No commissions, no ads, no advice. This Brown Advisory profile draws only on public records, each linked so you can confirm it yourself.

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1. Check the SEC adviser record. Open the SEC's IAPD record for Brown Advisory (CRD #106375) and confirm its registration.

2. Read the filings. Review the Form ADV / Form CRS and any disclosure section linked from the IAPD page.

3. Confirm the entity. Match CRD #106375 / Signature Financial Management so you're reading the right firm.

The short answer: is Brown Advisory a fiduciary?

Yes. Brown Advisory is a fiduciary: as a fee-only registered investment adviser, it owes you a duty to act in your interest for the whole advisory relationship, and it isn't a broker-dealer. Brown Advisory is an SEC-registered investment adviser (CRD #106375) and reported $7.6 billion in regulatory assets under management as of its latest Form ADV (filed March 30, 2026), across 229 clients. Because it's fee-only, it's paid by clients and earns no commissions on products. Its Form ADV (Item 5.E) lists how it is paid: a percentage of assets under management, fixed fees, and performance-based fees. All of it sits on the public record, and confirming it for yourself takes only a few minutes.

Its Form ADV doesn't report a broker-dealer registration or a related broker-dealer, so the adviser's fiduciary standard is the one that applies to its advice.

What "fiduciary" means: a fiduciary is legally bound to place a client's interests above its own. (More on fiduciary duty)

Brown Advisory at a glance

✅ Verified from public filings, last checked October 5, 2026. Brown Advisory (SEC CRD #106375) is a fiduciary for the whole advisory relationship, on a fee-only basis, with $7.6 billion in regulatory assets under management. Every figure below links to its primary source.

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Brown Advisory fees: what you'll pay

The Brown Advisory fee question has a clear answer once you see the structure. Brown Advisory is fee-only: its Form ADV (Item 5.E) reports client-paid fees, such as a percentage of assets, hourly or fixed fees, and no commissions. That structure avoids commission conflicts. Fee-only doesn't automatically mean low-cost. It means the cost is the advisory fee, stated plainly.

Fee-only means the firm is paid only by its clients, never by commissions on the products it recommends.

Who owns Brown Advisory, and what conflicts does it disclose?

Here's who controls Brown Advisory, drawn straight from its filings. Brown Advisory is owned by Brown Advisory Incorporated, as listed in Schedule A of its Form ADV. (Form ADV Schedule A)

Its Form ADV Part 2A describes the firm's conflicts of interest, including how it and its advisers are paid.

Brown Advisory SEC record: disclosures

To check Brown Advisory's regulatory record, start with the firm's own filings. On its Form ADV, Brown Advisory answers No to the firm-level disciplinary-history questions. You can confirm that on the public record. Individual advisers can have their own records, so look them up on IAPD and BrokerCheck too. Whatever Brown Advisory disclosures exist live on the public record. Read them there, in context, rather than secondhand.

On the record, the firm has been registered with the SEC since September 6, 1994, makes notice filings in 6 jurisdictions, and reports 36 employees, 16 of them in investment advisory roles. If you're asking "is Brown Advisory legit?", start with registration: a public CRD and filings anyone can pull. That confirms it's a real, regulated adviser. Whether it's right for you is a separate question.

Reading Brown Advisory reviews against the public record

Star ratings and client comments describe what working with a firm felt like. They usually don't show what the firm reports to regulators. Before you weigh Brown Advisory reviews, check three things this profile takes from the public record. First, how the firm is paid: it reports being paid only by its clients and takes no commissions, which makes it fee-only. Second, who owns it and what conflicts it discloses. Third, whether its Form ADV reports any disciplinary history. Read reviews alongside the record, not instead of it.

How to verify Brown Advisory yourself

Here's how to confirm all of it in three steps:

1. SEC adviser record (IAPD): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/106375.

2. Form ADV / CRS: linked from the IAPD page.

3. Confirm the entity: match Brown Advisory (CRD #106375, legal name Signature Financial Management) so you're reading the right firm.

What Brown Advisory does and who it serves

On its Form ADV, Brown Advisory reports providing portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management (pooled vehicles), portfolio management for businesses and institutions, and selection of other advisers.

