Advisory Fees Compared: Westlight and Five Large Firms

Custodian: Westlight requires clients to hold their accounts at Interactive Brokers, whose cash rates appear in this comparison. See Form ADV Part 2A, Items 10 and 12, for this and other disclosures.

Figures reflect each firm’s own published fee documents and cash-rate pages as viewed on 16 October 2026. Pricing changes; the date on each document is listed under Sources.

On each firm’s published schedule, my advisory fee¹ is lower than Fisher Investments’,² Mercer Advisors’³ and Edward Jones’s⁴ at all four sizes I tested ($500,000 to $10 million), and higher than Schwab Wealth Advisory’s⁵ at all four. Against Fidelity Wealth Services’ gross fee,⁶ mine is lower at $500,000 and $1 million, higher at $5 million and $10 million.

If you are comparing advisers, the headline percentage is only part of the cost. How the tiers apply, what the fee covers, and who else pays the firm matter as much. This post sets five large firms’ own documents next to my Form ADV and shows the arithmetic.

What does fee-only mean?

CFP Board’s standards let a CFP® professional describe a firm as fee-only only if the professional, the firm and their related parties receive no sales-related compensation in connection with services to clients. Sales-related compensation includes commissions, 12b-1 fees, revenue sharing and referral fees.⁷ I use the label below only where a firm’s own Form ADV supports it. Where it does not, I describe what the brochure discloses.

My Form ADV states that neither the firm nor its people accept compensation for the sale of securities (Item 5.E), that the firm is not a broker-dealer (Item 10.A), and that it receives no economic benefit from any third party for advice given to clients (Item 14.A).¹ The custodian requirement is in the note at the top of this post.

Who pays each firm besides the client?

A not fee-only label does not mean a program costs more or gives worse advice. It means the firm has income tied to products, cash or referrals, which its brochure discloses as a conflict of interest.

What do the firms charge?

The table applies each firm’s standard published schedule to four hypothetical household sizes. My row uses the same tiers as my services and fees page.

How these figures were calculated: I applied each firm’s standard schedule to the whole hypothetical balance, using the method its document states: tiered (each slice of assets at its own rate, then added) for every firm, with Fisher’s flat rate under $1 million, Fidelity’s small-account rule and Mercer’s minimum fees where they apply. Edward Jones’s two fees are added together. A script computed every figure from the schedules quoted in the sources; my row uses the tiers on my services and fees page. The figures assume one household, every dollar billable, and no credit, offset, negotiation or add-on fee.

Where is my fee lower, and where is it not?

• Lower than Fisher, Edward Jones and both Mercer schedules at all four sizes, where a rate is published. At $1 million, for example, mine is $10,500 against $12,500 at Fisher, $13,000 on Mercer’s Wealth Path and $13,075 at Edward Jones.
• Higher than Schwab Wealth Advisory at every size: $5,750 against $4,000 at $500,000, and $70,000 against $61,500 at $10 million.
• Lower than Fidelity’s gross fee at $500,000 and $1 million, and higher at $5 million ($42,500 against $41,750) and $10 million ($70,000 against $66,750). Fidelity’s net fee is lower than its gross fee by a credit that depends on the funds held.⁶

Schwab, Fidelity and Edward Jones charge wrap fees, which include trading and custody. My fee does not: clients pay brokerage and custodian charges separately.¹ For an account that trades, the difference with Schwab is larger than the table shows.

What is billed also differs. Schwab does not charge its fee on cash or money market funds.⁵ Fidelity does not charge on cash held for scheduled withdrawals in certain accounts.⁶ My fee is based on the average daily balance of the account.¹

How does each firm apply its schedule?

