A retainer fee is a fixed price for ongoing advice, usually set by the year and billed monthly or quarterly, that doesn't depend on the size of your investments.
Firms use retainer, flat fee, subscription and ongoing planning fee for much the same thing: a recurring price set by the complexity of the work. Fee-only firms that publish an ongoing planning fee charge a median $4,500 a year, with the middle half between $2,400 and $7,200, based on 775 firms' published prices.
If you pay in advance, the firm's brochure has to explain how you get a refund if you end the agreement early. An SEC-registered firm that requires prepayment of more than $1,200 per client six or more months ahead must include an audited balance sheet in its brochure; for state-registered firms the threshold is $500. That's one reason most retainers are billed monthly or quarterly.
How to check
Item 5 of the firm's Form ADV Part 2A brochure gives the fee, how often it's billed, whether it's negotiable and the refund policy.
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