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Updated September 28, 2026. Quick answer: It depends which hat United Wealth Management is wearing. As your investment adviser, United Wealth Management owes you a fiduciary duty under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. As your broker-dealer, United Wealth Management owes you Regulation Best Interest, a real and enforceable standard, but not a fiduciary duty. United Wealth Management’s own Form CRS states: “When we provide you with a recommendation as your broker-dealer or act as your investment adviser, we must act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours.”
How it’s registered
From Form CRS, Customer Relationship Summary, United Wealth Management (March 30, 2026): “United Brokerage Services, Inc., a subsidiary of United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ UBSI), is both a broker-dealer and an investment adviser. We are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), members of FINRA and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.”
The standard of conduct, in its own words
“When we provide you with a recommendation as your broker-dealer or act as your investment adviser, we must act in your best interest and not put our interest ahead of yours.”
On commissions: “On the brokerage side, you pay a commission on every transaction you execute based on the value of the transaction and the type of investment that you buy or sell. A portion of this commission is paid to the adviser. In addition, financial advisors may receive ongoing compensation from product sponsors, including mutual fund and annuity companies. This compensation (commonly known as trails, service fees or Rule 12b-1 fees in the case of mutual funds) is typically paid from the assets of the investment product under a distribution or servicing arrangement and is calculated as an annual percentage of invested assets. Our advisors have a financial incentive to encourage you to execute more transactions in higher commission products to generate more fees for themselves.”
Fiduciary status by capacity
| Capacity | Registration | Standard you’re owed | Can earn commissions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| As your broker-dealer | SEC-registered broker-dealer | Regulation Best Interest (not a fiduciary duty) | Yes | Form CRS, Customer Relationship Summary, United Wealth Management, March 30, 2026 |
| As your investment adviser | SEC-registered investment adviser | Fiduciary duty (Investment Advisers Act of 1940) | No (asset-based advisory fee: up to $10,000 a year, 2.00% on a $500,000 account, the published standard rate, which the firm says may be negotiable) | Form CRS, Customer Relationship Summary, United Wealth Management, March 30, 2026 |
What this means for what you pay
Fiduciary status is one input, not the whole picture. United Wealth Management discloses a published fee that runs up to $10,000 a year on a $500,000 account (the published standard rate, which the firm says may be negotiable), per its own current Form ADV Part 2A, Appendix 1 (March 30, 2026), cited in Sources below. A dedicated fee page for United Wealth Management 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 United Wealth Management has not been published on this site yet.
Other fiduciary-status pages
Read this one, this one too, and one more.
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Source: WiserAdvisor’s service descriptionSources
- Form CRS, Customer Relationship Summary, United Wealth Management (March 30, 2026): https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/crs/crs_39062.pdf
- Form ADV Part 2A, Appendix 1 (March 30, 2026), the primary source for the fee figure above: https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1033985
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, United Wealth Management (CRD #39062): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/39062
- United Wealth Management, SEC Form ADV filing: https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/39062/PDF/39062.pdf
Methodology. This page was built September 28, 2026, quoting directly from United Wealth Management’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.