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First Command Review: $6,125 a Year at $500,000

Guides › Financial Advisor Fees

Updated September 28, 2026. Quick answer: First Command Advisory Services is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser (CRD #281958, listed as ACTIVE in the SEC’s IAPD firm summary, checked October 25, 2026). Per its own current fee brochure, a $500,000 account would run $6,125 a year under its published fee schedule. This review covers what its own fee brochure and current SEC registration confirm today; it does not assess fiduciary status.

First Command Advisory Services at a glance

FactWhat First Command Advisory Services’ own pages say
Legal entityFirst Command Advisory Services, Inc.
RegistrationFirst Command Advisory Services, Inc. is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser (CRD #281958, listed as ACTIVE in the SEC’s IAPD firm summary, checked October 25, 2026).
Fee on a $500,000 account$6,125 a year, per its own current brochure
Minimum to open an account$5,000 (Partners, Foundations) or $50,000 (Select), per Item 4 of its brochure
Cost to leave (exit fee)No firm-specific dollar figure found in public documents

What First Command Advisory Services’ own fee schedule charges

First Command Advisory Services, Inc. is the registered adviser, a subsidiary of First Command Financial Services, Inc. and affiliated with First Command Brokerage Services, an insurance agency and a federal savings bank, serving American families since 1958. The figure comes from the Wrap Fee Program Brochure and covers the Partners, Foundations and Select programs. The separate Elite and Premier Income schedules are not used.

“Partners / Foundations / Select Value of Account Assets Annual Management Fee First $250,000 1.30% Next $250,000 1.15% Next $500,000 1.00% Next $1 million 0.75% Assets over $2 million 0.50%”

Each balance was priced with each rate applied only to the band it covers, and the brochure confirms this with a worked example in which the first $250,000 pays 1.30%, the next $250,000 pays 1.15% and the remainder up to $750,000 pays 1.00%. The scheduled fee is $3,250 at $250,000, $6,125 at $500,000, $11,125 at $1,000,000 and $18,625 at $2,000,000. The brochure discloses account minimums of $5,000 for Partners and Foundations and $50,000 for Select, but no minimum annual fee floor, so none applies. The brochure says the fee for these programs is not negotiable, while reserving the right to discount at its sole discretion.

The table below is the firm’s own advisory fee schedule. Fund expenses, custodian charges and any third-party manager or platform fees are generally separate from an advisory fee like this one; Item 3 of the brochure lists what applies to a given account.

Account balanceAnnual fee
$250,000$3,250
$500,000$6,125
$1,000,000$11,125
$2,000,000$18,625

These figures come directly from First Command Advisory Services’ own current fee brochure, cited in Sources below.

Registration

First Command Advisory Services, Inc. is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser (CRD #281958, listed as ACTIVE in the SEC’s IAPD firm summary, checked October 25, 2026).

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).

What it costs to leave

We did not find a firm-specific dollar figure for leaving First Command Advisory Services in its brochure or in its custodian’s published schedules, so we are not stating one. The general mechanics of switching financial advisors and a dated termination letter apply regardless of firm.

Other advisor-firm reviews

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Sources

Methodology. This page was built September 28, 2026, drawing directly on First Command Advisory Services’ own current fee brochure, cited in Sources below, and a fresh SEC IAPD registration check run the same day. Where exit-fee facts are cited, they trace to the named custodian’s own published schedule. 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 Command Advisory Services’ own Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS. We have not used First Command Advisory Services as a client. First Command Advisory Services did not pay for, review, or influence this content. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.