Its Form ADV (Item 5.D) breaks its clients down by type, about 229 in all:

It reports 1,606 client accounts, more than the roughly 229 clients counted above (many clients hold more than one account), 1,580 discretionary (the firm can trade without seeking your approval first) and 26 non-discretionary (Item 5.F). Its main office is in Norfolk, VA.

It reports that it or a related person has custody of certain client assets, which brings extra safeguards such as surprise examinations. The specifics are in its Form ADV.

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The hard part isn't checking the firm. It's seeing your whole financial life.

Confirming Brown Advisory is registered takes a few minutes. An advisor is limited by what they can see. An old IRA, a spouse's portfolio and fees buried below a standard statement often sit outside that view. This is where Truthifi comes in.

How Truthifi can help

Truthifi links your accounts read-only and shows what you own, how it's allocated, how it's performing and where the risk sits, including single-stock exposure, returns next to a benchmark, a fee breakdown of the fees on each account, by type, and your Truthifi Score. You can share the accounts you choose with your advisor at Brown Advisory.

Prefer your own AI? A paid Truthifi plan lets you connect an AI assistant that supports MCP sign-in, such as Claude. Truthifi Connect is the lighter membership for people who only want to use their own assistant. Questions about your fees need Monitoring or Monitoring Plus+.

Ask AI about your Brown Advisory accounts

Once your accounts are connected read-only, you can ask in plain English:

• "What do I own across my Brown Advisory accounts and everything else, and how is it allocated?"

• "What am I really paying in fees across all of these accounts?"

Try it with Truthifi: start for free at app.truthifi.com and run a Monitoring Checkup (limits apply).

No commissions, no ads, no advice: Truthifi is not an investment adviser and doesn't give investment, tax or legal advice. Its access to your bank and brokerage accounts is read-only. Start free (limits apply). Monitoring Checkup is free. Link up to 10 connections. Plans and limits are on the pricing page → truthifi.com.

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FAQ

Is Brown Advisory a fiduciary? Yes. It's a registered investment adviser (CRD #106375), so it owes a fiduciary duty when it advises you. Its Form ADV doesn't report a broker-dealer registration or a related broker-dealer.

Is Brown Advisory fee-only? Its Form ADV (Item 5.E) doesn't report commissions as compensation. It's paid by clients through fees such as a percentage of assets, hourly or fixed fees. The fee schedule is in its Form ADV Part 2A.

Who owns Brown Advisory? Brown Advisory is owned by Brown Advisory Incorporated, as listed in Schedule A of its Form ADV.

Does Brown Advisory have complaints or disclosures? Its Form ADV answers No to the firm-level disciplinary-history questions. Individual advisers can have their own records on IAPD and BrokerCheck.

Is Brown Advisory legit? It is registered with the SEC (CRD #106375) and its filings are public on the SEC's IAPD site, which confirms it is a real, regulated firm. Registration doesn't tell you whether it's the right fit or what you'll pay, so read the fee and conflict sections of its Form ADV.

Can AI help me check whether I'm getting good value? Yes. Start free (limits apply): Monitoring Checkup is free and lets you link up to 10 connections. You can also connect an AI assistant you already use (such as Claude). On Monitoring or Monitoring Plus+ you can ask it, in plain English, about the fees on each of your accounts. Truthifi is not an investment adviser and doesn't give investment, tax or legal advice.

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About this profile

Truthifi built this profile from the firm's own SEC filings (Form ADV and, where filed, Form CRS). Every page is reviewed by the Truthifi Team before publishing. The Truthifi advisor fact packs are an ongoing series checking U.S. investment advisers against their public filings, one firm at a time.

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• Fee-only financial advisor: costs and how to find one

• What is a fiduciary?

• Are you paying too much? Why that might be the wrong question

• How to ask AI about your real investment accounts

• Robo-advisor vs. human financial advisor: which is better?

• All advisor fact packs on Truthifi

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A note on sources. The facts on this page come from publicly available documents, Brown Advisory's SEC filings, each linked inline so you can verify it yourself (SEC data current as of October 5, 2026). This is general information, not financial or legal advice, and Truthifi is not affiliated with Brown Advisory. Regulatory records change, so always confirm against the official sources linked above. Spot something that should be corrected? Email us at support@truthifi.com.