Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 28, 2026. Quick answer: Waverly Advisors does not publish a minimum dollar amount to open a standard investment advisory account. Instead, it enforces a $5,000-$20,000-a-year minimum advisory fee ($5,000-$50,000 for 401(k) plan clients), which becomes the real floor for smaller balances once the percentage schedule alone would charge less than that.
The minimum, in the firm’s own words
“Adviser does not require a minimum value of Assets Under Management, but, subject to the disclosures in Items 5(A)(5) and 5(A)(6) below, some clients are or may become subject to an annual minimum Advisory Fee generally ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 ($5,000 to $50,000 for 401(k) Plan clients), and in certain cases higher.”
On waivability: “Minimums may be waived or reduced by Adviser for diverse reasons; where waived or reduced, the Investment Advisory Agreement may exclude certain services (including Financial Planning) from scope, and some fee schedules include certain services at no additional cost once a minimum fee threshold is met.”
Minimum investment and what it would cost
| Program | Minimum investment | Annual fee at that minimum | Waivable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| standard investment advisory | No published minimum account size | $5,000-$20,000-a-year minimum advisory fee ($5,000-$50,000 for 401(k) plan clients) | N/A (fee floor, not account-size minimum) |
| Source: Form ADV Part 2A, August 19, 2026 | |||
Waverly Advisors’ own fee schedule at other balances
| Account balance | Annual fee |
|---|---|
| $250,000 | $3,750 |
| $500,000 | $7,500 |
| $1,000,000 | $15,000 |
| $2,000,000 | $30,000 |
What else to know
This minimum annual fee is disclosed directly in Waverly’s own Form ADV Part 2A brochure, but the reference table below (drawn from the same brochure’s percentage-based Advisory Fee schedule) does not build the floor in; at $250,000 the 1.5% schedule alone works out to $3,750, below the disclosed $5,000 floor, so a reader below roughly $333,000 should expect the minimum fee, not the percentage schedule, to be what actually applies.
What a larger account would cost
The minimum is only the entry point. On a $500,000 account, Waverly Advisors’ own published fee schedule runs up to $7,500 a year (the published maximum); see the full dollar breakdown from Waverly Advisors’ own fee disclosure across several account sizes.
Comparing minimums across firms? See what it takes to open an account with Ballentine Partners.
Already a client and thinking about the minimum a different way, like whether you could get a better deal elsewhere? Read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors, or use a dated termination letter once you decide.
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- Form ADV Part 2A (August 19, 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1056528
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Waverly Advisors, LLC (CRD #115332): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/115332
- Waverly Advisors, LLC, SEC Form ADV filing: https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/115332/PDF/115332.pdf
Methodology. This page was built September 28, 2026, quoting directly from Waverly Advisors’ own current Form ADV Part 2A / wrap-fee brochure, with the source linked above. The annual-fee-at-the-minimum figure applies that same brochure’s own published fee schedule to the disclosed minimum dollar amount; 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 ADV Part 2A. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.