No: Cetera is paid through commissions, sales charges, 12b-1 fees, trail commissions and revenue sharing, as well as advisory fees. Advice comes through Cetera Investment Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered adviser, and brokerage through four affiliated broker-dealers. Its brochure says “most of Our advisors are also registered with an affiliated broker-dealer.” In its Preferred Asset Management program, the maximum fee starts at 2.50% a year on the first $250,000.
So Cetera 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 Cetera is paid
Cetera Investment Advisers (CRD 105644) files one Form CRS together with its four broker-dealers: Cetera Advisors, Cetera Wealth Services (formerly Cetera Advisor Networks), Cetera Financial Specialists and Cetera Investment Services. The adviser’s version is dated July 2025. In it, “we” means all the affiliated companies as a group.
Brokerage. You pay “a transaction-based fee, referred to as a ‘commission’ or ‘sales charge,’ each time you buy or sell an investment.” On variable annuities you pay a sales charge as a percentage of the amount invested, and surrender charges if you sell early. Cetera doesn’t monitor brokerage accounts.
Advisory accounts. You pay “an on-going fee based on the value of the assets in your account,” negotiated with your advisor. Financial planning and consulting are billed hourly or as an agreed fee.
Payments from product companies. The Form CRS says Cetera receives revenue sharing from product sponsors and third-party managers, marketing payments from fund and annuity sponsors, and servicing fees from some no-transaction-fee fund companies. Advisors “may also receive a portion” of 12b-1 fees and annuity trail commissions. Cetera is also paid by banks in its cash sweep program.
On its Form ADV Part 1, filed October 23, 2026, the adviser reports being paid by a percentage of assets, hourly charges and fixed fees, and checks no other business in Item 6A. That’s because the brokerage sits in the separate broker-dealers, which is why the Form CRS is the place to see the commissions.
The CFP Board’s standards allow “fee-only” only when neither the advisor nor a related party receives sales-related compensation. Commissions, 12b-1 fees and trails are sales-related pay, so Cetera doesn’t meet that test.
What else the filings disclose
How advisors are paid. The Form CRS lists five kinds of pay: upfront or deferred commissions, ongoing 12b-1 fees and trails, asset-based advisory fees, hourly or flat planning fees, and markups on bonds. “In general, the more total revenue a Financial Professional produces in a given year, the greater the percentage of the revenue they receive.” Conference eligibility also depends on revenue produced.
Insurance. The brochure, dated August 12, 2026, says Cetera’s advisors “can also be licensed insurance agents” and receive commissions, and that some affiliates are general insurance agencies.
No in-house funds. The Form CRS says, “We do not offer proprietary investment products.”
Clearing. Brokerage clears through Pershing, and Cetera keeps part of some fees charged to your account above what Pershing charges it.
Disciplinary history. The Form CRS answers “Yes” to whether the firm and some of its advisors have legal or disciplinary history. Search the firm and your advisor on BrokerCheck.
Your advisor may not work the way Cetera does
Cetera’s advisors are independent contractors, so the same Cetera name can sit behind very different set-ups:
- A broker with a Cetera broker-dealer. Paid through commissions. Not fee-only.
- Registered with a Cetera broker-dealer and Cetera Investment Advisers. Can earn commissions and advisory fees. Not fee-only, even on an account where you pay only a fee.
- An adviser at their own firm. The Form CRS says your advisor “may also provide investment advisory services through an ORIA that is not affiliated with us,” meaning an outside registered investment adviser, with Cetera providing trading and support. It adds that the advisor’s pay through that outside firm “may be more than” through Cetera. If the advisor is still a Cetera broker, they can still earn commissions.
Cetera’s parent company, Aretec Group, also owns other adviser firms, including Cetera Planning Partners and Avantax Planning Partners, each with its own filings.
What Cetera costs
Cetera publishes maximum fee schedules for each advisory program, and “You and Your Advisor can negotiate a lower fee.” In the Preferred Asset Management program, the brochure lists these maximums, applied in tiers:
| Assets in account | Maximum yearly fee |
|---|---|
| First $250,000 | 2.50% |
| Next $250,000 | 2.25% |
| Next $500,000 | 1.75% |
| Next $1,500,000 | 1.50% |
| Next $2,500,000 | 1.25% |
| Above $5,000,000 | 1.00% |
Its Prime and Premier programs, which include most trading costs, run 0.25 points higher at each tier, up to 2.75%. Other programs add a program fee to the advisor fee, with some capped at 3.00% in total. Closing a Preferred, Prime or Premier account in its first year adds a $200 administration fee. Fund expenses are extra.
Worked out at the Preferred maximums, before fund expenses and transaction charges:
- $500,000: up to $6,250 plus $5,625, or $11,875 a year (about 2.4%)
- $1 million: up to $11,875 plus $8,750, or $20,625 a year (about 2.1%)
Cetera doesn’t publish what a typical client pays. Financial planning has no fee schedule; your advisor sets a flat or hourly fee.
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 are advisor fees negotiable.
Who Cetera may suit
Cetera may suit someone who wants an independent local advisor with a wide range of brokerage and advisory options, outside managers and insurance, and who prefers a firm that doesn’t sell its own funds. Someone who buys a few investments and holds them may pay less in a brokerage account, which the Form CRS itself says.
Someone who wants advice from a person paid only by them may want to compare a fee-only planner who charges a flat or hourly fee first. Our guides to RIA vs broker-dealer and fiduciary vs suitability explain the differences in duty.
How to check it yourself
- Look up your advisor by name on BrokerCheck and the SEC’s adviser search. Registration with any Cetera broker-dealer means they can earn commissions.
- Check which adviser firm they’re with. If it isn’t Cetera Investment Advisers, open that firm’s Form ADV Part 1: Item 5E shows commissions, and Items 6A and 7A show brokerage or insurance ties.
- Read the Form CRS linked from Cetera’s SEC record. See what a Form CRS tells you.
- Ask for your fee in dollars and where it sits against the program maximum.
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, Commonwealth Financial Network, Ameritas. See all 50 firms.