No: Wealth Enhancement Group is paid through commissions on brokerage accounts and insurance as well as advisory fees. Its Form CRS covers two affiliated firms, an investment adviser and a broker-dealer, and says financial professionals “may receive commissions or ongoing payments when you purchase certain investment products” and “when acting separately as licensed insurance agents.” Its advisory fee can be up to 2% a year; its sample schedule shows 1.50% on accounts under $1 million.
That makes the group a hybrid, much like a dual registrant, even though the adviser and broker are separate companies. Here’s what its own filings say.
How Wealth Enhancement Group is paid
Wealth Enhancement Group, LLC owns both firms. Its brochure says private investment vehicles affiliated with TA Associates and Onex Partners each indirectly hold a controlling interest.
Advisory accounts (Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, CRD 116407). You pay “an ongoing asset-based fee,” assessed monthly or quarterly, and “the more you will pay” as assets grow. Planning and consulting can be fixed or hourly. On its Form ADV Part 1, filed October 29, 2026, the adviser checks a percentage of assets, hourly charges, fixed fees and “other,” which it describes as fees received from third-party investment advisers. It doesn’t check commissions.
Brokerage accounts (Wealth Enhancement Brokerage Services, CRD 130139). You pay “transaction-based fees,” which the Form CRS says may include “commissions, sales charges, transaction fees.” It also says: “You will pay more transaction-based fees when there are more trades in your account.”
The same advisors do both. The brochure calls advisors registered with the broker-dealer “hybrid” advisors. Of 850 employees doing advisory work, the Form ADV reports 475 registered representatives of a broker-dealer and 500 licensed insurance agents. On brokerage accounts, the Form CRS says, advisors “may receive commissions or other compensation based on the investment sold.” On advisory accounts they “receive a portion of the advisory fees you pay,” and can earn equity awards tied to assets and revenue.
The CFP Board allows a planner to call their pay fee-only only when neither they nor their firm receives sales-related compensation, and related parties receive none “in connection with any Professional Services” for the client. Commissions are sales-related pay, so the group doesn’t meet that test.
What else the filings disclose
Trails and fund payments. The brochure says hybrid advisors “may receive additional compensation, including annuity and mutual fund trail fees.” Advisors receive 12b-1 fees from some funds, typically in brokerage accounts but sometimes in managed ones. The adviser is also paid by two outside broker-dealers, Johnstone Brokerage Services and Mutual Securities, a percentage of the variable annuity trails paid by the carrier, “not exceeding 0.90%,” for advising on annuities held there.
Insurance. Some advisors are “independently licensed insurance agents” who earn commissions. An affiliate, American Benefits Planning Group, sells group life and health insurance on commission. See insurance agent vs financial advisor and, if you own one, whether to keep an annuity.
Tax, trust and affiliated managers. Wealth Enhancement Tax & Consulting prepares returns, and the brochure says this creates “an incentive to recommend” it. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services, a South Dakota trust company, can charge fees separate from the advisory fee. NorthCrest Asset Management, an affiliated adviser, runs strategies WEAS may use for clients, and the Form CRS lists this as a conflict.
Model and platform markups. When WEAS uses outside model portfolios, it “may apply a markup to the model provider’s fee,” for example charging up to 0.50% where the provider charges 0.15%, bundled into the advisory fee.
Referral and revenue-sharing pay. The brochure discloses that WEAS is paid by Goldman Sachs for referring clients to its deposit and lending products, earns a 0.15% service fee and a 0.05% revenue share on Flourish Cash, receives $250 for each Medicare plan application submitted through CoverRight, and shares revenue with CAIS on alternative investments. It also receives support from Schwab tied to keeping at least $20 billion there.
The Form CRS answers “Yes” to legal or disciplinary history. The brochure’s Item 9 says WEAS “has not been involved in any legal or disciplinary events that are material.” Look up the adviser on IAPD and the broker-dealer on BrokerCheck.
What Wealth Enhancement Group costs
The brochure dated March 2026 says advisory fees are negotiable, set by the advisor, and “shall not exceed 2% per year.” It publishes this sample flat-rate schedule, where one rate applies to the whole account, and says actual fees “may be higher or lower”:
| Portfolio size | Yearly rate (sample) |
|---|---|
| $999,999 or less | 1.50% |
| $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 | 1.25% |
| Over $2,000,000 | 1.00% |
Tiered schedules and flat fees are also used, and a minimum annual fee may apply. Outside managers charge up to 1.50% more, Fidelity platform accounts pay 0.11% to 0.15% more, and fund and annuity expenses are extra. Planning fees range “up to $25,000,” hourly rates go up to $600, and flat consulting fees run $250 to $50,000.
Worked out on the sample schedule:
- $500,000: 1.50%, or $7,500 a year
- $1 million: 1.25%, or $12,500 a year
- $2 million: 1.25%, or $25,000 a year. Because the rate covers the whole balance, an account just over $2 million would pay about $20,000.
For comparison, fee-only firms that publish a percentage fee charge a median 1% of assets. 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. See what an advisor costs on $500,000 and whether 1% is too much.
Who Wealth Enhancement Group may suit
The group offers brokerage, advisory accounts, insurance, tax preparation and trust services through one set of companies, with a $25,000 advisory minimum. Its brochure says a brokerage account may cost less than an advisory one for someone who wants to buy and hold.
It may suit someone who wants one advisor to handle investments, insurance and taxes, and who will ask which account and capacity each recommendation comes from. Someone who wants advice from an advisor who can’t earn commissions, or who has under $1 million and would pay the 1.50% sample rate, may want to compare a flat-fee or hourly planner first. Our guides to Edward Jones and Ameriprise cover similar hybrid models.
How to check it yourself
- Read the Form CRS. It sets brokerage and advisory side by side, linked from the SEC record. See what a Form CRS tells you.
- Check your advisor on BrokerCheck. If they’re registered with Wealth Enhancement Brokerage Services, they can earn commissions.
- Read brochure Items 5, 10 and 14 for fees, affiliates and referral pay.
- Ask in writing which account each recommendation is for, what you’ll pay in dollars each year, and whether your advisor earns anything on insurance, annuities or referrals.
Our guide to telling whether an advisor is fee-only walks through each check, an RIA vs a broker-dealer explains the two roles, and questions to ask a financial advisor covers the rest.
Compare similar firms
Other large advisory firms we’ve checked against the fee-only definition: Fisher Investments, Creative Planning, Edelman Financial Engines, Mariner Wealth Advisors, CAPTRUST, Mercer Advisors, Hightower. See all 50 firms.