• Westlight Wealth.
  • Tiered on total assets I manage, using the average daily balance, billed quarterly in arrears. $400,000 minimum for new clients, which I may waive. Fees are generally negotiable; financial planning is included.¹
  • Discretionary management, primarily in equities; see how I weigh durable growth against price. My brochure also states that lower fees for comparable services may be available from other sources.¹
• Fisher Investments, Private Client.
  • Tiered rates on one or more accounts of the same client, which may be combined for billing on request. Targets clients with at least $1 million; smaller relationships pay 1.50%. Billed quarterly in arrears on quarter-end value; rates may be negotiated.²
• Mercer Advisors.
  • Several service levels: Guided Investing from 1.10%, Wealth Path, Custom Wealth and a $75,000-minimum-fee Ascend Group. Billed monthly in arrears on average daily balance. Minimum annual fees: $6,000 for Wealth Path and $15,000 for Custom Wealth.³
  • Separately managed account and third-party manager fees are added on top; fees may be negotiated.³
• Schwab Wealth Advisory.
  • Advice is non-discretionary: you decide whether to act on each recommendation, though managed portfolios inside the program are run by their managers. $500,000 enrollment minimum. Tiers apply to a Billing Group’s combined billable assets, which may include household members’ accounts.⁵
  • Clients enrolled before October 1, 2024 may keep a grandfathered schedule, which charges 0.30% above $5 million.⁵
• Fidelity Wealth Services.
  • Discretionary management in funds and, for some larger taxable accounts, individual securities. $50,000 minimum per account. Accounts with the same tax ID combine automatically; family accounts combine on request.⁶
  • The net fee is the gross fee less a credit. Some separately managed sleeves add up to 0.35% or 0.40%, and complex planning can carry a negotiated fee.⁶
• Edward Jones Advisory Solutions Fund Models.
  • Discretionary fund portfolios, generally from $25,000. Both fees are tiered on a Pricing Group of related accounts at the same address.⁴˒⁸
  • Credits 12b-1 fees, shareholder accounting fees and money market fund revenue to the account; may reduce the fee for assets moved from accounts that recently paid commissions.⁸

What happens to cash?

• Interactive Brokers, the custodian I require. IBKR Pro pays a benchmark rate minus 0.5%; on 16 October 2026 its page showed 3.38% a year on U.S. dollar cash above $10,000 in accounts worth more than $100,000. The first $10,000 in each currency earns no interest. Accounts worth less than $100,000 earn a proportionally lower rate, and balances in separate IBKR accounts are not combined. IBKR Lite pays the benchmark minus 1.5%.⁹
• Schwab Wealth Advisory sweeps cash by default into Schwab Government Money Fund, Sweep Shares (SWGXX), which pays Schwab up to 0.10% a year for sweep services.⁵ Its 7-day yield was 3.48% as of 14 October 2026.¹⁰
• Fidelity holds program cash in its core money market fund,⁶ and Edward Jones may use its affiliated money market fund, crediting that fund’s revenue to the account.⁸

On those dates, Schwab’s sweep fund showed a slightly higher yield than IBKR Pro’s published rate, before IBKR’s $10,000 threshold. A money market fund’s 7-day yield and a broker’s credit rate are measured differently, and both change often.

What does this comparison leave out?

• Fund and ETF expenses. Every program that uses funds adds their internal costs.
• Trading costs. Included in the three wrap fees; extra at Westlight, Fisher and Mercer.
• Cash economics beyond the rates above, including what each firm earns on client cash.
• Planning fees. Some firms charge separately for some planning or legal services; mine is included.
• Taxes. Selling holdings to move to a new program can realize gains. How tax-loss harvesting works covers one way losses can offset them.
• Negotiated and grandfathered pricing. Every firm here, including mine, may negotiate.
• Householding. Each firm groups accounts differently, which changes the tier you reach.
• Service and risk. Discretion, holdings and planning depth differ. How I assess risk describes what I look at beyond returns.

This comparison is a starting point, not sufficient on its own for choosing an adviser.

How current are these figures?

Fee schedules and cash rates change. The documents used here are dated: Fisher, February 11, 2026; Mercer, March 30, 2026; Schwab, October 15, 2026; Fidelity, March 30, 2026; Edward Jones, March 27, 2026 (brochure) and March 2026 (fee schedule); my Form ADV, August 26, 2026. Cash rates are as of 14 to 16 October 2026. Check each firm’s current brochure on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site before relying on any figure here.

The Bottom Line

At the four sizes shown, my fee is below Fisher’s, Mercer’s and Edward Jones’s, above Schwab Wealth Advisory’s, and above Fidelity’s gross fee at $5 million and $10 million. Three of the five programs are wrap fees that include trading costs mine does not. Four firms disclose commissions or product revenue, and Fisher discloses referral income. Services, cash terms and conflicts belong in the same comparison as fees.

If you would like to see how my schedule applies to your household, book a complimentary 15-minute call.