In not much of a surprise, more than half of all financial advisors are now fee-based, concludes a new report by Cerulli. I would have guessed that milestone had been passed years ago.

The number of fee-based advisors rose to 52 percent last year. For comparison, 22 percent of advisors have a mix of fees and commissions, and just 11 percent are commission-only.

Some might have thought the rise of fee-based advisors would have happened even faster. But many customers still prefer a commissions-based approach. Depending on how high the fees are, customers that do not trade frequently will likely be better off in a commission-only account, though they may face pressure to trade more often.

Interestingly, customers who are in commission-only accounts tend to assume that their broker has a fiduciary duty to then, which of course isn't true as of now but will likely be soon, according Advisor One.

The report suggests advisors are better off in a fee-based situation, as it allows more time for client relationship work and outreach. It also aligns the advisor's revenue with his or her asset base. I do not think commission-only brokers will go away, but they will continue to be less plentiful.

For more:
- here's the article

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