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AdvisorCensus / Financial advisors / Massachusetts / Boston / MFS Institutional Advisors Inc.

MFS Institutional Advisors Inc.

Boston, MASEC-registered investment adviserCRD 107144

Filed as MFS INSTITUTIONAL ADVISORS INC.

MFS Institutional Advisors Inc. is an SEC-registered investment advisory firm in Boston, MA, registered since 1994, reporting over $5 billion in regulatory assets under management in its Form ADV filing dated March 31, 2026.

32 years
registered since 1994
$113,585,882,234
assets under management
3 arrangements
Percentage of assets, Performance-based and more
4
disclosure items (Item 11)

Quick answers

From the filing

How is MFS Institutional Advisors Inc. compensated?

On its Form ADV (Item 5.E, October 2026), MFS Institutional Advisors Inc. reports these compensation arrangements: a percentage of assets under its management; performance-based fees; other.

Where is MFS Institutional Advisors Inc. located?

MFS Institutional Advisors Inc.'s principal office is in Boston, MA, according to its Form ADV.

Is MFS Institutional Advisors Inc. registered with the SEC or a state?

MFS Institutional Advisors Inc. is an SEC-registered investment advisory firm, registered since 1994. Status as filed: Approved. CRD 107144.

How much does MFS Institutional Advisors Inc. manage?

MFS Institutional Advisors Inc. reports $113,585,882,234 in regulatory assets under management in its Form ADV filing dated March 31, 2026 (100% discretionary).

How have MFS Institutional Advisors Inc.'s assets and staff changed since 2021?

In the Form ADV data for MFS Institutional Advisors Inc.: Regulatory assets under management: $134,339,947,746 in the October 2021 data and $113,585,882,234 in the October 2026 data, down 15%. Total employees: 1,500 in October 2021 and 1,311 in October 2026. Assets under management move with markets as well as with clients coming and going.

What types of clients does MFS Institutional Advisors Inc. serve?

By number of clients on Form ADV Item 5.D: individuals (other than high net worth individuals) (9,145); other (3,294); high net worth individuals (407).

Which custodians does MFS Institutional Advisors Inc. use?

MFS Institutional Advisors Inc.'s most recent Form ADV filing (Schedule D, Section 5.K(3)) lists JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. London, State Street Bank and Trust Co., The Bank of New York Mellon and The Northern Trust Company as custodians holding 10% or more of its separately managed account assets.

Does MFS Institutional Advisors Inc. report any disciplinary disclosures?

Reports 4 disclosure items on Form ADV Item 11: yes answers to 11.C(1) (SEC or CFTC finding of a false statement or omission), 11.C(2) (SEC or CFTC finding of a violation), 11.C(4) (SEC or CFTC order), and 11.C(5) (SEC or CFTC civil money penalty or cease-and-desist order). Each question covers the firm and its advisory affiliates, and one event can produce several yes answers. The detail of any item is on the firm's SEC record: https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/107144

What changed in MFS Institutional Advisors Inc.'s recent Form ADV filings?

In the April 2026 filing data: Employees performing advisory functions went from 331 to 327.

From the Form ADV filing

Every figure below is as the firm filed it with regulators, as of October 2026.

How the firm is compensated

Item 5.E
  • A percentage of assets under your management
  • Performance-based fees
  • Other

Item 5.E lists how the firm is compensated for its advice; Items 5.B, 6.A, and 7.A show whether its people or related companies can also earn commissions. Percentage of assets, fixed, hourly, subscription, and performance-based fees come from clients (a performance-based fee depends on investment results); commissions come with a sale or a trade, often from the company behind the product. How fees, commissions, and other arrangements differ

Fees and minimums

Form ADV Part 2A

See the firm's brochure (dated March 31, 2026) for its fees and any account minimum, on the SEC's IAPD site.

Regulatory assets under management

Item 5.F
$113,585,882,234

$113,585,882,234 as of October 2026, filing dated March 31, 2026.

Discretionary: $113,585,882,234.Non-discretionary: $0.

A measure of scale, not skill or returns. Discretionary means the firm decides trades; non-discretionary means clients approve each one. What assets under management means

Who the firm serves

Item 5.D
Individuals (other than high net worth individuals)
Clients 9,145 Assets $2,177,402,717 (2%)
High net worth individuals
Clients 407 Assets $1,022,020,126 (1%)
Banking or thrift institutions
Clients 0 Assets $0 (0%)
Investment companies
Clients 2 Assets $748,566,567 (1%)
Business development companies
Clients 0 Assets $0 (0%)
Pooled investment vehicles (other than investment companies and business development companies)
Clients 124 Assets $45,968,149,355 (40%)
Pension and profit sharing plans (but not the plan participants or government pension plans)
Clients 253 Assets $17,007,253,022 (15%)
Charitable organizations
Clients 116 Assets $1,850,144,858 (2%)
State or municipal government entities (including government pension plans)
Clients 51 Assets $19,672,263,617 (17%)
Other investment advisers
Clients 0 Assets $0 (0%)
Insurance companies
Clients 37 Assets $7,789,035,011 (7%)
Sovereign wealth funds and foreign official institutions
Clients 12 Assets $14,558,671,292 (13%)
Corporations or other businesses not listed above
Clients 114 Assets $606,347,072 (1%)
Other
Clients 3,294 Assets $2,186,028,597 (2%)

A firm with no individual clients is an institutional manager even if it manages billions; the mix tells you whom the practice is built around.

