--- title: "Wirehouse Data Packs Are Getting Pricier: What to Do About It" description: Wirehouse data packs from Merrill, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and UBS now cost up to $1.15M a year. Here is how smaller asset managers should respond. image: https://www.demandignition.com/hubfs/photo_2026-09-27%2016.21.41.jpeg --- [Skip to content](https://www.demandignition.com/blog/wirehouse-data-packs-are-getting-pricier-what-to-do-about-it#main-content) [![Demand Ignition](https://www.demandignition.com/hubfs/DI%20Flame%20Icon%20CLEAR.png)](https://www.demandignition.com/) [Home](https://www.demandignition.com/) [Services](https://www.demandignition.com/services) [About](https://www.demandignition.com/about) [Intelligence](https://www.demandignition.com/blog)[Contact](mailto:info@demandignition.com) [Book Strategy Call](https://demandignition.com/meetings/mario-favetta) Sep 29, 2026, 11:30:00 AM # Wirehouse Data Packs Are Getting Pricier: What to Do About It [Manny Favetta](https://www.demandignition.com/blog/author/manny-favetta) Share: [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://www.demandignition.com/blog/wirehouse-data-packs-are-getting-pricier-what-to-do-about-it) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.demandignition.com/blog/wirehouse-data-packs-are-getting-pricier-what-to-do-about-it) [X Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.demandignition.com/blog/wirehouse-data-packs-are-getting-pricier-what-to-do-about-it) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://www.demandignition.com/blog/wirehouse-data-packs-are-getting-pricier-what-to-do-about-it) Merrill Lynch just told regulators it will start selling advisor usage data to asset managers on Jan. 1, with pricing tiers running as high as $860,000 a year. That puts Merrill alongside Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and UBS, which already charge managers to see how their advisors use funds, models, and separately managed accounts. For the largest managers, that is a rounding error. For the smaller, resource-constrained asset managers and wealth managers with whom Demand Ignition works, it is a real decision: pay up for wirehouse data packs, or get more out of the third-party and distributor data already sitting in the CRM. ## **What Are Wirehouse Data Packs, and Why Is Every Major Platform Now Selling Them?** A wirehouse data pack is a paid subscription showing an asset manager how a specific platform's advisors actually use its products: purchase activity, product mix, and model allocations by fund or share class. Merrill's filing puts its packs at up to $860,000 a year starting Jan. 1, close to Morgan Stanley's ceiling of $850,000 and well under Wells Fargo's $1.15 million. UBS, with a smaller advisor force, prices packs between $170,000 and $370,000. Merrill's filing also flags the obvious conflict: managers paying for deeper access could get better product placement from the wholesalers who see it. What is not in question is the trend. Skipping the data now means missing a chance to squeeze more out of distribution spend a manager already makes. ## **The Data You Already Own Probably Covers Part of This Gap** Most smaller and mid-size firms we talk to already pay for pieces of this picture: distributor data from platforms they work with, a third-party advisor intelligence subscription, a CRM meant to tie it together. What they usually lack is a clean way to combine those feeds into the advisor-level view a six-figure wirehouse pack promises. One asset manager we work with recently sized up a discounted entry point into a wirehouse data pack and had to decide quickly whether that added visibility was worth diverting budget from third-party and CRM work already underway. The right first move was an honest audit of what the firm already owned before layering on a new subscription. When Merrill, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and UBS all sell a version of the same advisor usage data, the question stops being whether to buy it. It becomes whether you already own something close to it and are not using it. ## **How Resource-Constrained Distribution Teams Should Respond** Three moves matter more than the purchase order. First, inventory the distributor and third-party data already flowing into the CRM and map it against the gaps a wirehouse pack claims to close; most firms find real overlap. Second, fix the CRM governance keeping wholesalers from acting on data they already have. A data pack does nothing for a sales team that cannot find or trust what is already there. Third, if a purchase is still warranted, buy narrowly: the platform or two with real AUM concentration, not blanket coverage. A six-figure data pack does not fix a distribution team that is not using the intermediary data it already pays for. Wirehouse data packs are not going away, and the pricing is not coming down. For asset managers and wealth managers without a wirehouse-sized data budget, the smarter response starts with an audit of the third-party and distributor data already on the books, paired with a distribution team equipped to act on it. That is the work Demand Ignition does every day: turning data already paid for into pipeline, before paying for more. If a new wirehouse data pack is on the table for 2027 budgeting, our [services page](https://www.demandignition.com/services) has more on how we help teams get there first. ## **Key Takeaways** - Merrill Lynch will begin selling advisor usage data packs to asset managers on Jan. 1, with pricing up to $860,000 a year, joining Morgan Stanley (up to $850,000), Wells Fargo (up to $1.15 million), and UBS ($170,000 to $370,000). - Wirehouse data packs price access to advisor-level product usage that many firms already partially own through distributor data and third-party advisor intelligence platforms they are not fully using. - Before budgeting for a new wirehouse data pack, resource-constrained distribution teams should audit existing third-party and CRM data for the same visibility gaps the pack claims to solve, then fix the CRM governance that keeps that data from getting used.   Schedule a 15-minute Call [facebook-f icon](https://www.facebook.com/mannyfavetta3) [linkedin-in icon](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mannyfavetta-consultant/) [X Twitter icon](https://x.com/DemandIgnition) [instagram icon](https://www.instagram.com/mannyfavetta3/) ![Demand Ignition Logo](https://www.demandignition.com/hubfs/DI%20Flame%20Icon%20CLEAR.png) Demand Ignition New York Metro © 2026 Demand Ignition LLC. All rights reserved. Terms & Privacy Policy ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Manny Favetta", "url" : "https://www.demandignition.com/blog/author/manny-favetta" }, "dateModified" : "2026-09-29T15:30:00.650Z", "datePublished" : "2026-09-29T15:30:00.000Z", "headline" : "Wirehouse Data Packs Are Getting Pricier: What to Do About It", "image" : [ "https://www.demandignition.com/hubfs/photo_2026-09-27%2016.21.41.jpeg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.demandignition.com/blog/wirehouse-data-packs-are-getting-pricier-what-to-do-about-it", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.demandignition.com/hubfs/DI%20Flame%20Icon%20CLEAR.png" } } } ```