Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 18, 2026. Quick answer: E*TRADE Core Portfolios discloses a published rate of 0.3% in its Form ADV Wrap Fee Program Brochure, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Core Portfolios(R) Program (March 30, 2026). Converted to dollars, that runs $1,500 a year on a $500,000 account; see the full table below for $250,000, $1 million and $2 million.
The published numbers
From the Form ADV Wrap Fee Program Brochure, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Core Portfolios(R) Program (March 30, 2026): “Advisory Fee – To participate in the Program, you will pay an annualized fee of 0.30% of assets under management (“Advisory Fee”). The Advisory Fee covers (a) our investment advisory and discretionary portfolio management services, (b) the execution of transactions in your account, (c) custody of your account assets, and (d) reporting. This is a wrap fee.”
The published rate: 0.3% per year.
What you would pay
| Account balance | Annual fee (dollars) | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $750 | 0.30% |
| $500,000 | $1,500 | 0.30% |
| $1,000,000 | $3,000 | 0.30% |
| $2,000,000 | $6,000 | 0.30% |
Flat rate (the brochure states a single 0.30% rate, not ‘up to’ language, distinguishing it from the ceiling-type Access Investing program below): dollar_at = balance x 0.003 at each balance: 250000->750, 500000->1500, 1000000->3000, 2000000->6000. Account minimum is $500 of assets (not a minimum dollar fee). IMPORTANT PROVENANCE NOTE: the account CRD hint (149777) and IAPD-matched name ‘MORGAN STANLEY’ are correct, but the entity is legally ‘Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC’ (an IAPD ‘other name’ for CRD 149777, alongside ‘E*TRADE FROM MORGAN STANLEY’). A separate, now-superseded RIA, ‘E*TRADE Capital Management, LLC’ (CRD 42159), formerly ran Core Portfolios at an identical flat 0.30% rate (‘$500 and over 0.30%’) but per its May 20, 2023 brochure (kept in this same source folder as historical evidence) has been winding down since 2023, directing new E*TRADE clients to Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC’s own Core Portfolios program (the current, live document cited above, which explicitly references the ‘E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley Client Agreement for Self-Directed Accounts’).
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, E*TRADE Core Portfolios’s own published rate runs $1,500 a year.
Comparing E*TRADE Core Portfolios 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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- Form ADV Wrap Fee Program Brochure, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Core Portfolios(R) Program (March 30, 2026): https://www.morganstanley.com/content/dam/msdotcom/en/wealth-investmentsolutions/pdfs/adv/ms_core_adv2.pdf
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (CRD #149777): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/149777
- Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, SEC Form ADV filing: https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/149777/PDF/149777.pdf
Methodology. This page was built September 18, 2026, drawing on E*TRADE Core Portfolios’s own SEC-filed disclosure and, where cited, its published fee schedule, with sources linked above; any figure we could not independently confirm this session is named as an honest gap rather than presented as verified. Nothing here is personalized financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.
Is E*TRADE Core Portfolios a fiduciary? See what its own Form CRS says, and how that compares to what you would pay.
Thinking about leaving E*TRADE Core Portfolios instead of pricing what you would pay to stay? See what it costs to leave, or read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors.
What does it take to open an account? See E*TRADE Core Portfolios’s minimum investment, straight from its own Form ADV Part 2A brochure.
Weighing whether to move ahead? Read the full E*TRADE Core Portfolios review, including its fiduciary status and what it costs to leave.