Fees on a $2 Million Portfolio: A Complete Cost Worksheet

Updated September 26, 2026.

There is no single correct annual fee for a $2 million portfolio. At a constant billable balance, 1% costs $20,000, 0.75% costs $15,000, and 0.25% costs $5,000. Your actual bill depends on the assets covered, the pricing schedule, the work included, and the investment expenses charged separately.

The most useful first step is a complete fee worksheet. It should let you compare a managed advisory relationship, an automated investment service, and a self-directed arrangement without pretending they do the same work.

This guide shows the arithmetic, explains tiered quotes, and identifies the records to collect. Rates used in examples are illustrative, not a survey of what all providers charge. Mezzi publishes this guide and is one of the possible services discussed.

Start with the amount that is actually billed

A household can have $2 million of net worth without having $2 million subject to an advisor's fee. Home equity, a workplace retirement plan, cash held elsewhere, and assets covered by a different agreement may be treated differently. Conversely, a service may charge for advising on assets it does not directly manage. Read the agreement.

Write down each account, its owner, its balance on the relevant date, and whether the account appears in the advisory fee calculation. Ask how the provider handles cash and whether accounts are combined for pricing thresholds. This can matter as much as the headline percentage.

Illustrative rate calculations, not provider quotes.

The monthly column divides the annual amount by twelve. It is not a statement that the provider offers monthly billing. Actual fees can change with market values, deposits, withdrawals, and the valuation method in the contract.

A 0.25% to 0.50% fee on $2 million is therefore $5,000 to $10,000 a year before other expenses. Always check percentage calculations directly rather than accepting a comparison graphic's dollar labels.

Read a tiered quote correctly

A marginal tier applies a different rate to each slice of assets. It does not necessarily apply the lowest advertised rate to the whole account.

Consider this hypothetical schedule:

The final slice costs 0.85%, but the blended fee is approximately 0.956%. A different contract could use a breakpoint that reprices the whole balance. Those are different arrangements. Ask the provider to calculate the fee in dollars on your account values and identify whether each threshold is marginal or applies to the entire balance.

Then inspect minimums. An annual minimum can make the effective percentage higher for a smaller account. Household aggregation can sometimes help an investor qualify for a different tier, but it should not be assumed. Get the calculation in writing before comparing quotes.

Add investment costs without double-counting them

The advisory fee is one line in the worksheet. Fund expenses, transaction charges, platform charges, and separate professional engagements may be other lines. Some may already be included in a quoted package. Taxes are a separate economic consideration, not automatically a fee paid to the provider.

The SEC's fund-fee bulletin explains where to find fund expense information and why a low advertised cost does not necessarily describe every charge an investor pays.

For a simple fund-expense estimate, multiply each fund balance by its expense ratio and add the results. Suppose $1.2 million is in a fund charging 0.05%, and $800,000 is in one charging 0.20%. The illustrative annual costs are $600 and $1,600, totaling $2,200. Relative to the full $2 million, that is a weighted expense ratio of 0.11%.

Do not average 0.05% and 0.20% without considering the different balances. Also remember that fund expenses are generally reflected inside fund returns; they may not appear as a separate debit in your account statement. Adding the annual estimate to an advisory fee can help compare costs, but subtracting it again from an already net-of-expense performance number can double-count it.

A worksheet for comparing three arrangements

Use the same scope for each quote. List recurring costs separately from one-time costs and uncertain future costs.

The Mezzi figures are current annual prices reviewed September 26, 2026. See the plan details. The table deliberately does not assign a single generic fee to every human advisor or robo-advisor; their terms and service scope differ.

Concierge includes setup assistance and quarterly coaching check-ins under the published plan. Those benefits should be counted when useful, without treating coaching as a dedicated managed-portfolio, tax-filing, or legal engagement.

A fair comparison does not assume a software subscription replaces all the people you currently rely on. If you would retain a planner for retirement decisions or an accountant for tax work, include the incremental cost. If you already pay for that work in both arrangements, do not count it as a new cost of switching.

What Mezzi can contribute to the review

Mezzi brings Investments, Banking, Other Assets, and Liabilities together. That includes checking and savings, credit cards, and manually maintained assets such as real estate. AI Personalization lets you record goals and preferences, so a discussion of costs can reflect why particular accounts or cash reserves exist.

