Fidelity representatives are paid 0.04% of the assets clients invest in most types of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. They earn more than twice as much, 0.10%, on choices that typically generate higher annual fees for Fidelity, such as managed accounts, annuities and referrals to independent financial advisers. “If I was sitting in front of someone and there were 20 different avenues we could choose from,” said former Fidelity financial consultant Sean Gray, “and we could choose Fidelity’s managed accounts—that is what paid us more—in my mind, that created a conflict. And that’s one of the reasons I left.” Mr. Gray, who worked in a Fidelity branch in Atlanta from 2011 to 2016, now is at a wealth-management firm in Georgia.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/advisers-at-leading-discount-brokers-win-bonuses-to-push-higher-priced-products-1515604130