Is a 1% Ongoing Financial Adviser Fee Too Much? (UK)

01Where 1% sits

The FCA collects charging data from every advice firm. Its 2025 data puts the typical firm's standard ongoing rate between 0.5% and 1% a year, with mean rates of 0.5% to 0.9% for independent firms. A 1% fee is therefore common, but it is at the upper end.

The FCA's 2020 evaluation of the advice market found more than 80% of ongoing charges set at exactly 0.5%, 0.75% or 1.00%, with an average of 0.8%. Prices cluster at round numbers. That means 1% is a convention as much as a calculation, and it is reasonable to ask how a firm arrived at it for you.

02What 1% costs in pounds

Money advised on	0.5% a year	0.75% a year	1% a year
£100,000	£500	£750	£1,000
£250,000	£1,250	£1,875	£2,500
£500,000	£2,500	£3,750	£5,000
£1,000,000	£5,000	£7,500	£10,000

The fee rises as your money grows, whether or not the work does. On £1 million, 1% is £10,000 a year for a service that may be similar to one provided on £250,000.

03What it costs over 20 years

An illustration: £250,000 growing at 5% a year before charges, with the adviser fee taken each year and no other costs, withdrawals or tax.

Ongoing fee	Fees paid over 20 years	Pot after 20 years
0.5% a year	about £41,000	about £600,000
0.75% a year	about £60,000	about £571,000
1% a year	about £78,000	about £543,000

On these assumptions, the gap between 0.5% and 1% is about £57,000 by year 20: the fees themselves plus the growth they would have earned. This is arithmetic, not a forecast. Try your own numbers in the fee impact calculator.

04How to judge whether it is worth it

A higher fee can be good value if the service is substantial and you use it. Under the FCA's Consumer Duty, the firm itself must be able to show its price is reasonable for the benefits you get. You can run a simpler version of that test:

List what you received in the last year. A review meeting, a written update, tax-year planning, help with a life event, answers when you called.
Put a price on it. Would you pay the pound figure, as a cheque, for that list?
Add the other layers. Platform and fund charges come on top. The FCA put the average all-in cost at about 1.9% a year in 2020; see total cost of advice.
Compare a different model. Ask what a fixed fee or subscription would cost for the same service.

05If you decide it is too much

You can ask the firm to lower the rate, cap the fee in pounds, or move you to a lighter service; see negotiating adviser fees. You can also cancel an ongoing service: the rules require a right to cancel "without penalty" (COBS 6.1A.22R). If you move, read switching financial adviser first.

06Common questions

Is 0.75% a good ongoing advice fee?

0.75% a year is in the middle of the typical UK range of 0.5% to 1% (FCA 2025 data) and is one of the three most common price points. Whether it is good value depends on the pounds on your amount and the service you receive.

Is 0.5% a reasonable ongoing fee?

It is at the lower end of the typical range in the FCA data. Check what the service includes, whether there is a minimum fee in pounds, and what platform and fund charges are added.

Do larger pots pay a lower percentage?

Often, through tiered rates or a cap in pounds, but not always. Ask whether the firm tiers or caps its ongoing fee, and at what amounts.

Sources and further reading

About this guide: figures are labelled with their source and date and describe the market, not any firm; illustrations are arithmetic, not forecasts or quotes. This is general education, not regulated advice or a personal recommendation, and FinancialAdvisor.co.uk is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Spotted an error? Report it and we will correct it.