How we collect fees

As of October 2026, PlannerFees lists 14,208 fee-only advisory firms. We read 14,073 of their Form ADV Part 2A brochures, and 8,818 firms state at least one planning fee in dollars. The newest filing in the data is from October 5, 2026.

Which firms are listed

Investment advisers in the US register with the SEC or with their state securities regulator and file Form ADV. We start from the public Form ADV data published by the SEC and the state registration data on the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site. A firm is listed when Item 5 of its Form ADV says it offers financial planning and charges hourly, fixed or subscription fees.

We only list fee-only firms: we leave out any firm that reports commission compensation, is a broker-dealer, or has a related broker-dealer. Firms that only charge a percentage of assets are not listed either.

Where the prices come from

Every adviser must give clients a brochure (Form ADV Part 2A) that describes its fees in Item 5, "Fees and Compensation". We download each firm's most recent brochure and read that section. When a sentence states a dollar amount for an hourly rate, a flat or project fee, or a monthly, quarterly or annual fee, we record the amount and show the sentence it came from.

We only record a fee when the wording is clear. Asset-based fee tables, minimum account sizes, rates for support staff and other amounts that are not planning fees are ignored. If a brochure gives a range, we show the range. When we compute medians, each firm counts once, at the midpoint of its range.

How accurate it is

Fees are read by software, so we check them by hand. In our last check (October 6, 2026), we compared 100 randomly chosen fees with the source brochures: 92 matched exactly. Every price on the site links to the sentence and the source PDF, so you can check it yourself.

Limits

• Brochures can be up to a year old, and firms may change their fees in between. Each firm page shows the brochure date.
• Many good advisors do not publish dollar amounts. They are still listed, without prices.
• Firms are listed by their main office. Many advisors work with clients in other states or online.
• "Advice-only" means the firm reports no asset-based fee and no assets under management.

Updates and corrections

We refresh the data from SEC and state filings every month. If a fee is wrong, email corrections@plannerfees.com with the firm name and CRD number.

PlannerFees is not affiliated with the SEC, NASAA or any adviser, and no firm pays to be listed or to change how it appears. Nothing on this site is investment advice.