No: PNC is paid through transaction charges, trails on annuities, sales payments from product sponsors and revenue sharing from fund and annuity companies, as well as wrap fees on its advisory accounts. PNC Wealth Management LLC, the company formerly named PNC Investments, is registered with the SEC as both a broker-dealer and an investment adviser. Its standard advisory schedule starts at up to 2.00% a year on the first $250,000.
That makes PNC a dual registrant, not a fee-only firm. Here’s what its own filings say about how it’s paid and what it costs.
How PNC is paid
PNC Wealth Management (CRD 129052) is a subsidiary of PNC Bank. Its Form CRS, effective October 17, 2025, covers both kinds of account.
Brokerage. Unless you trade online, you pay for each transaction, “even where the trade is not recommended by us.” The Form CRS says “the more you trade, the more you will be charged.” You may pay a distribution charge on some products, part of which goes to the firm and your advisor, and “certain products, such as annuities, pay us ongoing revenue, known as a trail.” There’s no minimum, and the firm doesn’t monitor brokerage accounts.
Insurance. Annuities and other insurance are offered through PNC Insurance Services, LLC, a licensed insurance agency.
Advisory programs. All of PNC’s advisory accounts are wrap fee programs: you pay a quarterly fee based on your assets that covers advice and most trading. The Form CRS says plainly that “the fees for your wrap accounts are higher than a typical asset-based advisory fee.”
Sales payments. On annuities, insurance, structured products, certain ETFs, and A or C share mutual funds, the Form CRS says the firm “receives a compensation directly from the sponsor or managers for sales of those products.” It says this pay is the same across providers within a product class.
On its Form ADV Part 1, filed September 14, 2026, the advisory side reports being paid by a percentage of assets, and reports two other businesses: broker-dealer and insurance broker or agent.
The CFP Board’s standards allow “fee-only” only when neither the advisor nor a related party receives sales-related compensation. Commissions, trails and revenue sharing are sales-related pay, so PNC doesn’t meet that test as a firm.
What else the filings disclose
Revenue sharing decides the shelf. The Form CRS says PNC Wealth Management “will only recommend to you mutual fund products, certain ETFs, annuity products, insurance products, and structured products that participate in our revenue sharing program or pay a structuring fee.” The same rule applies to its advisory programs. The Portfolio Solutions brochure adds that it receives “a higher revenue share amount on mutual funds than ETFs” and, for advisory accounts: “We will not credit your Accounts for any revenue sharing payments we receive.”
Its affiliates’ funds. In both brokerage and advisory accounts, the firm says it recommends “products managed by investment management affiliates.”
Your cash. Idle cash in eligible accounts is swept into a deposit account at PNC Bank, which earns “spread revenue” on it. The Form CRS says a portion is shared with PNC Wealth Management, capped at the upper Federal Funds target rate plus 0.50%.
How advisors are paid. On brokerage accounts, advisors get a share of the transaction charge, and the Form CRS says they earn more by recommending structured products, alternative investments and variable annuities “because of the time and complexity required to sell such products.” On advisory accounts they get a share of the fee, and some who work with wealthier clients “can earn enhanced upfront compensation” for new advisory assets. Incentive programs can include bonuses and recognition trips, partly subsidized by fund companies and insurers.
Disciplinary history. The Form CRS answers “Yes.” The details are on BrokerCheck.
What PNC costs
Portfolio Solutions is one of PNC’s main advisor-led programs. Its March 31, 2026 brochure lists this standard schedule, labelled as maximum rates and applied in tiers to your household’s managed accounts:
| Assets | Maximum yearly program fee |
|---|---|
| First $250,000 | 2.00% |
| Next $250,000 | 1.75% |
| Next $500,000 | 1.50% |
| Next $1,000,000 | 1.25% |
| Next $2,000,000 | 1.00% |
| Over $4,000,000 | Negotiable |
The same schedule appears in the Guided Solutions and Capital Directions brochures. Your advisor “has discretion to negotiate” a different rate. The fee includes cash, and the funds you hold charge their own expenses on top. The minimum for Portfolio Solutions is generally $250,000; Guided Solutions requires $500,000 and Capital Directions $50,000.
Two lower-cost programs use flat rates. PNC Directions charges 1.00% a year with a $5,000 minimum, and the Portfolio Solutions Strategist Digital Offering charges 0.85%, also with a $5,000 minimum.
Worked out on the Portfolio Solutions schedule at its maximum rates:
- $500,000: $5,000 on the first $250,000 plus $4,375 on the next, or $9,375 a year (about 1.88%)
- $1 million: $9,375 plus $7,500, or $16,875 a year (about 1.69%)
For comparison, fee-only firms that publish a percentage fee charge a median 1% of assets. 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), whatever your balance, and a one-time plan has a median of $2,000. A flat-fee planner may not manage your investments for that price, while a PNC wrap fee covers management, trading and custody. Our guides to what an advisor costs on $500,000 and on $1 million go further.
Who PNC may suit
PNC may suit someone who banks with PNC and wants an advisor in the same relationship, with brokerage, managed accounts, annuities and insurance in one place. Smaller investors can start in PNC Directions or the digital program at $5,000, at a flat rate. Someone who rarely trades may find a brokerage account fits.
Someone who wants advice from a firm paid only by them, or an open menu that includes funds that don’t share revenue, may want to compare an independent fee-only advisor first. Our guide to independent advisor vs bank advisor covers the differences, and private banker vs fee-only advisor covers the bank’s wealth side. For the robo-style programs, see robo-advisor vs financial advisor.
How to check it yourself
- Read the Form CRS. It’s four pages and linked from the firm’s SEC record. See what a Form CRS tells you.
- Read the brochure for your program, especially the fee table and the “Additional Compensation” section on revenue sharing.
- Ask which role your advisor is in for each account: broker or investment adviser.
- Ask for your fee in dollars, including any discount and the expense ratios of the funds you’d hold.
- 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. For how other banks compare, see Is Truist fee-only? and Is U.S. Bank fee-only?.
Compare similar firms
Other banks we’ve checked against the fee-only definition: Bank of America, Truist, U.S. Bank, Citi. See all 50 firms.