No: Primerica is paid through up-front sales charges, commissions and revenue sharing on the mutual funds and annuities its representatives sell, as well as asset-based fees on its managed accounts. Its investment firm, PFS Investments Inc. (CRD 10111), is registered with the SEC as both a broker-dealer and an investment adviser, and runs its advisory business under the name Primerica Advisors. In that managed account program, the published advisory and program fees add up to as much as 1.74% a year on accounts of $250,000 or less, before asset manager fees and fund expenses.
That makes Primerica a dual registrant, not a fee-only firm. Here’s what its own filings say.
How Primerica is paid
Primerica, Inc. is a public company. Its wrap fee brochure, dated March 30, 2026, says that through its subsidiaries it offers term life insurance underwritten by Primerica Life Insurance Company, mutual funds, annuities and other financial products. Investments run through PFS Investments (PFSI). Its Form CRS, dated November 14, 2025, sets out two ways to work with it.
Brokerage. The Form CRS says the product menu “is limited”: actively managed mutual funds from a small number of fund companies, mainly in Class A shares, which take an up-front sales charge, plus variable and registered index-linked annuities, fixed and fixed indexed annuities through affiliates, and 529 plans. It says PFSI “receives compensation (‘commissions’) from mutual fund or annuity issuers each time you invest with us.” Funds also charge yearly expenses, including 12b-1 fees, and annuities can carry withdrawal charges. PFSI doesn’t monitor brokerage accounts.
Primerica Advisors. The Form CRS says its advisory services “are limited to a managed account wrap fee program.” You pay an ongoing wrap fee based on assets, which covers advice, trading and custody. The minimum is $25,000, and only representatives licensed for managed accounts can offer it. Strategies come from outside asset managers that Primerica selects and reviews.
On its Form ADV Part 1, filed September 8, 2026, the advisory side reports being paid by a percentage of assets and reports a broker-dealer business. The commissions sit on the broker-dealer 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. Sales charges, commissions and revenue sharing are sales-related pay, so Primerica doesn’t meet that test.
What else the filings disclose
Revenue sharing. The Form CRS says “our Platform Funds and annuities are limited to providers that pay us revenue sharing,” and that PFSI receives revenue sharing and administrative support payments when it sells their products. It is also paid for shareholder services on its platform funds. The brochure adds that an affiliate, Primerica Shareholder Services, is paid by Invesco, Franklin Templeton and Fidelity for services to fund owners.
Different pay for different products. The Form CRS says Primerica is “compensated differently when we sell you different investment products such as a mutual fund or variable annuity.”
How representatives are paid. On brokerage, your representative is paid when you buy and then yearly for as long as you hold the investment. On Primerica Advisors accounts, they get part of the advisory fee. The brochure says that if you invest for long enough, the yearly advisory pay “will exceed” what the same amount would have earned in funds or annuities, so a representative has an incentive to suggest whichever fits how long you plan to invest. Representatives can also earn “cash bonuses, trips or other non-cash compensation based on their total securities sales.”
Payments from asset managers. Each manager in Primerica Advisors pays Primerica 0.0075% of the assets it manages every quarter. The brochure says the rate is the same for every manager.
Disciplinary history. The Form CRS answers “Yes” for both brokerage and advisory. The details are on BrokerCheck.
What Primerica costs
On brokerage, you pay the sales charge on each fund purchase, set by the fund and shown in its prospectus, plus the fund’s yearly expenses. Primerica doesn’t publish one rate for all funds.
For Primerica Advisors, the brochure dated March 30, 2026 lists three parts to the wrap fee:
| Account value | Advisory fee (maximum) | Program fee |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 or less | 1.25% | 0.49% |
| $250,000.01 to $500,000 | 1.25% | 0.46% |
| $500,000.01 to $1,000,000 | 1.10% | 0.42% |
| $1,000,000.01 to $3,000,000 | 1.00% | 0.38% |
| $3,000,000.01 to $5,000,000 | 0.85% | 0.30% |
| $5,000,000.01 to $10,000,000 | 0.80% | 0.20% |
| Over $10,000,000 | 0.75% | 0.10% |
The third part, an asset manager fee, ranges from 0% to 0.50% depending on the models you pick. The advisory fee is negotiable with your representative; the brochure says the program and manager fees generally aren’t. The whole account is charged at the rate for the tier it falls in, and you can group accounts into a billing group to reach a lower tier. Fund expenses are on top.
At the maximum advisory fee and before manager fees:
- $500,000: 1.25% plus 0.46%, or $8,550 a year, plus up to $2,500 in manager fees
- $1 million: 1.10% plus 0.42%, or $15,200 a year, plus up to $5,000 in manager fees
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. A flat-fee planner may not manage your investments for that price, while the Primerica fee covers management, trading and custody. Our guides to what an advisor costs on $500,000 and on $1 million go further.
Who Primerica may suit
Primerica may suit a household starting out with small amounts, since its Form CRS says fund minimums can be as low as $25 or $50, and someone who wants term life insurance and a savings plan from one representative they meet in person. Someone with $25,000 or more who wants a managed portfolio can use Primerica Advisors.
Someone who wants advice from a firm paid only by them, a wider choice of funds, or a second opinion on an annuity may want to compare a fee-only planner first. Our guides to fee-only vs fee-based vs commission, financial advisor vs stockbroker and insurance agent vs financial advisor explain the trade-offs. For other firms that combine insurance and investments, see Northwestern Mutual and Edward Jones.
How to check it yourself
- Read the Form CRS. It covers both brokerage and Primerica Advisors in four pages and is linked from the firm’s SEC record. See what a Form CRS tells you.
- Ask which role your representative is in for each recommendation: broker or investment adviser.
- Ask for costs in dollars: the sales charge on any fund, or the full wrap fee including the manager fee, plus fund expenses.
- Ask whether a product pays Primerica revenue sharing, and what your representative earns on it.
- 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. 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, Lincoln Financial, Equitable, Principal, Nationwide, Ameriprise. See all 50 firms.