Is Edelman Financial Engines fee-only? How Edelman Financial Engines is paid and what it costs

No: Edelman Financial Engines is paid mainly through fees its clients pay, starting at 1.75% a year on the first $400,000 you invest with it, but its brochure says the firm also “is compensated with a percentage of commissions” on certain insurance products sold after it refers a client. Its planners take no commissions: the same brochure says they “receive no commissions from affiliates or other entities.” The firm is also affiliated with an insurance agency. Under the CFP Board’s definition, a firm is fee-only only if neither it nor a related party receives sales-related compensation, which includes commissions and referral fees.

That leaves a firm whose advice is paid for by fees, with a narrow, disclosed stream of insurance pay at the firm level. Here’s what its filings say, and what it costs.

How Edelman Financial Engines is paid

The firm’s legal name is Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. (CRD 104510). It is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser only, with about $326 billion under management in its Form ADV Part 1, amended October 30, 2026. Its answers to the compensation question (Item 5E) are a percentage of assets, hourly charges, subscription fees and fixed fees. Commissions is not checked. Item 5B reports that none of its 1,679 employees are registered representatives of a broker-dealer, so its planners aren’t dual registrants.

Its Form CRS (dated March 31, 2025) lists the ways clients pay:

• Wealth planning through a wrap fee program, a single percentage of assets that covers advice and most trading costs at the firm’s custodians
• Professional Management, a percentage of assets for managing your account inside a workplace retirement plan
• Online Advice, a fixed fee if you buy it directly, or paid by your plan or employer if you get it at work
• A financial plan, a one-time fee “of up to $10,000,” which can be waived in part or in full

On how its people are paid, the Form CRS says planners receive a percentage of the fees on the assets they manage and can earn more for bringing in assets, keeping clients and getting referrals. It says neither planners nor advisors “receive commissions on any investments our clients may invest in through the firm.”

What else the filings disclose

The brochure (Form ADV Part 2A, March 31, 2026) describes several other ways money moves. Here they are as the firm describes them.

• Insurance. The firm “is not a registered broker-dealer or insurance agency” but is affiliated with Edelman Financial Services, LLC, “which is an insurance agency.” Planners refer clients with insurance needs to outside agencies or carriers, and the firm receives a percentage of commissions on certain products placed through those referrals. The insurance affiliate also receives insurance pay on products clients bought earlier. The brochure says no client-facing staff receive commissions from this.
• Insurance licenses. Form ADV Part 1 (Item 5B) reports 405 employees who are licensed insurance agents. The brochure says some planners keep licenses to give complete advice and that “no planners sell insurance products or services.”
• Annuities. A planner may refer you to an outside insurance agency or broker-dealer to consider a fee-based or other variable annuity. For a fee-based annuity, the planner may manage it for an advisory fee of no more than 0.50% a year.
• Cash. Through its Ready Cash program, clients can keep cash in an account at UMB Bank. The firm receives a platform fee from UMB that “will generally increase” as the money in the program grows.
• Custodian support. Schwab, one of its custodians, has agreed to pay for certain technology, research and marketing once client assets there pass certain thresholds. The brochure calls this a conflict of interest.
• Workplace plans. Employers, plans or plan providers can pay the firm up to $12 per eligible participant a year to make its services available. The firm may also pay plan providers for data links, sometimes as a percentage of the advisory fees it earns.
• Rollovers. The brochure says planners have “an economic incentive” to recommend rolling money out of a workplace plan, because their pay is tied to assets under management.
• Related companies. Schedule D of Form ADV lists two related persons: Edelman Financial Services, LLC and EFE Tax, LLC. The brochure says an affiliate may help certain clients with individual tax items.

The brochure also says the firm “does not sell or distribute proprietary investment products.” Its models use mutual funds, ETFs and other securities chosen by the firm.

What Edelman Financial Engines costs

The published schedule for new wealth planning clients is tiered: each rate applies only to the slice of assets in that band.

Worked on that schedule, $500,000 costs $8,250 a year (about 1.65%) and $1 million costs $13,875 a year (about 1.39%). Accounts in one household are added together for the tiers. The wrap fee covers trading at the program custodians, but fund expenses inside the mutual funds and ETFs are extra, as are trade fees for the bonds used in its Retirement Paycheck service. The brochure says discounts are possible and put in writing, and that no client pays more than 1.75% unless a separate agreement says otherwise.

Workplace services are priced separately: up to 0.60% for Professional Management of a plan account, up to 0.75% for IRA management, and up to 1.35% for Personal Advisor, with a $225 minimum quarterly fee. Online Advice bought directly costs up to $300 a year.

Among fee-only firms that publish prices, the median percentage fee is 1% of assets, and the median flat fee for ongoing planning is $4,500 a year (middle half $2,400 to $7,200).

A flat 1% is not the same service as Edelman’s wrap program, and a flat planning fee may not include investment management, so compare what each covers. Our guides to what an advisor costs on $500,000 and on $1 million go further.

Who Edelman Financial Engines may suit

• Workplace plan members. If your employer offers Professional Management, the firm can manage your 401(k) inside the plan. Your employer may pay part of the fee.
• People who want an office nearby. The firm works through planners in offices nationwide, and the brochure says the fee is the same whether you work with an office planner or its central team.
• Retirees who want a paycheck. The Retirement Paycheck service generally sets aside three years of monthly income in lower-risk holdings and invests the rest.
• Smaller balances. Online Advice costs up to $300 a year, and the brochure says minimum account sizes can be reduced or waived.

If you want an advisor whose firm takes no money from anyone but you, or you’d rather pay a flat price, a fee-only advisor who publishes prices is the closer fit. Our comparison of fee-only, fee-based and commission advisors explains the difference.

How to check it yourself

1. Read the Form CRS on the SEC’s adviser search. The section “How else does your firm make money” is where conflicts start.
2. Open Form ADV Part 1. Item 5E shows how the firm is paid, Item 6A its other businesses and Item 7A its related companies. Our guide to telling whether an advisor is fee-only shows where each one is.
3. Read Part 2A, Items 5, 10 and 14. Fees, affiliations and other compensation are there.
4. Check your planner by name on the same site to see their registrations and any disclosures.
5. Ask in writing: “Will the firm or an affiliate be paid anything if I buy insurance or an annuity you refer me to?” and “What will I pay in total each year, in dollars, including fund expenses?” More in questions to ask a financial advisor.

Compare similar firms

Other large advisory firms we’ve checked against the fee-only definition: Fisher Investments, Creative Planning, Mariner Wealth Advisors, CAPTRUST, Wealth Enhancement Group, Mercer Advisors, Hightower. See all 50 firms.