2027 Advisor Pay Plans Compared: Merrill, Morgan Stanley, UBS and Wells Fargo Hold Payout Rates, Raise the Bar

Merrill, Morgan Stanley, UBS and Wells Fargo held 2027 payout rates. Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo raised the production bar, and money moved into awards. Here is how the plans compare.

Four of the big wirehouses have now told advisors how they will be paid in 2027, and none of them raised a payout rate. Merrill and UBS left their grids alone. Morgan Stanley kept its rates, which run from 28% to 55.5% of revenue, but lifted every revenue threshold by 10%, so an advisor has to produce more to stay in the same band. Wells Fargo kept its 22% and 50% rates but raised the monthly revenue hurdle between them to $16,000 from $13,500, the first increase since 2022. RBC, J.P. Morgan, Raymond James, Edward Jones and Ameriprise have not yet disclosed 2027 plans.

2027 advisor pay plans compared, as of 2026-10-31

The fresh money is going into targeted awards rather than the base grid. Merrill told advisors on Oct. 22 that it is adding a Lending Growth Award that pays 10 basis points once net new loans reach $10 million and 20 basis points at $25 million, according to American Banker, which quoted the firm's chief operating officer. The same plan swaps the old $150 million elite award for three separate 50% premiums, tied to $50 million of managed assets, $10 million of checking and savings balances and $10 million of loans. Merrill's Growth Award still pays 12 basis points on up to $50 million of strategic flows, but qualifying now takes $7.5 million of flows or four household credits, up from $5 million or three credits in 2026.

UBS published its 2027 updates in September. Its grid is unchanged and still tops out at 60% for producers above $20 million. Mortgage and commercial real estate production credits rise to as much as 75 basis points, credit lines pay the full net spread at a 15% incentive rate, and the firm added credits on its Preferred Checking and Preferred Savings products. The growth award keeps its three parts (net new money up to 2%, qualified new relationships up to 1.5% and return on assets up to 1%), and the relationship piece now recognizes clients above $50 million. UBS also doubled its survivor benefit cap to $5 million from $2.5 million.

Morgan Stanley's memo, dated Sept. 17, paired the 10% threshold stretch with a richer retirement program: the Advisor Legacy bump rises to 17 points at 30 years of service, compared with 15 points at 25 years before, according to a Winthrop and Co. review of the plan. That review is a secondary read of the memo, not the memo itself.

Wells Fargo is the latest to report. Advisors keep 22% of the first $13,500 of monthly revenue and 50% above it today; for 2027 that line moves to $16,000, Financial Planning reported. It is the first hurdle increase since 2022, according to Barron's Advisor. Wells Fargo Advisors head Sol Gindi told Financial Planning that advisors will need to grow revenue by about 2%, or about $15,000 a year, on average to offset the change. The enhanced grid stays: advisors with $2 million or more of net new assets and $2 million or more of added revenue over 12 months keep 50%. Deferred pay now follows asset growth, rising to 6% to 11% of production for growing advisors, from 5% to 10%, and falling to 3% to 8% for advisors whose assets are flat or shrinking. Advisors producing $714,000 or less still earn no deferred pay.

Merrill: year-over-year changes, 2025 to 2027 ("Changed" marks a reported change from the prior year)

Morgan Stanley: year-over-year changes, 2025 to 2027 ("Changed" marks a reported change from the prior year)

UBS: year-over-year changes, 2025 to 2027 ("Changed" marks a reported change from the prior year)

Wells Fargo: year-over-year changes, 2025 to 2027 ("Changed" marks a reported change from the prior year)

RBC: year-over-year changes, 2025 to 2027 ("Changed" marks a reported change from the prior year)

J.P. Morgan: year-over-year changes, 2025 to 2027 ("Changed" marks a reported change from the prior year)

Raymond James: year-over-year changes, 2025 to 2027 ("Changed" marks a reported change from the prior year)

Edward Jones: year-over-year changes, 2025 to 2027 ("Changed" marks a reported change from the prior year)

The 2027 plans make more sense against the two years before them. UBS moved the furthest. Its 2025 plan cut payouts by 2 to 4 points for producers below $750,000 and replaced its combined team grid with a Highest Producer Grid. For 2026 it reversed course, adding half a point for advisors between $1 million and $3 million, creating the 60% top rate and raising savings credits to 10 basis points from 5, as Financial Planning reported in September 2025. Holding steady with targeted additions for 2027 completes a cut, restore and hold arc.

Morgan Stanley spent 2026 easing deferrals while tightening on small accounts. It halved the deferred share of pay to a range of 0.75% to 7.75% from 1.5% to 15.5%, raised cash pay to match, and lifted its small household cutoff to $300,000 from $250,000, with new clients exempt for a year. It also introduced a growth bonus of 3% to 9% for advisors bringing $5 million or more of net new assets or loans from at least 40% of their clients, plus 30 basis points on $3 million or more of net new deposits.

Merrill held its grid in both 2025 and 2026 but squeezed smaller relationships in 2026, paying 20% on households with $250,000 to $500,000 and nothing below $250,000, InvestmentNews reported. Wells Fargo kept its $13,500 monthly hurdle, with 22% paid below it and 50% above, for a fifth straight year in 2026, and used banking incentives instead: 15 basis points on new checking balances, rising to 25 basis points when a credit line is attached.

Reporting coverage by firm and year (metrics with a sourced figure)

For the firms still to report, the record is thinner. Financial Planning's 2026 pay survey put total base pay for a $2 million producer at $1.07 million at RBC, $1.115 million at Raymond James and $1.03 million at UBS, with Edward Jones highest once its average bonus is added. J.P. Morgan's own disclosure says most of its advisors generally receive 40% to 50% of revenue plus a restricted stock growth award of 1% to 4%. No 2027 figures for any of them have surfaced in the sources we use.

The pattern across all four announced plans is the same: payout rates are frozen, the bar to reach them is flat or higher, and pay is being steered toward lending, deposits, asset growth and large new relationships. For advisors running smaller books or sitting just above a band edge, that trend amounts to a quiet pay cut unless production grows.