Carnivals:

Carnival of Investing Recommended: Interview with B…

Commission: % of product sold
Asset-base fee: as thc states, a flat % of assets per quarter or year
Hourly-fee advice: pay by the hour advice
(are there others?)

To me the least conflict of interest is found in the hourly-fee advice. It also seems to be the hardest way for an advisor to make a living. I understand the conundrum. I think that this issue will largely be fleshed out by the Internet and the sharing of information. The most efficient structure for retail/individual advice will rise permanently to the top in the next few years. Thoughts?

If this little survey is to be taken seriously then you must agree the solution is to work only with financial professionals with credentials who are bound by a code of ethics and must disclose all pertinent information to clients. Choose a CFP or CFA. (My little soapbox).

Regarding fee-based platforms vs. commissions, anyone who claims that one is universally superior to the other is just a fool. I wish that all of my clients paid a quarterly, asset-base fee, but for many, that is just not in their best interest.

As for My Way Investment Advisors, I never heard of them before your post today.

For many clients, paying commissions will wind up being substantially less expensive than a fee-based account. But, that doesn’t make commissions the right answer. Nor, does it make fee based the answer. In fact, many fee based accounts that i see in the marketplace charge what i consider to be egregious fees that make it nearly impossible for the investor to achieve good results. Having said that, i feel that a fairly priced fee based account is probably the best alternative.

There really is no easy solution to this question. But, we can take investory of the situation. Many individuals need personal investment advice. No one is going to work as an advisor unless there is an opportunity to make a good income. Start from there and try to figure out a solution.

Brokers, financial advisors, and even fee-only financial planners do not bend over backwards to let clients know how much they charge. The reason for this is simple: clients don’t want to pay anything for advice and most clients would be very surprised if they knew how much a broker got paid on that annuity he talked them into.

I think commissions are on the way out. More and more brokerage firms are moving towards the fee-based accounts, which are better than commissions but still leave the cleint in the dark as to the total amount that they are paying.