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Updated September 19, 2026. Quick answer: At Morgan Stanley, a $500,000 account runs $10,175 a year under its own current fee schedule. Three comparable options we track: Vanguard Personal Advisor ($1,750 a year), a flat-fee or hourly advisor ($2,500-$10,000+/year (flat annual planning), or $150-$500/hour, priced by scope rather than assets), and SoFi Invest ($1,250 a year, robo/hybrid). Morgan Stanley is dual registrant (fiduciary only when acting as adviser); its minimum to open an account is $10,000.
Morgan Stanley vs. three comparable options
| Option | Fee at $500,000 | Minimum | Fiduciary status | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley (this firm) | $10,175 | $10,000 | Dual registrant (fiduciary only when acting as adviser) | Morgan Stanley fees |
| Vanguard Personal Advisor (lower-fee full-service) | $1,750 | $50,000 | Registered investment adviser (fiduciary) | Vanguard Personal Advisor fees |
| Flat-fee or hourly advisor | $2,500-$10,000+/year (flat annual planning), or $150-$500/hour | No AUM minimum; scope-based (project or hourly) | Varies by advisor; many fee-only planners in this category are also registered investment advisers acting in a fiduciary capacity, but confirm each one’s own Form ADV/CRS individually | Compare flat-fee ranges |
| SoFi Invest (robo/hybrid) | $1,250 | No minimum account size | Registered investment adviser (fiduciary) | SoFi Invest fees |
This site’s own already-published flat-fee guide aggregates common 2026 flat-fee and hourly comparison anchors (see the guide’s own “Flat fee financial advisor cost table”); a flat or hourly quote does not scale with account size the way an AUM percentage does, so no single figure is comparable across all account sizes.
Full detail on Morgan Stanley’s own numbers: fee schedule, fiduciary status, and minimum to open an account.
What each alternative actually is
Vanguard Personal Advisor is the cheapest full-service (human-advisor) firm in our fee+fiduciary+minimum universe: $1,750 a year on a $500,000 account, per its own current fee schedule. See its full fee breakdown and fiduciary status.
Flat-fee or hourly advisors charge a stated dollar amount for an agreed scope instead of a percentage of assets: $2,500-$10,000+/year (flat annual planning), or $150-$500/hour. Because the price does not scale with account size, it can be relatively cheaper at higher balances and relatively more expensive at lower ones. See the full flat-fee cost-range table.
SoFi Invest is a robo/hybrid option at $1,250 a year on a $500,000 account, per its own current fee schedule. It is not the cheapest robo/hybrid firm in our fee+fiduciary+minimum universe: as of September 28, 2026, three firms there cost less at $500,000, led by Acorns at $48 a year on its lowest plan for new customers, then M1 Finance (up to $1,000) and Interactive Advisors ($1,000 on its in-house portfolios), so SoFi Invest ranks fourth. See its full fee breakdown and fiduciary status.
Compare Morgan Stanley head-to-head against other firms
- Morgan Stanley vs. Betterment Premium
- Morgan Stanley vs. Merrill Lynch
- Morgan Stanley vs. Fidelity
- Morgan Stanley vs. SoFi Invest
- Morgan Stanley vs. Vanguard Personal Advisor
- Morgan Stanley vs. UBS
Run your own numbers
Price any percentage fee in dollars over time with the Financial Advisor Fee Calculator, or see the full published-fee landscape on the financial advisor fee comparison.
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Answer againSources
- Morgan Stanley Consulting Group Advisor (CGA) Program Wrap Fee Brochure, Form ADV Part 2A Appendix 1 (March 30, 2026): https://www.morganstanley.com/wealth-investmentsolutions/wrapfeebrochures
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (CRD #149777): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/149777
- Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, SEC Form ADV filing: https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/149777/PDF/149777.pdf
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Vanguard Advisers, Inc. (CRD #106715): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/106715
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, SoFi Wealth LLC (CRD #167958): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/167958
- Clear Money Guide, “Flat Fee Financial Advisor” cost-range table: /flat-fee-financial-advisor/
Methodology. This page was built September 19, 2026, drawing on Morgan Stanley’s own current fee brochure (linked above) and this site’s own already-published, already independently sourced fee, fiduciary, and minimum-investment pages for the comparable firms named here. Vanguard Personal Advisor is the cheapest firm in our tracked full-service category by its own published $500,000 fee figure; SoFi Invest is a robo/hybrid comparable but not the cheapest in its category (see above). Neither is a ranked or personalized recommendation. 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. We have not used Morgan Stanley as a client. Morgan Stanley did not pay for, review, or influence this content. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.