No: Ameritas is paid through commissions, sales of its own variable insurance products and revenue sharing, as well as advisory fees. Ameritas Advisory Services, LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser owned by Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., and its brochure says “most IARs are also registered representatives” of its broker-dealer affiliate, Ameritas Investment Company, and “may be individually licensed as insurance agents.” Its advisory fees are negotiated, with maximums starting at 2.00% a year on the first $250,000 in its Galaxy program.
So Ameritas isn’t a fee-only firm, and most of its advisors are dual registered. Here’s what its filings say, and how to check your own advisor.
How Ameritas is paid
Ameritas runs advice and brokerage through two companies, each with its own Form CRS dated October 1, 2021, still the current versions.
Brokerage, through Ameritas Investment Company (CRD 14869). You “typically pay a commission” on each transaction, plus transaction fees, ticket charges and account fees. On mutual funds, “the commission or sales load is typically an up-front charge.” Its advisors can be paid by “the product sold (i.e., differential compensation).”
Advisory accounts, through Ameritas Advisory Services (CRD 317245). You usually pay a percentage of your account’s value, negotiated with your advisor, plus platform, transaction and custody fees outside wrap programs. Financial plans are usually a flat fee, and consulting can be hourly, monthly or quarterly.
Its own products. The Form CRS says Ameritas Investment Company is “the distributor and lead underwriter for variable insurance products” issued by Ameritas Life. If you buy them, Ameritas and your advisor “would receive compensation and/or commissions,” which “creates an incentive for us to recommend proprietary products.” Ameritas also offers investment programs run by an affiliated manager, Ameritas Investment Partners.
Payments from managers and sponsors. Outside managers in its Elite Partners Program pay Ameritas an annual fee of up to 0.10% of assets or a flat fee, and both firms have revenue sharing arrangements with product sponsors.
On its Form ADV Part 1, filed October 30, 2026, the advisory firm reports being paid by a percentage of assets, hourly charges, fixed fees and “solicitor fees.” In Item 5, it counts 797 employees, of whom 422 are registered representatives of a broker-dealer and 348 are licensed insurance agents.
The CFP Board’s standards allow “fee-only” only when neither the advisor nor a related party receives sales-related compensation. Commissions and insurance sales are sales-related pay, so Ameritas doesn’t meet that test.
What else the filings disclose
Who owns it. Ameritas Mutual Holding Company owns Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. through Ameritas Holding Company, and Ameritas Life owns both Ameritas Advisory Services and Ameritas Investment Company. Some directors and officers serve across the group, and the brochure notes that “a significant percentage of time of our executive personnel is spent on activities other than” investment advice.
How advisors are paid. Advisors receive part of the advisory fee, and can receive referral or solicitor fees for recommending outside managers, plus marketing and due diligence payments from those managers. The brochure lists forgivable loans, production bonuses, higher payouts and fee waivers tied to an advisor’s total business at Ameritas.
Moving brokerage assets to advisory. If you move fund shares or unit trusts bought on commission through Ameritas Investment Company into an advisory account within two years, the brochure says Ameritas credits back a pro rata share of that commission.
Disciplinary history. The Form CRS answers “Yes, we and some of our financial professionals have legal or disciplinary histories.” Search the firms and your advisor on BrokerCheck.
Your advisor may not work the way Ameritas does
Ameritas’s advisors are “independent business owners,” according to its Form CRS, so the same name can describe different set-ups:
- A registered representative of Ameritas Investment Company. Can earn commissions. Not fee-only.
- Registered with both Ameritas firms. Can earn commissions, advisory fees and insurance commissions. Not fee-only, even on an account where you pay only a fee.
- Also an insurance agent. The firm’s Form ADV counts 348 licensed insurance agents among its employees. Insurance commissions count as sales-related pay under the CFP Board’s test.
The Form CRS says your advisor “will expressly tell you which account you are discussing.” Advisors can also run outside businesses, which appear in their Form ADV Part 2B supplement.
What Ameritas costs
Ameritas publishes maximum fees by program. In the Galaxy program, the advisor fee runs from a 0.50% minimum up to these maximums, charged as a single rate or in tiers:
| Account value | Maximum yearly fee |
|---|---|
| Up to $250,000 | 2.00% |
| $250,001 to $500,000 | 1.75% |
| $500,001 to $1,000,000 | 1.50% |
| $1,000,001 to $3,000,000 | 1.25% |
| Above $3,000,000 | 1.00% |
On top of the advisor fee, Galaxy accounts pay transaction fees and a $6.00 confirmation fee on most trades. Fund and variable product expenses are extra. Financial planning is a flat or hourly fee, and “hourly fees cannot exceed $500 per hour.”
Worked out at the Galaxy maximums, charged in tiers as the brochure’s own example does, before transaction fees and fund expenses:
- $500,000: up to $5,000 plus $4,375, or $9,375 a year (about 1.9%)
- $1 million: up to $9,375 plus $7,500, or $16,875 a year (about 1.7%)
Ameritas doesn’t publish what a typical client pays.
For comparison, fee-only firms that publish a percentage fee charge a median 1% of assets, which at that rate is $5,000 a year on $500,000 and $10,000 on $1 million. Fee-only planners who charge a flat fee for ongoing planning charge a median $4,500 a year (middle half $2,400 to $7,200), and a one-time plan has a median of $2,000. A flat-fee planner may not manage your investments for that price. See what an advisor costs on $500,000 and whether to keep an annuity.
Who Ameritas may suit
Ameritas may suit someone who wants one local advisor for both insurance and investments, including variable life and annuities, and who values an advisor who can place insurance directly. Someone who mainly holds a few funds may pay less in a brokerage account than a yearly percentage.
Someone who wants advice from a person paid only by them, especially on whether to buy insurance, may want to compare a fee-only planner who charges a flat or hourly fee first. Our guides to insurance agents vs financial advisors and RIA vs broker-dealer explain the differences. For a larger firm with its own insurance and funds, see is Ameriprise fee-only.
How to check it yourself
- Look up your advisor by name on BrokerCheck and the SEC’s adviser search. A broker registration with Ameritas Investment Company means they can earn commissions.
- Read both Forms CRS. The advisory one is linked from Ameritas Advisory Services’ SEC record. See what a Form CRS tells you.
- Read your advisor’s Form ADV Part 2B for insurance licenses and outside businesses.
- Ask in writing what you’ll pay in dollars, and whether your advisor earns anything if you buy insurance or an annuity.
Our guide to telling whether an advisor is fee-only walks through each check, and questions to ask a financial advisor gives you the rest.
Compare similar firms
Other independent broker-dealer networks we’ve checked against the fee-only definition: LPL Financial, Osaic, Cetera, Commonwealth Financial Network. See all 50 firms.