I was minding my own business doing something important (like reviewing movies) and someone tagged me in a TikTok video talking about why commissions are better. This is a topic I absolutely hate talking about so naturally I made a 4-minute video in response. It’s doing pretty good numbers so here’s a written piece to accompany it: Generally, I think the agent’s arguments can be boiled down into 2 main points:

1. Commissions make financial consultants plan well
2. Fee for advice makes financial planning costlier

Both are puzzling points, so as a stickler for veracity I feel that it is important to address the claims made. Disclaimer: I am currently employed in a fee-only advisory firm but please do not contact me about this as I’d like to keep my day job and website separate as best as possible. Claim 1: commissions make financial consultants plan well The entire financial planning process can be largely categorised into roughly 4 stages:...