A commission is a transaction fee earned by a broker or investment adviser for buying or selling a security on behalf of a client. Commissions are a major form of revenue for brokerage firms. A commissioned broker earns a fee for every trade execution. This type of arrangement raises the possibility of churning or excess activity in an account just to generate commissions. Discount brokerages tend to charge the lowest commissions but they may not offer any guidance or research. There are soft-dollar commissions which come commission revenues generated by brokerage activity are directed by the institutional investment managers that generated the activity. Soft dollar commissions are directed by the investment managers towards goods and services that are intended to be of benefit to actual clients. Examples of goods and services include software, research and computer equipment.
Disdain for annuities is a thread of conventional wisdom that seems to exist among a broad swath of financial advisors.
In fact, many financial advisors seem conditioned to wear...
NAPFA is the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors.
NAPFA membership consists of financial advisors who provide comprehensive...
Sheryl Garrett is the founder of the Garrett Planning Network.
The Garrett Network consists of approximately 300 financial advisors who provide services on a fee-only basis and act as fiduciaries.
Read on to understand how and why the Garrett Network seeks to make objective, competent...
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposed Rule 151A would change the securities status of indexed annuities from fixed insurance products to registered, securities products.
The proposed rule would have a significant impact on their entire industry landscape. SEC 151A would affect the way in which insurance companies develop...
