No: CAPTRUST is paid mainly through advisory fees, but its Form CRS says “certain of our advisors are licensed insurance agents and registered representatives of our affiliated broker-dealer, CapFinancial Securities, LLC, and earn commissions.” Its standard fee for wealth clients is 1.25% a year on the first $1 million, stepping down to 0.70% above $5 million.
So the advisory fee is the main way CAPTRUST is paid, and the brochure says “most of the Adviser’s business is done on a fee basis.” The commissions are why it doesn’t meet a strict fee-only test. Here’s what the filings say.
How CAPTRUST is paid
CAPTRUST Financial Advisors is the name CapFinancial Partners, LLC (CRD 175112) uses as an SEC-registered investment adviser. Its brochure says The CapFinancial Group owns just under 100% of it, and GTCR Fund XII B indirectly owns more than 25%. Most of its $1.24 trillion in assets is advice to retirement plans, covered in a separate institutional brochure. This page covers its wealth clients: individuals, families and trusts.
Its Form ADV Part 1, filed October 29, 2026, is where a firm states how it’s paid. In Item 5E it checks a percentage of assets, hourly charges, fixed fees and performance-based fees. It doesn’t check commissions. In Item 6A it reports two other businesses of its own: insurance broker or agent, and accountant or accounting firm. Item 5B reports that, of 885 employees doing advisory work, 422 are registered representatives of a broker-dealer and 181 are licensed insurance agents.
The performance-fee box relates to private funds: the brochure says CAPTRUST “does not charge performance-based fees” in general but earns some on funds it took over from an acquired firm, Cobblestone.
The Form CRS, dated March 27, 2026, says advisors’ pay “is based on a portion of client fees received and increases as client fees increase,” some are on salary plus bonus, and pay can include equity awards as revenue targets are met. It adds: “In limited cases licensed financial professionals earn commissions on mutual funds, annuities, insurance products, or private investments.”
What else the filings disclose
In Item 7A of Form ADV, CAPTRUST reports related companies that are a broker-dealer, other investment advisers, an insurance company or agency, and sponsors of private funds. The brochure describes them:
- The broker-dealer. CapFinancial Securities (CFS) is affiliated by common ownership and is a FINRA member. “Many” CAPTRUST advisors are also CFS representatives. The brochure says a wealth advisor “generally spends less than 10% of their time” on broker-dealer work. When CFS earns commissions or 12b-1 fees on assets, CAPTRUST charges a 0% advisory fee on those assets, so you aren’t billed twice. In 2025 CAPTRUST also bought the assets of Carolinas Wealth Consulting and its affiliated broker-dealer.
- Insurance. Advisors “may occasionally recommend fixed or variable annuities or life insurance,” including private placement life insurance. Three business divisions, 1776 Advisor Group, Strategic Advisor Group and Family Office Risk Advisors, act as agent of record on life insurance, and “Strategic Advisor Group’s primary source of revenue is life insurance commissions.” CFS and CAPTRUST both hold business entity insurance licenses. See insurance agent vs financial advisor.
- Tax and trust. CAPTRUST prepares tax returns and offers bill pay and bookkeeping, billed hourly. Boston Fiduciary Services, an affiliate, provides trustee services.
- Private funds. CAPTRUST advises its own One Brick funds, which invest in a T. Rowe Price OHA private credit fund and “share in those incentive fees,” and earns 0.10% a year from them. It also manages 14 Cobblestone funds and others. The brochure calls the One Brick arrangement an incentive to recommend that credit fund.
- Paying for referrals. CAPTRUST pays outside solicitors from its own fee. It pays Fidelity’s referral program 0.25% a year on most referred assets (0.10% on bonds) and a 0.75% fee if a referred account moves away from Fidelity, and it pays Schwab ongoing fees for referred clients. The brochure says these give it an incentive to keep referred accounts at those custodians.
The CFP Board allows a planner to call their pay fee-only only when neither they nor their firm receives sales-related compensation, and related parties receive none “in connection with any Professional Services” for the client. Commissions are sales-related compensation. CAPTRUST doesn’t describe itself as fee-only in these documents.
The Form CRS answers “Yes” to legal or disciplinary history, which can include individual advisors. The brochure says neither management nor its Investment Committee has “any reportable disciplinary history.” Check CAPTRUST’s SEC record and CapFinancial Securities on BrokerCheck.
What CAPTRUST costs
The Wealth Client Brochure dated March 27, 2026 lists this standard schedule, effective January 1, 2026, for assets under $10 million at initial funding:
| Assets | Yearly rate |
|---|---|
| First $1 million | 1.25% |
| Next $1 million | 1.00% |
| Next $3 million | 0.85% |
| Above $5 million | 0.70% |
| Above $10 million | Negotiable |
Fees are usually billed quarterly in advance and “may be higher, lower, or waived.” Clients who came through an acquisition may keep their old schedule. Fund expenses and custodian charges are extra unless you choose a wrap fee account, which bundles trading costs; its wrap brochure lists maximum wrap fees of up to 2.25% on the first $1 million. Fixed-fee arrangements “generally range from $10,000 to $250,000” a year, and tax and family office work is billed hourly at rates the brochure doesn’t publish.
Worked out on the standard schedule:
- $500,000: 1.25%, or $6,250 a year
- $1 million: 1.25%, or $12,500 a year
- $2 million: $12,500 plus $10,000, or $22,500 a year (1.125%)
For comparison, fee-only firms that publish a percentage fee charge a median 1% of assets. Planners who charge a flat fee for ongoing planning charge a median $4,500 a year (middle half $2,400 to $7,200), whatever your balance, and a one-time plan has a median of $2,000. A flat-fee planner may not manage your investments for that price, while CAPTRUST’s fee includes management and planning. See what an advisor costs on $1 million and whether 1% is too much.
Who CAPTRUST may suit
CAPTRUST’s largest business is advice to retirement plans, and its Form CRS mentions a service for participants in plans that offer it. For wealth clients its brochure describes discretionary management, quarterly reports, and planning that covers estate, tax and charitable questions, with tax preparation in-house.
It may suit someone who already uses CAPTRUST through a workplace plan, or a household with $1 million or more that wants planning and tax work coordinated by one firm. Someone who wants advice only from a firm with no affiliated broker-dealer or insurance business, or who has a smaller balance and would pay the 1.25% top rate on all of it, may want to compare a flat-fee or hourly planner first. Our guide to an RIA vs a broker-dealer explains the difference.
How to check it yourself
- Read the Form CRS. It’s two pages on fees, conflicts and staff pay, linked from the firm’s SEC record. See what a Form CRS tells you.
- Open Form ADV Part 1. Item 5B shows how many staff are brokers or insurance agents, Item 6A the firm’s own other businesses, and Item 7A its related companies.
- Read brochure Items 10, 12 and 14 for affiliations, commissions and referral pay.
- Ask in writing whether your advisor is registered with CapFinancial Securities or licensed to sell insurance, and what you’ll pay in dollars each year.
Our guide to telling whether an advisor is fee-only walks through each check, and questions to ask a financial advisor covers the rest. For how this compares with commission and fee-based advisors, see fee-only vs fee-based vs commission.
Compare similar firms
Other large advisory firms we’ve checked against the fee-only definition: Fisher Investments, Creative Planning, Edelman Financial Engines, Mariner Wealth Advisors, Wealth Enhancement Group, Mercer Advisors, Hightower. See all 50 firms.