Legal Commentary

Financial Advisors Encouraged To Bill By The Hour

By Patrick J. Lamb

Accountancy Age encourages financial advisers to "charge by the hour if you want to survive."  Essentially, the argument is this:  hourly fees are more predictable than commission-based income.  Meaning, you can more more if you charge for your time than if you charge for your results.

Pathetic.  Especially when you realize that the minute the market starts north, people will abandon the hourly rates to return to lucrative commissions.  I propose this slogan for the financial advisers who adopt this approach: "We'll soak you silly when you win, and then soak you more when you lose."

Thanks to Trey Meyer and his LexKansas blog for the tip on this article.

Full post as published by In Search of Perfect Client Service on April 07, 2009 (boomark / email).