Sixty-eight percent of affluent investors were willing to pay for financial advice in 2025, up 10 percentage points from 2024 and 30 percentage points from 2010, according to a new Cerulli Associates report. The research analysts attributed the increase to improved accessibility of financial advice, fee compression and the proliferation of fiduciary advice.
Cerulli defines affluent investor households as those with at least $250,000 in financial assets, and near-affluent households earning more than $125,000 in income and aged 45 or younger.
The willingness to pay for advice increases as you move up the wealth spectrum, with 75% of high-net-worth investors (those with $5 million or more in assets) willing to pay for advice. In all, 64% of investors with between $2 million and $5 million will pay for it.
“As an individual’s wealth grows, taxes become more burdensome, financial and estate planning becomes more complicated, and additional investment products (e.g., separately managed accounts, alternatives) become more accessible,” said Michael Manning, research analyst at Cerulli, in a statement. “Investors encountering these challenges for the first time naturally need assistance navigating the numerous complex variables linked to asset growth. The value of financial advice now extends beyond higher market returns.”
Yet, investors across all wealth levels showed a willingness to pay for financial advice. Nearly six in 10 investors with $100,000 to $250,000 in assets agree that they’re willing to pay for advice. However, just 33% of investors with less than $100,000 said they’re willing.
“There remains a segment of investors who are not interested in paying for advice and prefer no-fee self-directed platforms,” Manning said. “Whether this is due to lower financial assets or do-it-yourselfers managing their own portfolios, they may require advice at some point in their lives. Firms operating these self-directed platforms must create a path of least resistance for these clients to transition from self-directed to advised during that time of need, or they will seek advice elsewhere.”
When asked about their preferred fee arrangement, 36% of investors said they would prefer to pay an asset-based fee. About one-quarter of investors said they intend to use no-fee self-directed platforms, while 23% indicated a preference for a commission-based relationship.