I might wind up getting paid and I might not. A lot of accountants are uncomfortable with 'giving away their time' but you have to do what works in your location. Despite the increased acceptance of charging asset management fees, some financial planners are skeptical that clients really are better off with such arrangements. Mutual fund investors already pay portfolio management fees each year, some planners assert, and adding the adviser's fee just increases the amount the client keeps paying. Then I'll reduce my planning fee by the amount of the commission I receive.
Some clients prefer to work that way.
If a client's account is relatively small, compensation based on commissions may be the only practical way to compensate the planner while keeping the service affordable for the client. Increasingly, the planners with whom we work use some sort of a combination approach to compensation. The ability to receive commissions may add flexibility, too. My clients realize I'll get the same amount, no matter which funds I recommend. This method allows me to recommend any fund that I think will work best for a client, whether it's load or no-load.