No: UBS is paid through commissions, markups, sales charges, revenue sharing from fund and annuity companies and fees on its own products, as well as advisory fees. UBS Financial Services Inc. is registered with the SEC as both a broker-dealer and an investment adviser. Its main advisory programs charge a negotiated fee of up to 2.50% a year.
That makes UBS a dual registrant, not a fee-only firm. Here’s what its own filings say.
How UBS is paid
UBS Financial Services (CRD 8174) offers brokerage and advisory accounts, and its Form CRS for individual clients, dated June 2026, sets them side by side.
Brokerage. The main costs are “transaction-based fees,” charged each time you buy or sell, including up-front commissions, which advisors can discount. Accounts below certain relationship levels also pay yearly maintenance fees. The Form CRS says that because UBS is paid for transactions, “there is an incentive to encourage you to trade more frequently and in greater amounts.” UBS doesn’t monitor brokerage accounts unless it agrees in writing.
Advisory programs. You pay a “wrap” fee, a percentage of your account including cash, that covers advice, most trading costs, custody and reporting. It’s negotiable and charged each quarter in advance. An outside manager’s fee, where one is used, is extra.
Financial planning. A plan for a fee is an advisory service. UBS also says that as a broker-dealer it provides “financial planning services for no additional fee.”
On its Form ADV Part 1, filed August 25, 2026, the advisory side reports being paid by a percentage of assets, hourly charges, fixed fees, commissions and other fees. It reports three other businesses: broker-dealer, futures commission merchant 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, selling concessions and revenue sharing are sales-related pay, so UBS doesn’t meet that test as a firm.
What else the filings disclose
The Form CRS lists UBS’s conflicts in a table. In its words:
Its own products. “We earn higher fees, compensation and other benefits when you choose an investment that we (or one of our affiliates) advise, manage or sponsor,” such as a mutual fund, alternative investment or structured note. The wrap brochure lists PACE Select, a program built entirely from affiliated mutual funds.
Third-party payments. UBS receives “sales charges, selling concessions and other indirect ways of compensating UBS” from product sponsors and managers.
Revenue sharing. UBS receives “a share of revenue that managers and sponsors, including our affiliates, earn,” mainly on mutual funds and variable annuities.
Your cash. Uninvested cash goes to a deposit sweep at an affiliated bank by default. The Form CRS says UBS charges the advisory fee on that cash and “the advisory fee exceeds the amount you will earn on those balances.”
Insurance. The wrap brochure lists UBS Financial Services Insurance Agency Inc. among UBS affiliates. For some insurance, including property and casualty, certain life policies and Medicare supplement plans, advisors refer clients to an outside agency that pays UBS “a portion of the commission it receives.”
How advisors are paid. Most UBS advisors “receive a percentage of the revenue that they generate,” including commissions, advisory fees, ongoing distribution fees and referral fees, and the percentage rises as their revenue rises. Advisors at the UBS Wealth Advice Center are salaried with a discretionary bonus.
Disciplinary history. The Form CRS answers “Yes” and points to Investor.gov. The details are on BrokerCheck.
What UBS costs
UBS publishes maximum rates, not a schedule of what clients typically pay. From its wrap fee brochure dated March 31, 2026:
| Program | Maximum UBS advisory fee | Usual minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio Management Program (discretionary) | 2.50% | $25,000 |
| UBS Strategic Advisor (non-discretionary) | 2.50% | $25,000 |
| PACE Select (UBS’s own funds) | 2.50% | $10,000 |
| ACCESS and Strategic Wealth Portfolio (managed accounts) | 2.50%, plus manager fees | $25,000 |
In the managed account programs, a separate manager’s fee is added; the brochure says it generally ranges from 0% to 0.50% in ACCESS and SWP, and 0.02% to 2.00% when you contract with the manager directly. It warns that in those dual-contract accounts the overall fee “may exceed 3% of the account value.” Fund expenses are on top in every program. In ACCESS and the Portfolio Management Program, among others, you can negotiate either a flat rate or a schedule that steps down at higher balances.
At the 2.50% ceiling, the UBS fee alone comes to:
- $500,000: up to $12,500 a year
- $1 million: up to $25,000 a year
That’s a maximum, not a quote. UBS doesn’t publish what most clients pay, so ask for your rate in writing.
Financial planning is priced separately. The March 31, 2026 planning brochure gives a general range of $500 to $50,000, “but typically from $1,000 to $10,000,” and up to $100,000 for complex cases with $100 million or more of net worth.
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 a UBS wrap fee covers management, trading and custody. Our guide to wrap fees vs à la carte fees explains what a wrap fee includes.
Who UBS may suit
UBS may suit someone with substantial assets who wants a large global firm: managed accounts with outside managers, alternative investments, structured notes, securities-based lending and banking through UBS Bank USA, N.A. An investor who rarely trades may find a brokerage account fits, and the advisory programs suit someone who wants ongoing monitoring.
Someone who wants advice from a firm paid only by them, or a published fee they can compare before meeting anyone, may want to compare an independent fee-only advisor first. Our guides to independent RIA vs wirehouse and private banker vs fee-only advisor cover the differences. For a similar firm, see is Morgan Stanley fee-only.
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.
- Read Item 4 of the wrap fee brochure at ubs.com/formadv. It lists each program’s maximum fee and minimum.
- Ask which role your advisor is in for each account: broker or investment adviser.
- Ask for your total cost in dollars, including the UBS fee, any manager or overlay fee and fund expenses.
- 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.
Compare similar firms
Other wirehouses and investment banks we’ve checked against the fee-only definition: Merrill, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo Advisors, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs. See all 50 firms.