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February 01, 2013 at 09:33 AM
We spoke with senior clients recently to find out if their advisor is fee- or commission-based and what they thought about how their financial professional is compensated. Following are highlights from those conversations.
If you have anecdotes or thoughts on the topic, leave a comment below or email me at [email protected].
My advisor is definitely fee-based. We’ve worked together for years and years and I can assure you we don’t hardly have a conversation without him charging me something. I’m somewhat kidding. He’s a great friend as well as my advisor, but he does work on a fee basis. We’ve worked through major market ups and downs and he’s helped me stay pretty clear of the biggest hiccups. I can’t complain.
- Barry M., 76, Denver
My wife and I have used both, and currently we use both. Our primary, I would call him our primary advisor, is a fee-only advisor. We have worked with a commission-type advisor on occasion, but our family is more skeptical of the commission-only approach. Whether we’re right or wrong on that bias, it is how we feel on the subject. It’s a trust issue for us. We did get burned on a deal in the ‘80s and that has stung us and stayed with us ever since so we have stuck, for the most part, with the fee approach. The fees have never been too much. They are within reason and we can live with that decision.
- Sam D, 72, Orlando, Fla.
