What are the fees on a PEA?

Updated on 3 August 2026

PEA (a French tax-advantaged equity savings account) fees have been capped by law since 2020: €10 maximum to open the account, 0.4% a year in account-maintenance fees, 0.5% per online order and up to €150 on a transfer. Fees on the investment options you hold (ETFs, SICAVs) come on top of these wrapper fees.

Key takeaways

• The PEA assurance, a capitalisation policy, charges annual management fees, entry fees and switching fees, unlike the bank-held PEA.
• Online banks generally charge lower fees than traditional institutions, but none is entirely free across every fee line.
• Delegating management (a managed-portfolio service or discretionary management) adds brokerage fees, higher for individualised management than for collective management.
• Custody fees and account-maintenance fees can be negotiated with the institution, within the caps set by law.

Which fees apply to a PEA?

Designed for investing in the stock market within a specific tax framework, the PEA still has a cost. Like every wrapper, it carries management fees charged by the institution where it is opened. Rules, special offers, amounts: here is what the PEA's management fees are and what they cover.

Once set freely, the fees on a PEA are now capped. They still differ depending on the type of account you hold. What does not change is the nature of the PEA: you invest mainly in the European market, with a few exceptions.

The different PEA management fees

The fees charged on a PEA depend on the type of account you hold. You can hold a bank-held PEA, which covers the standard PEA and the PEA-PME (its small-and-mid-cap variant), or a PEA assurance.

With a bank-held PEA, you pay:

• transaction fees, a percentage taken on every buy or sell order;
• custody fees, paid once a year based on the total value of your portfolio;
• account-maintenance fees, which the bank may charge on top of custody fees to cover the administration of your accounts;
• PEA transfer fees, payable when you move to another institution.

The PEA assurance is a capitalisation policy whose fees mirror those of life insurance policies. You therefore pay:

• annual management fees on the policy;
• entry fees depending on the products you subscribe to;
• switching fees, charged by your insurer when you ask it to sell securities in order to buy others. They can be proportional to each transaction or charged as an annual flat fee.

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The rules on PEA fees

To keep the PEA competitive, the decree of 5 February 2020, implementing the French PACTE law, capped its fees. Whatever institution or broker you choose, they should in theory no longer exceed the following amounts:

• account-opening fees: €10 maximum, including application fees;
• custody, holding or account-maintenance fees: they can be both proportional and flat, but are capped at 0.4% in every case, plus up to €5 per listed-security line, or €25 per unlisted-security line;
• transaction fees: 0.5% for orders placed online, 1.2% for the rest;
• transfer fees: €15 per security line, €50 for unlisted securities, capped at €150.

Good to know : Watch the fees your intermediary charges and compare them with the caps now set by law. Most institutions play fair, but some are slow to apply the new rules and keep rates above the legal ceilings.

Are PEA fees the only fees on your portfolio?

No. PEA fees are not the only fees on your portfolio. Two types of fee have to be distinguished:

• wrapper fees, tied to the vehicle that holds your assets, here the PEA;
• fees tied to the underlying holdings, that is, to the products you buy: shares, bonds, ETFs and so on.

Every OPC (a French collective investment undertaking) and every ETF (in particular PEA-eligible ETFs) carries its own fees, usually expressed as a percentage. Depending on the asset, they range between 0.2% and 1%. Calculated on the value of the underlying holding, they come on top of your PEA's management fees.

Note too that SICAVs (French open-ended investment companies) charge entry fees on top of their own management fees. These usually range from 0% to 5%, averaging around 3.5%. The upside: they are generally negotiable.

Finally, other fees can apply: those attached to how your portfolio is managed.

A managed-portfolio service or discretionary management lets you hand the choice of securities and the placing of orders to your broker. You give it a mandate to make the switches your portfolio needs, in line with the wealth management strategy you have set or with your investor profile. Unlike advisory management, the broker does not need your approval to buy or sell securities.

That managed-portfolio service can be collective or individualised. The first is cheaper: the manager sets asset allocations by investor profile rather than case by case. The second, more common in private banking and more expensive, is bespoke. In return for delegating management, you pay brokerage fees, also called a management commission. They are expressed as a percentage or as a flat fee depending on the institution.

Good to know : Pay attention not only to your choice of wrapper, but also to your choice of assets. Both have a direct impact on your portfolio's return. Read your institution's fee schedule carefully: some odd charges can hide in it, such as an admission fee for the annual general meeting of the shares you hold, a charge for the annual tax statement (IFU) or account-closure and inheritance fees.

Which PEA is the cheapest?

No PEA is entirely free, but online banks post the lowest fees, with wide gaps depending on order size. Here is how the offers of four online banks compare with the average fees of a run-of-the-mill PEA.

source: avenue des investisseurs

Good to know : Online banks already charged more competitive rates than traditional institutions. They had less trouble aligning with the new legal caps, although some took the opportunity to... raise their prices. Compare offers and make providers compete. Saxo Banque, for example, is running a 2026 promotion with no brokerage fees on a selection of 70 PEA-eligible shares, reserved for new clients opening an account before 31 December 2026.

How can you optimise your PEA fees?

Management fees are the only ones you can genuinely influence. Each institution sets them, and they can be negotiated within limits. You can obtain free custody for a few years, or a flat annual fee for transactions.

Why negotiate your PEA fees? Because they have a direct impact on your portfolio's overall return: they are calculated on the amount under management.

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An indicative target often quoted for a PEA is a TER (Total Expense Ratio, the ongoing charge on assets) at or below 0.5% on your funds, the AMF noting that fees have a direct and cumulative impact on the performance of an investment. The TER is a ratio covering every fee charged on a fund, which makes comparison meaningful. Including ETFs in a PEA can help cut fees: thanks to their passive management, they bring the TER down quickly.

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Frequently asked questions

Is there a PEA with no fees?

No. Occasional promotions temporarily remove brokerage fees for new clients (Saxo Banque in 2026, on a selection of securities, for example), but almost every institution charges fees on a PEA, their main source of revenue.

How does a PEA work?

It is a wrapper that lets you hold European assets under a favourable tax regime. You are limited to one per person, or one PEA plus one PEA-PME. Contributions are capped at €150,000 (and €225,000 in total if you combine it with a PEA-PME); the cap applies only to the amounts paid in, not to the value of the portfolio, which can keep growing without limit. After 5 years, gains are exempt from income tax (social security contributions remain due). Taxation can change.

What are the fees on a PEA?

Inside a PEA you pay recurring fees covering custody, transactions and transfers. Fees linked to the management style can be added: delegated management costs more than management handled directly by the account holder. Finally, bank-specific fees, mostly administrative, are sometimes charged.

How do you choose a PEA?

No PEA suits everyone: many criteria come into play, including personal ones when it comes to investing in the stock market. That said, the PEAs offered by online banks generally carry lower fees than those of traditional institutions. The choice depends on your profile and your objectives.

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