No: Prudential is paid through insurance sales, brokerage commissions, sales loads and fees from its own funds, as well as advisory fees. Its advisors, now branded Prudential Wealth Advisors, are “licensed insurance agents of Prudential,” its website says. For investments, they act “solely as registered persons of LPL Enterprise,” a broker-dealer and adviser that isn’t part of Prudential. In LPL Enterprise’s Model Wealth Portfolios program the advisory fee can be up to 2.35% a year.
So Prudential isn’t a fee-only firm. Its setup changed recently, so here’s what’s current, from the filings.
What changed at Prudential
Until late 2024, Prudential’s advisors offered brokerage and advice through its own firm, Pruco Securities, LLC (CRD 5685), which used the name Prudential Financial Planning Services for its advisory work. Pruco’s brochure dated March 25, 2026 says its retail brokerage and advisory business was transferred to LPL Enterprise, LLC (LPLE, CRD 8733), an affiliate of LPL Financial. Pruco now “does not provide investment advisory services or securities brokerage services to clients and does not have any customers or clients.” It “does not have a fee schedule.”
Pruco is still registered and its old Form CRS, dated May 2024, can still turn up online. It describes the transfer as upcoming. For an account opened today, LPLE’s documents are the ones that apply.
Prudential’s own site now describes “Prudential Wealth Advisors” as “a brand name for the proprietary retail sales channel” of The Prudential Insurance Company of America and its affiliates.
How Prudential is paid
Insurance. Prudential Wealth Advisors financial professionals are Prudential insurance agents. LPLE’s Form CRS says advisors’ pay can include “a share of revenue related to insurance products paid to a Firm,” meaning the insurer they’re associated with.
Brokerage through LPLE. LPLE’s Form CRS, effective June 10, 2024, says it charges “a transaction-based fee (sometimes referred to as a commission) every time you buy or sell an investment.” On mutual funds, annuities and alternative investments, LPLE and LPL receive “asset-based sales charges (e.g., sales loads)” from the product sponsor, plus ongoing 12b-1 fees or trail payments.
Advice through LPLE. You pay an ongoing fee based on your account’s value, or an hourly or fixed fee for planning. The Form CRS says the fee “is generally negotiated with” your advisor directly.
The share that goes to your advisor’s firm. LPLE’s brochure, dated October 7, 2026, says it typically shares 90% to 100% of the advisory fee with the financial institution your advisor is affiliated with, which then pays your advisor. That institution sets the advisor’s pay plan, subject to LPLE’s approval.
On its Form ADV Part 1, filed October 8, 2026, LPLE reports being paid by a percentage of assets, hourly charges and fixed fees for advice, and reports a broker-dealer business.
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 Prudential doesn’t meet that test.
What else the filings disclose
Pay tied to Prudential products. LPLE’s Form CRS says advisors have an incentive to recommend the insurance or proprietary products of their firm, because their pay, “including in some cases eligibility for benefits,” is set by that firm and “tied to the sale of their Firm’s insurance or proprietary investment products.”
Prudential’s own funds. LPLE’s brochure says advisors associated with Prudential can use model portfolios built by PGIM Investments, a Prudential affiliate. These can hold Prudential-affiliated mutual funds for “all of the investments in the portfolio.” PGIM charges no separate manager fee for them; it’s paid through the funds’ own fees. Qualified retirement accounts get a credit for the fund advisory and administrative fees that Prudential affiliates earn.
A limited shelf. The Form CRS says the products an advisor offers may be limited to those of sponsors affiliated with their firm, along with a limited group from other sponsors.
Cash and platform payments. LPL earns fees on cash swept into bank deposit programs, which the Form CRS says “are typically higher than the interest you earn.” LPLE and LPL also receive revenue sharing from sponsors, including the firms their advisors are associated with, that join their marketing programs.
Moving accounts. LPL can pay the advisor’s firm for helping move accounts to LPL, typically up to 0.15% of the assets transferred, or in some cases a flat amount of up to $350 per account.
Disciplinary history. LPLE’s Form CRS answers “Yes.” The details are on BrokerCheck.
What Prudential costs
Prudential doesn’t publish a fee schedule for its advisors. LPLE’s brochure gives the ceilings that apply:
| Service | Published fee |
|---|---|
| Model Wealth Portfolios advisory fee | Up to 2.35% a year, negotiable |
| Model Wealth Portfolios manager fee | 0% to 0.60% a year, by model (none on PGIM models) |
| Third-party managed accounts (TAMPs), LPLE’s share | Typically up to 2% a year, plus the manager’s fee |
| Financial planning | Typically $0 to $15,000, or up to $500 an hour |
Model Wealth Portfolios fees are charged quarterly in advance. Fund expenses and other account charges are on top.
At the 2.35% ceiling, before any manager fee:
- $500,000: up to $11,750 a year
- $1 million: up to $23,500 a year
The ceiling is a maximum, not a typical fee, and LPLE doesn’t publish what clients usually pay, so ask your advisor for the rate in writing. The brochure itself warns that a planning fee near the maximum “will be higher than the fees charged by other investment advisors for similar services in certain circumstances.”
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.
Who Prudential may suit
Prudential may suit someone who wants life insurance or an annuity, such as guaranteed retirement income, and wants it planned alongside investments by one advisor. Through LPLE, its advisors can offer brokerage, managed accounts, outside money managers and planning, with accounts held at LPL Financial.
Someone who wants advice from a firm paid only by them, or a second opinion on an annuity or policy, may want to compare a fee-only planner first. A fee-only planner earns nothing from the products they recommend. Our guides to insurance agent vs financial advisor, should you keep an annuity and pension lump sum vs annuity go further. Northwestern Mutual is a similar case.
How to check it yourself
- Read LPLE’s Form CRS, linked from its SEC record, not Pruco’s older one. See what a Form CRS tells you.
- Ask which role your advisor is in for each recommendation: LPLE adviser, LPLE broker or Prudential agent.
- Ask what your advisor earns on any Prudential policy, annuity or PGIM model, and how it affects their pay or benefits.
- Ask for your fee in writing, including the manager fee, cash sweep terms and fund expenses.
- Look up your advisor on BrokerCheck, where their registration should show LPL Enterprise.
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, Thrivent, State Farm, Primerica, Lincoln Financial, Equitable, Principal, Nationwide, Ameriprise. See all 50 firms.