Morpho depositors choose a curator when they select a vault, granting that curator control over which markets the vault can access, according to the protocol's documentation. The curator model splits asset management into four roles, each with separate permissions and constraints.
A curator picks the markets available to a vault and sets deposit caps and fee levels, while an allocator executes transactions only within those boundaries. A sentinel can reduce caps and block pending changes. The owner appoints all three roles without directly touching funds. Morpho's vault documentation confirms the structure as intentional separation of powers, layering approval requirements between proposal and execution.
Fees are visible on-chain and capped by protocol rules: 50 percent of accrued interest and 5 percent annually at maximum, according to Morpho's fee guidance. Morpho states that vaults typically price below these ceilings and compete on net yield to depositors. The protocol does not enforce a uniform fee structure; each curator sets its own within the bounds.
Most curator changes sit behind a timelock, giving depositors visibility into proposed shifts before they activate. Morpho's guidance advises users to vet a vault's settings independently, since the curator model concentrates discretion in named hands rather than distributing it across protocol rules alone. A depositor accepting a vault must assess both the curator's track record and the vault's stated constraints.
Morpho competes against Aave's supply markets and Curve's pool selection by letting curators build specialized vaults without requiring protocol-level governance votes. Depositor capital backs operator judgment, with fee caps and timelocks as constraints against misalignment. Curators that change settings or raise fees must do so within the protocol ceiling and face a delay window; curators that pick bad markets see vaults drain. Morpho's separation of roles creates three separate failure points, curator misconduct, allocator execution error, sentinel negligence, but does not eliminate them.
If a curator has not restocked a vault's market list or adjusted caps within the past 90 days, depositors should check whether market conditions have changed and whether the curator is tracking them.
