Guides › Switching Financial Advisors
Updated September 28, 2026. Quick answer: you open an account at the receiving firm and sign the transfer form there; the new firm pulls the account through ACATS. IFG Advisory, LLC’s Form ADV Part 2A states “In the event that you wish to terminate our services, we will refund the unearned portion of our advisory fee to you.” IFG Advisory, LLC names three possible custodians in its brochure, with no single default: LPL Financial, LLC, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., and SEI Investments Management Corp. If you are custodied at Schwab, budget $50.00 per account, per Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.’s own current fee schedule. If you are custodied at LPL Financial, budget $125.00 per account, per LPL Financial, LLC’s own current fee schedule. No primary-source public fee schedule was located for SEI Investments Management Corp, an honest gap rather than a confirmed figure.
More on this firm: IFG Advisory Review, Is IFG Advisory a Fiduciary? What Its Own Form CRS Says and IFG Advisory Minimum Investment.
The published numbers
From IFG Advisory, LLC’s own IFG Advisory, LLC, “Form ADV Part 2A Firm Brochure” (March 18, 2026), Item 5, Fees & Compensation, “Termination & Refunds” (page 14): “In the event that you wish to terminate our services, we will refund the unearned portion of our advisory fee to you. If you pay advisory fees in advance, we will process a pro-rata refund of unearned advisory fees.” The same brochure names its custodians (Item 12, Brokerage Practices, “LPL Financial” (page 25)): “While our firm recommends that clients establish brokerage accounts with LPL, member FINRA/SIPC, clients are advised that they are under no obligation to implement our recommendations.” From Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.’s own Charles Schwab, “Pricing Guide for Clients of Independent Investment Advisors” (July 2026): “Full transfer (out) of assets: $50 per account.” From LPL Financial, LLC’s own LPL Financial, “Miscellaneous Account and Service Fees Schedule, RIA” (FS14-RIA, Revised 03/25): “Outgoing Account Transfer, for processing full account transfer of all assets and positions to another financial institution (excludes retirement accounts): $125, Per account.” No primary-source public fee schedule was located for SEI Investments Management Corp; left as an honest gap rather than assumed to be $0. A $75.00 termination fee is publicly documented for “SEI Private Trust Company”, a distinct SEI legal entity from SEI Investments Management Corp, the entity IFG’s brochure actually names; not used here for that reason (wrong-entity risk).
| What | Figure |
|---|---|
| IFG Advisory’s own exit charge | $0.00 extra: pro-rated refund of any prepaid fee (Form ADV) |
| Full transfer-out at Schwab | $50.00 per account (Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.’s own Charles Schwab, “Pricing Guide for Clients of Independent Investment Advisors” (July 2026)) |
| Full transfer-out at LPL Financial | $125.00 per account (LPL Financial, LLC’s own LPL Financial, “Miscellaneous Account and Service Fees Schedule, RIA” (FS14-RIA, Revised 03/25)) |
| Full transfer-out at SEI | Honest gap: no comparable line item found |
| ACATS validation and completion window | 1 day to validate, 3 days to complete under FINRA Rule 11870 (measured in business days) |
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Source: WiserAdvisor’s service descriptionThe sequence
1. Pull a current statement for every account, showing the exact registration, account numbers and complete holdings list. 2. Check the holdings for anything that will not move. Ask the receiving firm directly: “Can you hold every position on this statement?” Anything they cannot hold has to be sold, and in a taxable account that is a realised gain in the year you switch: the categories that commonly do not transfer. 3. Open the receiving account and sign the transfer form there. Under FINRA Rule 11870 the delivering firm then has one business day to validate and three business days after validation to complete. 4. Send a dated termination letter for the record: the generator writes it, and confirm in writing that billing has stopped.
Two things to get right
Cost basis. Under IRC §6045A the delivering broker must furnish a transfer statement carrying basis for covered securities within 15 days of the transfer. Keep your final statements anyway, and check the first statement at the new firm for positions showing a missing or zero basis. Retirement accounts move as a direct transfer, trustee to trustee, not as a distribution to you. Why that distinction matters. Whether a transfer fee is worth paying at all is a question of what you are moving to: our benchmark of published adviser fee schedules puts the weighted median annual cost near $2,000 to $2,500 on $250,000: the benchmark. The general mechanics: switching financial advisors.
Want to know what IFG Advisory charges before you decide whether to leave? See the dollar breakdown from IFG Advisory’s own fee disclosure.
Sources
- IFG Advisory, LLC, “Form ADV Part 2A Firm Brochure” (March 18, 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1021389
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, IFG Advisory, LLC firm summary (CRD 168012): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/168012
- Charles Schwab, “Pricing Guide for Clients of Independent Investment Advisors” (July 2026): https://disclosures.schwab.com/SchwabDashboard/61256/REG23060SI.pdf
- LPL Financial, “Miscellaneous Account and Service Fees Schedule, RIA” (FS14-RIA, Revised 03/25): https://legacygfa.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/FS14-RIA-LPL-Fee-Schedule-03.25.pdf
Methodology. This page was built September 28, 2026, drawing on IFG Advisory’s own Form ADV/wrap-fee brochure/fee schedule plus each named custodian’s own published fee schedule, with sources linked inline; any figure we could not independently confirm this session on a firm-owned or custodian-owned document is named as an honest gap above rather than presented as verified. Nothing here is personalized financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.
Leaving a different firm? See the exit guides for all 189 firms, with the four steps every exit shares.