 | $49,750 |
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); Voya Financial Advisors discloses a tiered schedule starting at 2.75% (Voya Financial Advisors, Inc. Part 2A Appendix 1 of Form ADV: Investor Center Wrap Fee Program Brochure (IC UMA Program), September 16, 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.
Voya Financial Advisors (Voya Financial Advisors, Inc. Part 2A Appendix 1 of Form ADV: Investor Center Wrap Fee Program Brochure (IC UMA Program), September 16, 2026): “Maximum Annual Total Client Fee Portfolio Value From To Annual Total Client Fee First $ 0 – $ 250,000 2.75% Next $ 250,001 – $ 500,000 2.75% Next $ 500,001 – $ 1,000,000 2.50% Next $ 1,000,001 – $ 2,000,000 2.35% Next $ 2,000,001 – $ 5,000,000 2.10% Next $ 5,000,001 – $ 10,000,000 2.05% Next $10,000,001 and over 2.00%”
Marginal/tiered schedule from VFA’s IC UMA Program wrap brochure table: each dollar band is billed only at its own rate (matching the Cambridge/industry convention for ‘Tiered Fee Structure’ presentation with First/Next bands). At $250,000: 250,000 x 2.75% = $6,875. At $500,000: $6,875 (first $250k) + 250,000 x 2.75% = $6,875 = $13,750 (both bands share the 2.75% rate, so this equals 500,000 x 2.75%). At $1,000,000: $13,750 + 500,000 x 2.50% = $12,500 = $26,250. At $2,000,000: $26,250 + 1,000,000 x 2.35% = $23,500 = $49,750.
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 Voya Financial Advisors runs $13,750 a year: a difference of $9,300 a year at that balance.
Want the full breakdown for either firm on its own? Read the Empower Personal Wealth fee page or the Voya Financial Advisors 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
- Voya Financial Advisors, Inc. Part 2A Appendix 1 of Form ADV: Investor Center Wrap Fee Program Brochure (IC UMA Program) (September 16, 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1058134
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Voya Financial Advisors, Inc. (CRD #2882): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/2882
Methodology. This page was built September 18, 2026, re-pairing figures already archived and independently verified for Empower Personal Wealth and Voya Financial Advisors 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.