Exposure X-Ray can help investigate underlying fund exposures. Understanding that two funds own similar companies can inform a review of whether both still fit your plan, but overlap alone is not a reason to sell. A sale can have tax consequences, and two superficially similar funds can differ in mandate, holdings, or implementation.

For a first question, try: “Help me list the advisory, fund, and account costs I should verify, and identify which records are missing.” Then check the answer against statements and documents. Account connections may not provide a complete advisory invoice, every expense, or every tax lot.

Mezzi does not hold or trade your investments, eliminate your broker's charges, or guarantee tax savings. Its subscription buys guidance and analysis. You remain responsible for implementation and for obtaining specialist professional help where your situation requires it.

Put claimed tax benefits in a separate column

A sales presentation may combine a lower fee with an estimate of tax benefits. Do not add the two together unless you understand the assumptions and whether benefits overlap. A tax benefit depends on the investor, the account, the transactions, applicable rules, and what would have happened otherwise.

Tax-loss harvesting concerns realizing eligible losses in taxable accounts. Selling a security for a loss inside an IRA does not produce the same deductible capital loss on a personal tax return. Holding individual securities through direct indexing is an investment structure; it does not, by itself, guarantee tax savings.

The IRS explains capital-gain and loss treatment, including how net losses may offset income within limits and carry forward. Account type and the surrounding transactions matter. A platform's hypothetical tax benefit is not a guaranteed recurring return, and a $10,000 realized loss is not the same thing as $10,000 of tax saved.

Ask for the calculation behind any claimed advantage: which tax rate, which losses, which future realization assumptions, and what costs of maintaining the strategy? Keep the answer separate from the known subscription or advisory fee.

Review value without assuming it means market outperformance

At $2 million, a 1% fee is large enough to deserve a clear explanation. The explanation need not be a promise to beat the market. You may be buying implementation, coordinated planning, assistance during a business transition, or continuity for a household member who does not want to manage the portfolio.

Request the last year's deliverables and the next year's commitments. Name the people responsible for each. “Tax planning included” should lead to questions about what is delivered and whether filing is a separate engagement. “Estate planning” should lead to questions about legal document preparation and who is qualified to provide it.

Review the firm's Form CRS, fee disclosures, and agreement. Price and incentives are both relevant. A lower-cost arrangement can still have conflicts; a higher-cost arrangement can still perform useful work. Evaluate the specific arrangement rather than treating its pricing label as a verdict.

How to lower the bill without rushing a transfer

1. Reconcile a year of actual charges against the fee schedule. Separate corrections to billing mistakes from negotiations about future pricing.
2. Ask whether the service can be narrowed, accounts combined for pricing purposes, or the rate negotiated. Obtain any change in writing.
3. Compare alternative quotes with the same service checklist. Identify the work you would perform yourself and the work you would outsource.
4. Review holdings and account restrictions before making a change. Ending an advisory relationship, transferring custody, and selling investments are separate decisions.
5. Calculate one-time costs and possible tax consequences independently of annual fees. Confirm transfer details with the receiving and current institutions.
6. Establish the new operating routine before removing the old one. Decide who reviews cash, withdrawals, beneficiaries, investments, and deadlines.

For a longer-horizon calculation with explicit assumptions, see the fee model for a $1 million portfolio. Scale the investment amount carefully; a fixed subscription does not double simply because the portfolio does.

Frequently asked questions

Is $20,000 the normal fee for every $2 million portfolio?

No. It is the arithmetic for a flat 1% fee on $2 million of billable assets. Actual schedules, account coverage, minimums, and services vary. Obtain a dollar quote for your arrangement.

What is the difference between the marginal and blended rate?

The marginal rate applies to a particular slice of assets in a tiered schedule. The blended rate is the total annual charge divided by total billable assets. They can differ substantially.

Does Mezzi make my fund and brokerage expenses disappear?

No. Its subscription is separate from costs associated with investments and accounts you maintain. Review those expenses whether you use Mezzi, an advisor, or another tool.

Can tax-loss harvesting inside an IRA offset my taxable gains?

A sale at a loss inside an IRA does not create the same personal deductible capital loss as an eligible sale in a taxable account. Do not assume a taxable-account strategy produces the same result inside a retirement account.