Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 28, 2026. Quick answer: Yes, on every account. Sensible Money is registered with the SEC only as an investment adviser (it is not a broker-dealer), so the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 requires it to act as your fiduciary. Its own Form CRS states: “When we act as your investment adviser, we have to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours.”
How it’s registered
From Form CRS, Customer Relationship Summary, Sensible Money (April 23, 2025): “Sensible Money, LLC is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser.”
The standard of conduct, in its own words
“When we act as your investment adviser, we have to act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours.”
On commissions: “Our financial professionals are compensated based on the following factors and conflicts of interest: • Salary. This could result in a disincentive to provide prompt service and timely investment of funds relative to commission-based compensation. • Revenue the firm earns from the financial professional’s financial planning and investment advisory services or recommendations. This results in an incentive to take steps to maximize revenue to the firm.”
Fiduciary status by capacity
| Capacity | Registration | Standard you’re owed | Can earn commissions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| As your investment adviser | SEC-registered investment adviser | Fiduciary duty (Investment Advisers Act of 1940) | No (asset-based advisory fee: $12,500 a year at $500,000. That is the stated $12,500 minimum annual fee, not a rate: the published schedule charges 1.25% on the first $1,000,000.) | Form CRS, Customer Relationship Summary, Sensible Money, April 23, 2025 |
What this means for what you pay
Fiduciary status is one input, not the whole picture. Sensible Money discloses a published fee that runs $12,500 a year on a $500,000 account, per its own current Form ADV Part 2A (March 27, 2026), cited in Sources below. A dedicated fee page for Sensible Money has not been published on this site yet.
If the answer above changes your mind about staying, read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors, or use a dated termination letter once you decide. A dedicated how-to-leave page for Sensible Money has not been published on this site yet.
Other fiduciary-status pages
Read this one, this one too, and one more.
Compare your next step
Just comparing fees? Keep reading the fee guide.Optional next step
Explore an adviser match
Compare the services and the full fee before deciding whether to hire anyone.
- No fee to request a match
- No obligation to hire
Expect questions about your situation, your name, email and phone, and phone verification by text. A match is not guaranteed.
The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide is paid when you submit the form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. This is free to you and there is no obligation to hire anyone.
Opens here. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
How our partner relationships workCompare an adviser match before you decide
Ask about the full fee, what it covers and how the adviser is paid. A match is an introduction, not a recommendation from Clear Money Guide.
- Free matching service
- No obligation to hire
The matching service is run by WiserAdvisor, an independent advisor-matching company. It opens on their site, asks for your ZIP code and a few questions, and matches you with 2 to 3 vetted advisors. It is free to you. WiserAdvisor states the service is built for portfolios of $250,000 and above. By submitting, you consent to emails, phone calls and text messages from WiserAdvisor and up to three advisors, so expect to be contacted. Advisers pay for the introduction. Clear Money Guide is paid when you complete the form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. There is no obligation to hire anyone.
Continue to WiserAdvisorOpens on WiserAdvisor’s site in a new tab.
Source: WiserAdvisor’s service descriptionSources
- Form CRS, Customer Relationship Summary, Sensible Money (April 23, 2025): https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/crs/crs_158641.pdf
- Form ADV Part 2A (March 27, 2026), the primary source for the fee figure above: https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1029689
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Sensible Money (CRD #158641): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/158641
- Sensible Money, SEC Form ADV filing: https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/158641/PDF/158641.pdf
Methodology. This page was built September 28, 2026, quoting directly from Sensible Money’s own current Form CRS, with the source linked above; any distinction 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, and it is not a substitute for reading the firm’s own Form CRS. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.