This project examines how changes in financial advisor remuneration impact consumers’ financial decisions and outcomes. Advisor remuneration often includes sales commissions, incentivizing biased advice toward high-fee products that generate higher commissions (Bergstresser, Chalmers, and Tufano, 2009; Del Guercio and Reuter, 2014; Christoffersen, Evans, and Musto, 2013; Hoechle et al., 2018; Egan, 2019). Consequently, regulators often impose restrictions on sales commissions. In 2013, the Netherlands banned sales commissions to financial advisers, instead requiring customers to pay a transparent, upfront fee for advice (Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht– Wft)). However, these fees can be substantial, and industry reports indicate a decline in households seeking financial advice after the ban. Our study explores how this shift to explicit advisory fees affects those seeking financial advice, the quality of advice, the range of products offered, and households’ financial asset ownership. We aim to determine whether these changes benefit or harm households, especially those in greatest need of guidance. The results will inform how to create a fair, affordable, and transparent financial advice system that ensures consumers receive unbiased help while making important financial choices.

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