Armchair critic: Come on down… the price is right (isn't it?)

Debates rage on the cost of fund management, of discretionary management services, of platforms, of the cost of advisory services. Cost conventions are being questioned, although a better question would be – why did such conventions last so long? When costs are fixed either formally or by convention it isn’t really a good sign; it indicates a lack of real competition. It indicates protectionism. Commission conventions implied a commoditised advisory service, which is not and was never the case. For example, 3% and 0.5% from one adviser might be great value, but from another it might...