What Fees Are Charged for Transferring a Brokerage Account?
Moving a brokerage account rarely costs much, but it isn’t always free either. The fee that catches people off guard is usually charged by the firm being left, not the one being joined.
The short answer
Most brokerages charge an outgoing transfer fee, a flat amount deducted from the account when holdings move out to a new firm, while the receiving brokerage typically doesn’t charge anything to bring an account in. Whether the fee applies, and how much it is, varies by firm and can also depend on whether the whole account or only part of it is moving.
Outgoing fees are the common one
The sending brokerage’s outgoing transfer fee is usually a flat dollar amount rather than a percentage of the account, and it’s typically deducted directly from the account, either in cash or by selling a small amount of a holding if no cash is available. This fee generally applies whether the transfer moves the entire account or just a portion of it, since the firm is charging for the administrative work of releasing the assets rather than pricing it by size. The fee amount is set individually by each brokerage and can change, so it’s the kind of detail worth confirming with the specific firm involved rather than assuming a fixed number.
Incoming transfers are usually free
On the receiving side, brokerages generally don’t charge to accept an incoming transfer, since attracting new accounts is typically in their interest. In fact, it’s common for a new brokerage to offer to reimburse the outgoing fee charged by the old firm, sometimes up to a set dollar amount, as an incentive for opening an account there. That reimbursement isn’t automatic in every case; it often requires the account holder to request it or meet a minimum transfer size, so it’s worth checking what the new firm’s policy actually is rather than assuming it applies.
Does a partial transfer cost less?
Not necessarily. Because the outgoing fee is usually flat rather than scaled to account size, moving only a few holdings out of an account can trigger the same fee as moving the entire balance. Some firms do waive the fee for very small transfers or under specific circumstances, such as in-kind transfers tied to certain account closures, but that’s firm-specific rather than a general rule.
Other costs to watch for
Beyond the flat transfer fee, a few other costs sometimes show up around a transfer: an account closure fee if the original account is shut down entirely once it’s empty, or costs tied to liquidating any holdings that couldn’t move in-kind. None of these are universal, and many firms charge none of them, so reviewing the specific account agreement or fee schedule is the only reliable way to know what applies in a given case.
What to weigh
Because outgoing fees are relatively small and often reimbursed, they’re rarely the deciding factor in whether to move a brokerage account. Still, it’s a reasonable question to ask both firms before initiating a transfer: what the sending firm charges to release assets, and whether the receiving firm offers any reimbursement for it.
The takeaway
Brokerage transfer fees tend to be modest, firm-specific, and concentrated on the outgoing side rather than the incoming one. Confirming the numbers with both firms ahead of time removes most of the guesswork from an otherwise routine move.