The Case for Commission

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The Retail Distribution Review's suggestions regarding ‘Customer Agreed Remuneration' (CAR), has sparked intense debate around new client charging models, and that old chestnut of fees versus commission.

Fees are often championed as the professional end of the market, and by inference best industry practice, and commissions are viewed as downmarket and grubby and the domain of pushy salesmen. At the most simplistic level, this is based on the perceived wisdom that fees are charged by professionals such as solicitors and accountants, and commission is inherent in the murky worlds of real estate, double glazing and the like, where there is a degree of arm twisting and high pressure tactics to secure a deal. Many so-called industry experts and media champions also fuel it, and for some r...

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