No: Lincoln Financial isn’t a fee-only firm, and it no longer owns a firm that gives personal investment advice. In December 2023 it agreed to sell Lincoln Financial Advisors and Lincoln Financial Securities, about 1,450 advisors, to Osaic. Those firms were renamed Osaic FA and Osaic FS, and in January 2025 they merged into Osaic Wealth, Inc., which is paid through commissions and insurance sales as well as advisory fees.
If you worked with a Lincoln Financial Advisors or Lincoln Financial Securities advisor, their firm today may be Osaic Wealth, or another firm if they have since moved. Here’s what the filings say, and how to confirm it.
What happened to Lincoln’s advice firms
Osaic announced on December 14, 2023 that it would acquire “Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation (LFA) and Lincoln Financial Securities Corporation (LFS),” together called Lincoln Wealth, with “approximately 1,450 advisors” and about $108 billion in assets as of June 30, 2023.
FINRA’s BrokerCheck now lists Osaic FS, Inc. (CRD 3870) with Lincoln Financial Securities Corporation among its former names. The Lincoln Financial Advisors firm became Osaic FA, Inc. (CRD 3978); its Form ADV, last amended January 13, 2025, still lists “Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation” as a place its records are kept. BrokerCheck shows both registrations as terminated on March 30, 2025.
Osaic Wealth’s brochure, current as of August 31, 2026, explains why: “On January 24, 2025, Osaic FA, Inc. and Osaic FS, Inc. merged the entirety of their broker-dealer and RIA businesses into the Company.” Several of its advisory programs are offered only through advisors “previously registered with Osaic FA, Inc.”
Lincoln Financial itself now describes four core businesses: “annuities, life insurance, group protection, and retirement plan services,” in a press release dated March 16, 2026.
How Osaic Wealth is paid
Osaic Wealth (CRD 23131) is registered with the SEC as both a broker-dealer and an investment adviser. Its Form CRS, in the version dated October 2024 that’s on file with the SEC, sets out both.
Brokerage. “You will pay a transaction-based fee, generally referred to as a commission, every time you buy or sell an investment,” and your advisor gets part of it. You may also pay transaction fees, ticket charges and custodial charges, some of which Osaic marks up. Osaic doesn’t monitor brokerage accounts.
Advisory. You “pay an ongoing asset-based fee,” agreed with your advisor, in programs that include wrap fee accounts and accounts run by outside managers. Financial planning is priced separately.
Insurance. The brochure says “the Firm is also an insurance agency licensed to do business in all 50 states,” and insurance-licensed advisors can sell fixed annuities, term life and whole life “for compensation.” If you buy securities or insurance to carry out a plan, “your Advisory Representatives typically receive commissions as Registered Representatives of Osaic Wealth or insurance agents.”
On its Form ADV Part 1, filed September 29, 2026, Osaic Wealth reports being paid by a percentage of assets, hourly charges and fixed fees, and reports broker-dealer and insurance agency businesses.
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 pay are sales-related, so Osaic Wealth doesn’t meet that test.
What else the filings disclose
Revenue sharing. The Form CRS says product sponsors, retirement plan partners, outside managers and lending partners share revenue with Osaic, and that it receives “substantial indirect clearing and custodian compensation” from clearing firms based on accounts and assets. See revenue sharing.
Cash sweep. Uninvested cash in many accounts is swept to bank deposit programs that “create financial benefits for Osaic.” The Form CRS notes that other cash options can pay more.
Pay for bringing in assets. The brochure describes an Asset Acceleration Program that pays some advisors 0.35%, and up to 0.70%, of net new assets added at its custodians, as a loan forgiven over three to seven years. It calls this a conflict of interest.
Disciplinary history. The Form CRS answers “Yes.” Details on the firm and your advisor are on BrokerCheck.
What it costs
Osaic Wealth doesn’t publish one fee schedule for its advisory accounts. Its brochure says “each of our Advisory Representatives negotiates his or her own client fee schedule,” and fund expenses come on top. One program, for retirement plan participants, lists a maximum of 3% a year. Because fees vary by advisor and program, the only way to know yours is to ask for it in writing.
Planning has published limits in the brochure:
| Planning service | Published range |
|---|---|
| Flat fee | Generally up to $25,000, higher for some clients with over $10 million |
| Hourly rate | Generally $0 to $750 an hour, up to $25,000 in total |
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. Our guides to what an advisor costs on $500,000 and on $1 million go further.
Who it may suit
Staying with a former Lincoln advisor at Osaic Wealth may suit someone who has a long relationship with that advisor, holds annuities or life insurance they’d like serviced in the same place, and values one person handling brokerage, advice and insurance.
Someone who wants advice from a firm paid only by them, or who is reviewing an annuity or policy and wants a view from someone who earns nothing on it, may want to compare a fee-only planner first. Our guides to insurance agent vs financial advisor, should you keep an annuity and fee-only vs fee-based vs commission go further. For other firms that pair insurance and investments, see Northwestern Mutual and Equitable.
How to check it yourself
- Look up your advisor on BrokerCheck to see their current firm and past firms.
- Read the current Form CRS for that firm, linked from its SEC record if it’s Osaic Wealth. See what a Form CRS tells you.
- Ask which role your advisor is in for each recommendation: broker, investment adviser or insurance agent.
- Ask for your fee schedule in writing, including any program fee and fund expenses.
- Ask what your advisor earns on any annuity or policy they recommend.
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. If you’re thinking of moving, see how to switch financial advisors.
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, Equitable, Principal, Nationwide, Ameriprise. See all 50 firms.