Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated October 3, 2026. Quick answer: Fidelity has the lower published fee at $500,000: up to $6,250 a year (its Gross Advisory Fee before the Credit Amount; any SMA Sleeve fee and fund expenses are charged on top), versus $10,000 a year for Wells Fargo Advisors at its standard, negotiable 2.00% Advisory Fee (before a Platform Fee and Manager Fees that apply on top), computed from each firm’s own SEC-filed fee disclosure. Where a firm publishes only a maximum rate, the figure shown is that maximum, and what you pay may be lower. 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 | Fidelity (annual fee) | Wells Fargo Advisors (annual fee) |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $3,750 | Up to $5,000 |
| $500,000 | $6,250 | Up to $10,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $11,750 | Up to $20,000 |
| $2,000,000 | $20,750 | Up to $40,000 |
Fidelity discloses a tiered schedule starting at 1.50% (capped at $6,250) (Fidelity Wealth Services Form ADV Part 2A Brochure (Strategic Advisers LLC), March 30, 2026); Wells Fargo Advisors lists a standard, negotiable Advisory Fee of 2.00% (Wells Fargo Advisors Wrap Fee Brochure (Personalized Unified Managed Account Program), Form ADV Part 2A Appendix 1, September 2025 (Rev 76-09/25)).
What the fee includes, in each firm’s own words
Fidelity Wealth Management (Fidelity Wealth Services Form ADV Part 2A Brochure (Strategic Advisers LLC), March 30, 2026): Fidelity’s fee table lists the Wealth Management and Private Wealth Management Gross Advisory Fee as 1.50% (up to a maximum of $6,250) if Average Daily Assets total $500,000 or less. If they total more than $500,000, the table lists 1.25% on the first $500,000, 1.10% on the next $500,000 or portion thereof, 0.90% on the next $1,000,000 or portion thereof, 0.70% on the next $3,000,000 or portion thereof and 0.50% on Average Daily Assets in excess of $5,000,000.
This is the Gross Advisory Fee; Fidelity applies a Credit Amount that can lower the Net Advisory Fee a client actually pays, which is not quantified in the public schedule. Separately, if an SMA Sleeve built by an Unaffiliated Model Provider is used, an additional fee of up to 0.35% (domestic stock SMA Sleeves) or 0.40% (foreign stock SMA Sleeves) is charged on top of the Gross Advisory Fee, and underlying fund and ETP expenses are charged in addition.
Wells Fargo Advisors (Wells Fargo Advisors Wrap Fee Brochure (Personalized Unified Managed Account Program), Form ADV Part 2A Appendix 1, September 2025 (Rev 76-09/25)): “The Advisory Fee for the Personalized UMA Program, which is negotiable, is shown below. Some Accounts opened prior to September 15, 2018 are subject to different fees. Please consult the Program Features and Fee Schedule of your Client Agreement.” The schedule lists an annualized Advisory Fee of 2.00%, calculated on Account Value.
Wells Fargo Advisors does not publish a dollar-tiered breakpoint table for the Personalized UMA Program (or for its three sibling programs in the same brochure, FundSource, Private Advisor Network, and Customized Portfolios, which each disclose the identical flat 2.00% standard rate); it publishes a single standard, negotiable rate. The figures above apply that 2.00% as a flat rate; your negotiated rate may be lower. The Personalized UMA Program also charges a separate third-party Manager Fee (generally 0.0% to 0.50%, depending on the Manager) on top of the Advisory Fee, and a non-negotiable 0.050% Platform Fee applies to Program Accounts other than exempt types such as ERISA plans, SEPs and SIMPLE IRAs, so neither the 2.00% nor the table figures are an all-in cost.
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, Fidelity’s Gross Advisory Fee runs up to $6,250 a year before its Credit Amount and any SMA Sleeve fee, and Wells Fargo Advisors’ standard Advisory Fee runs $10,000 a year before Platform and Manager Fees: a difference of $3,750 a year between those figures at that balance.
Want the full breakdown for either firm on its own? Read the Fidelity fee page or the Wells Fargo Advisors 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 Fidelity or what it costs to leave Wells Fargo Advisors, or read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors.
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- Fidelity Wealth Services Form ADV Part 2A Brochure (Strategic Advisers LLC) (March 30, 2026): https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/FWS-program-fundamentals.pdf
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Strategic Advisers LLC (CRD #104555): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/104555
- Wells Fargo Advisors Wrap Fee Brochure (Personalized Unified Managed Account Program), Form ADV Part 2A Appendix 1 (September 2025 (Rev 76-09/25)): https://www.wellsfargoadvisors.com/disclosures/legal-disclosures.htm
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC (CRD #19616): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/19616
Methodology. This page was built October 3, 2026, re-pairing figures already archived and independently verified for Fidelity and Wells Fargo 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.