No: Equitable is paid through brokerage commissions, sales loads, 12b-1 fees, revenue sharing and sales of its own insurance and funds, as well as advisory fees. Its advice firm, Equitable Advisors, LLC (CRD 6627), is registered with the SEC as both a broker-dealer and an investment adviser, and its brochure says many of its advisors are also licensed insurance agents of an Equitable affiliate. Advisory fees are negotiated, and the firm’s share can reach up to 2.5% a year.
That makes Equitable Advisors a dual registrant, not a fee-only firm. Here’s what its own filings say.
How Equitable is paid
Equitable Advisors is owned by Equitable Holdings, a public company whose businesses include the life insurer Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company and the fund manager AllianceBernstein. Its Form CRS, dated March 2026, says its financial professionals “are largely dually registered,” able to offer both brokerage and advice.
Brokerage. The Form CRS says “each time you buy or sell a security (including variable life and annuities), you will typically pay a scheduled commission.” Mutual funds typically charge a sales load based on the amount invested, and for some funds the firm also receives 12b-1 fees, which it shares with your advisor. Brokerage accounts aren’t monitored.
Advisory. You “typically pay a quarterly assets under management (AUM) fee that is a percentage of AUM negotiated between you and your FP.” Programs include ones your advisor manages, programs run by LPL Financial and outside managers, and referrals to other advisory firms. Financial planning can be paid by an asset-based fee, a flat fee or an hourly rate.
Insurance. The brochure dated September 30, 2026 says many of its advisors “also are licensed as insurance agents of Equitable Network, LLC,” an affiliate, and act as insurance agents when recommending variable annuities or other insurance. When a planning client buys products to carry out a plan, the brochure says the firm and advisor “will generally be entitled to commissions or other compensation in addition to the fee paid by the client for the financial planning services.”
On its Form ADV Part 1, filed October 14, 2026, the advisory side reports being paid by a percentage of assets, hourly charges and fixed fees, and reports a broker-dealer business. The commissions sit on the broker-dealer and insurance side, which is why the Form CRS is the place to see them.
The CFP Board’s standards allow “fee-only” only when neither the advisor nor a related party receives sales-related compensation. Commissions, sales loads and insurance sales are sales-related pay, so Equitable doesn’t meet that test.
What else the filings disclose
Its own products. The Form CRS lists proprietary products from Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company and from AllianceBernstein and 1290 Funds, and says affiliates “receive fees and compensation when you purchase a product they issue, sponsor or manage.”
Sales requirements tied to benefits. The Form CRS says “FPs must meet certain minimum sales requirements in proprietary products to qualify for health and retirement benefits.” It describes this as an incentive to recommend proprietary products over others. Advisors can also receive “awards, prizes and trips in connection with their sales activity.”
Revenue sharing and other payments. The firm receives revenue sharing as marketing support from some fund and product companies, a reallowance from LPL based on advisory assets held there, cash sweep fees, and, in some cases, a finder’s fee from a fund company on purchases of about $1 million or more.
How advisors are paid. On brokerage, your advisor shares in commissions, 12b-1 fees and trails. On LPL advisory programs, the brochure says advisors generally keep 40% to 90% of the fee paid to Equitable Advisors.
A pending merger. The brochure says Equitable Holdings agreed to a merger of equals with Corebridge Financial, approved by stockholders July 30, 2026 and “expected to close by year-end 2026, pending regulatory approvals.” It says the brochure will be updated afterwards.
Disciplinary history. The Form CRS answers “Yes.” The details are on BrokerCheck.
What Equitable costs
Equitable Advisors doesn’t publish a single fee schedule for its advisory accounts. Your advisor negotiates the fee within each program’s limits. The Form CRS says the firm’s fee “may not exceed 2.5% annually,” and the brochure’s chart of the firm’s share runs from 0% to 2.5% depending on the program, with outside managers’ and fund fees on top. Program minimums for outside managers generally range from $10,000 to $2 million.
At the 2.5% cap, the yearly fee would be up to $12,500 on $500,000 and up to $25,000 on $1 million. That’s the ceiling, not a typical fee, so ask for your schedule in writing.
Planning has published ranges in the brochure:
| Planning service | Published range |
|---|---|
| Fixed fee, new client | $250 to $25,000 (can be higher in some cases) |
| Fixed fee, follow-on review | Generally $250 to $12,500 |
| Hourly rate | Generally $100 to $400 an hour |
The brochure says it will refund the full planning fee if you’re unhappy and ask within 90 days of delivery, and that plans don’t include recommendations on specific investments or insurance products.
For comparison, fee-only firms that publish a percentage fee charge a median 1% of assets, or $5,000 on $500,000 and $10,000 on $1 million at that rate. 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), a one-time plan has a median of $2,000, and hourly planners charge a median $300 an hour.
Who Equitable may suit
Equitable may suit someone who wants life insurance, annuities and investments handled together by one advisor they meet with. Its advisory menu, which includes LPL programs and several outside managers, gives an advisor a range of portfolio choices, and planning can be bought on its own for a fixed or hourly fee.
Someone who wants advice from a firm paid only by them, or an independent view of an annuity or life policy before buying, may want to compare a fee-only planner first. A fee-only planner earns nothing from the product. Our guides to insurance agent vs financial advisor, should you keep an annuity and fee-only vs fee-based vs commission go further. For similar firms, see Northwestern Mutual and Ameriprise.
How to check it yourself
- Read the Form CRS at equitable.com/CRS or from the firm’s SEC record. See what a Form CRS tells you.
- Ask which role your advisor is in for each recommendation: broker, investment adviser or Equitable Network insurance agent.
- Ask for the full advisory fee in dollars, including the program, manager and fund costs, not just your advisor’s share.
- Ask whether a product is Equitable’s own, and whether it counts toward your advisor’s benefits.
- Look up your advisor on BrokerCheck.
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 insurance companies we’ve checked against the fee-only definition: Northwestern Mutual, MassMutual, New York Life, Prudential, Thrivent, State Farm, Primerica, Lincoln Financial, Principal, Nationwide, Ameriprise. See all 50 firms.