Almost all clients would prefer paying commission than fees for independent financial advice according to O&M Financial Services.
The company offered 1,000 new clients the choice of commission or fees for advice on their pension and 97 per cent picked commission.
Of the 3 per cent who preferred fee-based payment, half changed their minds when asked to pay a fee as a deposit.
O&M Systems director Graham Miller says fees are a great idea until you ask people to write a cheque.
He says: “You only have to see how many people queue around the block when a new NHS dentist opens to understand how adverse the British public are to paying fees.
“If the FSA tells the IFA community to take the word ‘independent’ out of their title or go out of business on a fee-only model, most IFAs would change to the new name.”
He says higher-net-worth clients are more likely to choose fees because they understand how much commission will be made from their case.
