Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 28, 2026. Quick answer: First Citizens Investor Services is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser (CRD #44430, confirmed ACTIVE this session via SEC IAPD). Per its own current fee brochure, a $500,000 account would run $5,725 a year under its published fee schedule. Already a client and thinking about leaving? Budget $150 at Pershing (“Account Termination”). This review covers what its fee brochure and current SEC registration confirm today; this firm also has a fiduciary-status page and minimum-investment page on this site.
First Citizens Investor Services at a glance
| Fact | What First Citizens Investor Services’ own pages say |
|---|---|
| Legal entity | First Citizens Investor Services, Inc. |
| Registration | First Citizens Investor Services, Inc. is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser (CRD #44430, confirmed ACTIVE this session via SEC IAPD). |
| Fee on a $500,000 account | $5,725 a year, per its own current brochure |
| Minimum to open an account | See the minimum-investment page for First Citizens Investor Services |
| Cost to leave (exit fee) | $150 at Pershing (“Account Termination”) |
What First Citizens Investor Services’ own fee schedule charges
CRD 44430 independently re-verified ACTIVE/isSECRegistered=Y, a dually registered SEC broker-dealer/investment adviser that managed $2.63 billion as of December 31, 2025. FCIS offers several advisory programs; the Wealth Strategies Portfolio Management Advisory Fee schedule was used because it is the firm’s flagship program currently open to new accounts. The $25,000 minimum account size is below all balances modeled here.
“Account Value Advisory Fee First $100,000 1.30% Next $150,000 1.20% Next $250,000 1.05% Next $500,000 0.90% Over $1,000,000 0.85%”
Each balance is billed against the Advisory Fee column only, excluding an optional portfolio-manager add-on and an optional tax-aware add-on the brochure prices separately: 1.30% on the first $100,000, 1.20% on the next $150,000, 1.05% on the next $250,000, 0.90% on the next $500,000, and 0.85% on any amount over $1,000,000, with no additional fee floor stated for this program.
| Account balance | Annual fee |
|---|---|
| $250,000 | $3,100 |
| $500,000 | $5,725 |
| $1,000,000 | $10,225 |
| $2,000,000 | $18,725 |
See the full breakdown, including how the figure is calculated, on First Citizens Investor Services’ own fee page.
Registration
First Citizens Investor Services, Inc. is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser (CRD #44430, confirmed ACTIVE this session via SEC IAPD).
This is a registration confirmation only, not a fiduciary-standard verdict (a registered investment adviser can still be a dual registrant with a broker-dealer, which changes which standard applies in each capacity). For the fiduciary-standard question itself, see the fiduciary-status page for First Citizens Investor Services.
What it costs to leave
First Citizens Investor Services, Inc.’s Form ADV Part 2A states “FCIS’s services continue in effect until terminated by either party (i.e., the client or FCIS) by providing written notice of termination to the other party.” First Citizens Investor Services, Inc. names exactly one custodian in its brochure: Pershing, LLC. Pershing, LLC’s own published fee schedule states “Account Termination $150.00 per account.”
A dedicated how-to-leave page for First Citizens Investor Services covers the exit costs in full; the general mechanics of switching financial advisors and a dated termination letter apply regardless of firm.
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- Form ADV Part 2A Firm Brochure (September 17, 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1058217
- SEC IAPD firm summary (CRD #44430, checked September 28, 2026): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/44430
Methodology. This page was built September 28, 2026, drawing directly on First Citizens Investor Services’ own current fee brochure, linked above, and a fresh SEC IAPD registration check run the same day. As of September 28, 2026, this site publishes a fiduciary-status page and a minimum-investment page for First Citizens Investor Services; where the exit-fee page already exists it is linked above and drawn from that already-sourced page. Any fact we could not independently confirm is named as an honest gap rather than presented as verified. Nothing here is personalized financial, tax, legal, or investment advice, and it is not a substitute for reading First Citizens Investor Services’ own Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS. We have not used First Citizens Investor Services as a client. First Citizens Investor Services did not pay for, review, or influence this content. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.
What does it take to open an account? See First Citizens Investor Services’s minimum investment, straight from its own Form ADV Part 2A brochure.
Comparing firms? See all 182 advisor firm reviews in one table, with each firm’s type and its fee on a $500,000 account.