Betterment waives fee charges for eligible RIAs that custody with Fidelity and add Betterment as a second custodian, offering relief through Dec. 31, 2028, as Fidelity introduces a $100 million custody minimum. The promotion targets advisory firms that may need another platform to serve clients below Fidelity’s new threshold. InvestmentNews reported the offer and the firms affected.
To qualify, an advisory firm must be new to Betterment, with no funded client accounts on its advisor platform as of Oct. 6, 2026. Firms must also opt in through Betterment’s advisor sales team by June 30, 2027, the same deadline Fidelity set for firms below its minimum to meet the threshold or end their custody relationship.
Betterment Advisor Solutions’ platform fee generally ranges from 0.12% to 0.20% annually, depending on a firm’s combined client balances. The waiver does not cover underlying fund expenses. Advisors must also tell clients, before beginning a transfer, that the waived fee gives them an incentive to move assets to Betterment.
Betterment says its advisor unit works with more than 600 firms and has no custodian account minimum. The company manages $70 billion overall, most of it through its consumer robo-advisor app. CEO Sarah Levy said the business serves firms as a sole custodian or as a home for their next-generation clients.
Betterment waives fee as Fidelity sets a higher bar
The offer comes as Fidelity asks existing RIA clients to maintain at least $100 million in custody assets on its platform. Data provider FINTRX identified 986 independent RIAs with less than that amount at Fidelity, holding $37.2 billion combined. FINTRX said 706 of those firms, or 72%, could not reach the minimum even by consolidating assets held elsewhere.
FINTRX also found that 354 firms, or 36%, use Fidelity as their only custodian; 337, or 34%, manage more than $100 million in total assets; and 71, or 7%, were within $10 million of the custody minimum. Fidelity told WealthManagement.com the affected number was a few hundred firms and represented less than 1% of its total clearing and custody assets under administration. It said most affected advisors use multiple custodians.
FINTRX said its analysis used publicly available Form ADV filings and stood by its findings. It removed a related post from its website while seeking clarification from Fidelity. A separate Form ADV analysis by FastTrackr AI identified 1,087 RIAs with less than $100 million custodied at Fidelity.
Other firms also compete for smaller advisory practices. Schwab’s RIA custody unit serves more than 11,000 firms with under $100 million in assets under management, according to executive Jon Beatty. Altruist has built its custody business around smaller advisors and recently added donor-advised funds without minimums.
Some advisors may weigh Betterment’s consumer app alongside its custody offer. Joe Kuschman, a certified financial planner starting Earnest Planning, said the retail business could give advisors pause, though he described the advisor offering as strong. Philip Waxelbaum, CEO of recruiting firm Masada Consulting, said Fidelity’s minimum may make it harder for newer custodians to win trial business, while full account transfers can be difficult for advisors and clients.
The market shift is part of wider changes in wealth management platforms and advisor technology. Financial Tech Times has also covered investment in WealthTech firms, banks’ competition around data intelligence and fintech fundraising in India.
For eligible firms, the fee waiver offers a defined period to evaluate Betterment as a custodian while Fidelity’s new requirement takes effect. The decision still involves transfer work, the fee incentive disclosure and expenses that the promotion does not waive.
