The future of advice: A comparison of fee-based and commission-based advice from the perspective of retail clients

As in other countries, a ban on commission-based investment advice is also being discussed in Germany. Our study shows that it is particularly clients with small investment amounts that would be disadvantaged as a result.

Future_of_advice_Cover_450x660

The study concludes that the only way of guaranteeing clients appropriate introduction and expert guidance for their securities investments is to maintain commission-based advisory services. A ban on this form of advice would lead to an advice gap particularly for small investors. This is mainly because fee-based advice for this group with small investment amounts does not pay off compared to commission-based advice and thus represents an insurmountable cost hurdle.