No: Nationwide is paid through commissions, sales charges and markups on brokerage, fees built into its own insurance products and funds, and payments to its affiliates, as well as asset-based fees on managed accounts. Its retail broker and adviser, Nationwide Securities, LLC (NSLLC, CRD 11173), is registered with the SEC as both. In July 2026 it launched two managed account programs whose published fees run from 0.35% to 0.85% a year, plus fund expenses.
That makes NSLLC a dual registrant, not a fee-only firm. Here’s what its own filings say.
How Nationwide is paid
Nationwide is a group of companies controlled by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, which its brochure describes as “a mutual insurance company owned by its policyholders.” NSLLC is the arm that works with individual investors, including participants in retirement plans its affiliates service. Its Form CRS, dated July 16, 2026, describes two kinds of service.
Brokerage. The Form CRS says you “typically will pay a fee each time there is transaction,” called a commission, sales charge or markup, and the amount varies by investment. Its menu covers variable annuities and variable life insurance, mutual funds, stocks, bonds and ETFs, and it says “we limit our offerings of variable insurance products to those issued by our affiliates.” NSLLC doesn’t monitor brokerage accounts. Opening one takes $200.
Advisory. NSLLC offers financial planning and managed accounts. Its brochure, also dated July 16, 2026, says two older programs, My Investment Planner and ProAccount, closed to new business that day, and two new ones opened: Select Managed Account and Signature Managed Account. Both invest in model portfolios of Nationwide and outside mutual funds, built by an outside sub-adviser, Wilshire.
On its Form ADV Part 1, filed July 16, 2026, NSLLC reports being paid by a percentage of assets and reports broker-dealer and insurance broker or agent businesses. Its brochure says it “holds a corporate insurance license in most states.”
The CFP Board’s standards allow “fee-only” only when neither the advisor nor a related party receives sales-related compensation. Commissions and sales charges are sales-related pay, so Nationwide doesn’t meet that test as a firm.
What else the filings disclose
Its own products. The Form CRS says “many of the investments NSLLC recommends, including variable insurance products and mutual funds, are issued by our affiliates,” and that those affiliates earn the fees and charges built into them. The insurance affiliates that issue variable products also receive 12b-1 fees, administrative fees and revenue sharing from the funds inside them.
Nationwide funds in managed accounts. Both new programs can hold Nationwide mutual funds, advised by Nationwide Fund Advisors, an affiliate. The brochure says affiliates “may receive more or less revenue” from Nationwide funds than from outside funds. It says Wilshire chooses the funds, and NSLLC can’t change its models.
Cash and clearing. Its clearing firm, Pershing, shares with NSLLC some of what it earns on your assets, such as cash held in a sweep account.
How representatives are paid. The Form CRS says representatives on all three of its service teams receive a salary. Two teams can also earn “Variable Compensation,” which depends on the products or services they recommend or sell. The brochure says representatives can earn bonus credits for each Signature account opened, up to a cap, and incentive pay for preparing financial plans.
Rollovers. NSLLC advises some plan participants on whether to keep money in a plan its affiliates service or move it. The Form CRS calls this a conflict, since affiliates may be involved either way. See 401(k) rollover when changing jobs.
Disciplinary history. The Form CRS answers “Yes.” Its brochure says NSLLC knows of no legal or disciplinary event material to its advisory business. Details on the firm and its representatives are on BrokerCheck.
What Nationwide costs
The brochure publishes a full schedule for each program. The fee is charged in tiers, with each rate applying to the slice of your balance named in that row:
| Account balance | Select | Signature |
|---|---|---|
| First $99,999.99 | 0.55% | 0.85% |
| Next $150,000 | 0.50% | 0.80% |
| Next $150,000 | 0.45% | 0.75% |
| Next $100,000 | 0.40% | 0.70% |
| $500,000 and above | 0.35% | 0.65% |
Select is self-chosen with a $5,000 minimum. Signature includes ongoing access to advisory representatives and needs $50,000. On top of the program fee you pay the expenses of the funds in your model and a custodial fee to Pershing. Financial planning is free.
Worked out on the published rates, before fund expenses:
- $500,000: Select $2,375 a year (about 0.48%); Signature $3,875 a year (about 0.78%)
- $1 million: Select $4,125 a year (about 0.41%); Signature $7,125 a year (about 0.71%)
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), and a one-time plan has a median of $2,000.
The programs differ in scope, so compare what you get. Nationwide’s accounts hold model portfolios of mutual funds chosen by a sub-adviser, and its brochure says the planning service ends when the plan is delivered. A fee-only planner’s fee usually covers ongoing planning across your whole situation, and may or may not include managing your investments.
Who Nationwide may suit
Nationwide may suit someone already in a retirement plan its affiliates service who wants a simple managed IRA at a low published rate, or free help with a one-time plan. Select has a $5,000 minimum and a published fee of 0.55% or less, and the representatives are salaried rather than paid by commission.
Someone who wants ongoing advice from a firm paid only by them, wider investment choices than Nationwide’s fund models, or an independent view on a Nationwide annuity may want to compare a fee-only planner first. Our guides to workplace 401(k) advice vs an independent advisor, robo-advisor vs financial advisor and should you keep an annuity go further.
How to check it yourself
- Read the Form CRS. It’s linked from the firm’s SEC record. See what a Form CRS tells you.
- Ask whether you’re getting brokerage or advice on each recommendation, and which program an account is in.
- Ask what share of your model is in Nationwide funds, and what those funds charge.
- If you’re weighing a rollover, ask for a side-by-side of your plan’s costs and the IRA’s, including fund expenses.
- Look up your representative 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, Equitable, Principal, Ameriprise. See all 50 firms.