August 8, 2010
In my 14 years of serving retirees pre-retirees with their personal insurance investment needs, the far majority do not wish to pay a fee for their financial service advisers. I believe my clients feel more comfortable with the recommendations we put in place due to the relationship, not whether I recieve compensation thru commissions or fees.
I believe it is misguided to think a fee based practice is somehow inherently better for the client. We currently have suitability oversight from our OSJ that ensures our recommendations are in the best interest of our clients.
While I undestand there are some less than desirable advisers in the business, it is a fallacy to believe requiring advisers to be fee only will eliminate these people from our industry.