Advisory services

Item 5.G
  • Portfolio management for individuals and/or small businesses
  • Portfolio management for investment companies (and business development companies)
  • Portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles (other than investment companies)
  • Portfolio management for businesses (other than small businesses) or institutional clients
  • Pension consulting services
  • Selection of other advisers (including private fund managers)

Registration and firm details

Items 1, 2, 5
Registration
SEC-registered investment adviser. Status as filed: Approved.
Registered since
1994 (32 years)
Employees
Total: 1,311. Performing investment advisory functions: 327.
Wrap fee program participation
Yes.
Custodians (Schedule D, Section 5.K(3))

Custodians holding 10% or more of the firm's separately managed account assets, as filed on Form ADV (Schedule D, Section 5.K(3)). A custodian holds client assets; it does not endorse or supervise the firm. AdvisorCensus has no relationship with any custodian.

States registered or notice-filed
53 states or jurisdictions
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SEC-registered investment advisers are examined by the SEC. SEC, state, and exempt registration

Disclosures

Item 11

4 Reports 4 disclosure items on Form ADV Item 11. View on IAPD.

Questions answered yes on this filing

Regulatory matters Items 11.C to 11.G

  • 11.C(1) Has the SEC or the CFTC ever found that the firm or an advisory affiliate made a false statement or omission?
  • 11.C(2) Has the SEC or the CFTC ever found that the firm or an advisory affiliate was involved in a violation of SEC or CFTC regulations or statutes?
  • 11.C(4) Has the SEC or the CFTC ever entered an order against the firm or an advisory affiliate in connection with investment-related activity?
  • 11.C(5) Has the SEC or the CFTC ever imposed a civil money penalty on the firm or an advisory affiliate, or ordered the firm or an advisory affiliate to cease and desist from an activity?

Each question covers the firm and its advisory affiliates: its current employees other than clerical staff, its officers, partners, and directors, and anyone who controls the firm or is controlled by it. One event can produce yes answers to several questions. SEC-registered advisers and exempt reporting advisers may leave out events more than ten years old, and may answer 11.A(2) and 11.B(2) for pending charges only. What happened, and who was involved, is on the Disclosure Reporting Pages of the IAPD record. Reading a firm's disclosures

Assets and staff over time

Items 5.A, 5.F
$134B 2021 $146B 2022 $117B 2023 $129B 2024 $112B 2025 $114B 2026
Data periodAssets under managementEmployeesFiling dated
October 2026$113,585,882,2341,311March 31, 2026
October 2025$111,845,233,3201,331March 31, 2025
October 2024$128,519,177,5901,300March 28, 2024
October 2023$116,842,935,8211,300March 31, 2023
October 2022$146,411,056,0161,200March 31, 2022
October 2021$134,339,947,7461,500May 12, 2021

Regulatory assets under management: $134,339,947,746 in the October 2021 data and $113,585,882,234 in the October 2026 data, down 15%.

Total employees: 1,500 in October 2021 and 1,311 in October 2026.

As filed in each year's data for the same month. Assets under management move with markets as well as with clients coming and going; they measure scale, not skill or returns. Most firms update these figures once a year.

Changes in the filing

Last 12 months
  1. April 2026
    • Employees performing advisory functions went from 331 to 327.
  2. March 2026
    • Updated its list of owners and control persons (Schedule A).
  3. February 2026
    • Updated its list of owners and control persons (Schedule A).
  4. January 2026
    • Updated its list of owners and control persons (Schedule A).
  5. December 2025
    • Item 11 disclosure answers changed: 4 yes answers, previously 7 (now no: 11.D(2), 11.D(4), 11.E(2)).
  6. November 2025
    • Updated its list of owners and control persons (Schedule A).

Compared month to month from the SEC's monthly adviser data and the state compilation feed. Owners and control persons are summarized, never named.

Websites listed on Form ADV

Item 1.I
mfs.comxing.com/pages/mfs-investment-management

Source: Form ADV, as of October 2026. Values appear as filed; a value the firm did not report is shown as "Not reported."

Cite this page

AdvisorCensus. MFS Institutional Advisors Inc. (CRD 107144): Form ADV filing data as of October 2026.
https://advisorcensus.com/firm/mfs-institutional-advisors-inc-boston-ma-107144