Quora Answer: Do Financial Advisors Get a Bigger Commission for Trust Accounts?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Do financial advisors get a bigger commission, or better incentives, for trust versus individual accounts?”

The commission structure is based on the products sold.  Whether the account is a trust, a company, or a natural person matters when it comes to compliance, underwriting, and corporate governance.  These are matters of legalities, and has no impact on the commission.

What is factored into the commission is the nature of the product, the amount paid by the client, the payment frequency, and the committed length.  These impact distribution costs, and the commission comes out of the distribution cost.  However, the financial institution may incentivise sales based on target demographic, or to promote a specific product, to gain market share.