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The way in which a financial planner is compensated
can directly affect the advice that he or she gives to clients.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of financial advisors are
sellers of financial products. "Advisors" who are
also salespeople, however, face an inherent conflict of interest
and will almost certainly steer clients into products in which
the advisor has a financial interest.
One of the chief attractions of commission-based
financial planning is that it appears affordable. Typically,
commission-based planners charge a low fee or no fee for their
advice, expecting to earn the real money on the back end,
when they sell the products to implement their recommendations.
Ultimately, the price paid by the client includes not just
the commission itself, but also the money that would have
earned over time had that cash been invested. A client may
also pay in the form of poor advice. After all, when a financial
advisor earns most of his or her money as a financial salesperson,
product sales tend to drive the process. Planning becomes
nothing more than window dressing to attract clients for the
real money-making business of selling products.
Albrecht Wealth Advisory does not accept commissions
or payments of any kind from any vendor for products we recommend.
Because we receive no commissions of any kind, we have no
incentive to use products that are not in our client's best
interest, nor to recommend a product or service that our clients
do not need. This ensures our objectivity and our ability
to focus on the needs of the client.
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