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FinancialADVSR

Est. 2026The front page of wealth managementNew York

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Financial ADVSR tools · free

Payout calculator

A wirehouse pays a smaller share but covers your costs; independents keep far more but pay their own. Enter your production, payout rates and costs to compare what reaches you.

Example: 45%, within Morgan Stanley’s 28% to 55.5% and Merrill’s 34% to 51% grids (as reported, 2026). The firm pays the costs.
LPL reported an 87.44% payout rate for Q2 2026.
Example only: office, staff, tech. Use your own.
An owner keeps all revenue before costs.
Example only: compliance, custody, tech, staff. Use your own.

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Questions

What do wirehouses pay advisors?

As reported in 2026, Morgan Stanley’s grid pays 28% to 55.5% of production and Merrill’s standard grid 34% to 51%, with part of the pay deferred; the firm covers the office, staff and technology.

What do independent broker-dealers pay?

Far more of revenue, because independent advisors pay their own costs: LPL Financial reported an 87.44% payout rate for the second quarter of 2026.

Why isn’t the highest payout always the best deal?

Costs, deferred compensation, recruiting money, benefits and the equity value of an independent practice all change the comparison; this calculator shows only payout less the costs you enter.

Where the numbers come from

Defaults marked with a source come from our sourced guides; the rest are plain examples to replace with your own. Results are arithmetic on what you enter, calculated in your browser. To see them we ask for your name and email, which we keep with the numbers you entered and never sell (privacy). This is an estimate for planning conversations, not investment, legal or tax advice.