How do Financial Planners & Advisors Get Paid in India?

Understanding Financial Advisor Fees & Compensation in India

How financial advisors get paid: fee-only, fee-based, or commission paid by product providers.

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Infographic titled 'How Financial Advisors Really Get Paid'. A numbered list explains three payment models: 1. Fee-Only: Direct client payments for advice. 2. Fee-Based: Combines flat fees and commissions. 3. Commission: Paid by product providers per sale. Closing line: 'Know who you're paying — and why.' On the right is an illustration of a woman in a business suit holding a clipboard and pen, surrounded by icons of a rupee sign, a pie chart, a shield and a rising bar chart.

SEBI (Securities Exchange Board of India), with its latest amendments to Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) Regulations, mandates that all registered financial planners can charge only on two bases. A Financial Planner can either charge a fee for financial planning or earn from distribution of financial products. The SEBI regulations prohibit collecting a fee and earning commissions from the same client.

Why Payment Structure Matters?

Understanding how advisors get paid is important because:

It shows if advice is biased or neutral
It helps you avoid hidden costs
It builds trust in financial decisions
It helps you choose the right advisor model

Different advisors follow different income models. Let’s look at them one by one.

A financial planner can charge his clients in 3 ways

Flat-Fee Only Financial Planner

A Flat-Fee Only Financial Planner is someone who gets directly compensated by the investor. They charge for the financial plan and advisory services provided to the investor. The fees charged are not linked to the client’s Net Worth or Investments, but are linked to the amount of work required and the expertise or experience of the financial planner. They do not earn any commissions or brokerage from the products or strategies they recommend.

There is no conflict of interest when the planner lists out the action items in a financial plan. They earn no kickbacks or under-the-table payments for anything. These planners are bound by fiduciary responsibility and are mandated by SEBI to keep the best interests of the investors in mind.

Fee-Based Financial Planner

A Fee-Based Financial Planner is someone who charges the investor for planning based on the net worth or the investments held by the client. SEBI allows RIAs to collect a fee up to 2.5% of the client's investments. You will find most planners charging about 1% under this model. The major drawback under this model is that the planner is remunerated only when the client stays invested. A few investors would have experienced their financial planners recommending them not to clear their loans or invest in other non-financial assets.

Distribution of Financial Products

SEBI allows corporate RIAs to earn through distribution or by charging a fee. Corporate RIA Distributors are involved in selling various investment instruments. They could be mutual funds, stocks, insurance products, or any other financial instrument. Their income is generated from the commission or brokerage that is generated by selling those investments. Most people fall for FREE services thinking that they are not paying anything, but fail to realize that the products recommended by them include costs in the form of commissions. There is an element of conflict of interest here, as investors could end up investing in instruments that have high commissions.

Which Payment Model Is Best for You?

There is no single right choice. It depends on what kind of help you need.

Flat-Fee Only

Fixed fee for financial advice
Best for retirement and education goals
No commissions or hidden charges
Completely unbiased guidance
Ideal for full financial planning

Fee-Based

Fee based on investment value (AUM)
Suitable for ₹10 lakh+ portfolios
Includes regular monitoring and advice
May influence investment suggestions
Good for ongoing wealth management

Distribution Model

Advisor earns commission from products
Best for simple investments like SIPs
No direct advisory fee charged
Not suitable for full financial planning
Risk of biased product recommendations

6 Steps a Good Financial Planner Follows

A good financial planner follows the 6-step financial planning process as illustrated below:

Establishing and defining the client-planner relationship.
Gathering client data and determining goals.
Analyzing and evaluating the client's financial status.
Developing and presenting financial planning recommendations.
Implementing the financial planning recommendations.
Monitoring the financial planning recommendations.

Types of Advisers you should stay away from

Investment Recommendations Without Risk Profiling

Understanding the risk profile of an investor and assigning the right asset allocation suitable for their unique needs serves as a strong foundation for the financial plan of an individual. If a planner gives out recommendations without proper risk profiling, it is a sign of grave danger, and it is better to stay away from them.

Promises Guaranteed Returns

Human greed has destroyed more wealth than any other factor and continues to do so. As long as investors fall into the trap of guaranteed returns, you will find con men designing one Ponzi scheme after another. Stay away from people promising guaranteed returns.

Offers Get Rich Quick Schemes

Creating wealth takes time. The human tendency to want to get rich quickly often leads to taking unnecessary risks. Investors fall for traps promising the doubling or tripling of investments and end up losing all their hard-earned money to crooks. It is important to understand the magic of compounding; simple monthly investments of ₹5,000 can create a corpus of more than ₹1,00,00,000 if continued for 30 years at 10% p.a.

Confuses you with Complicated Instruments

Some investors are satisfied only when the adviser presents new products and strategies every now and then. They think that simple products like mutual funds and PPF are not for them. They are often given rosy presentations at fancy hotels without understanding that they are the ones sponsoring such gala dinners through the costs of the complicated instruments they buy.

Choose Wealth Crafts for Transparent Financial Planning

Financial planners and advisors in India follow different payment systems, and each model can influence the advice you receive. The key is not just cost, but clarity and transparency. When you understand how your advisor earns, you can make better financial decisions without confusion and avoid hidden conflicts. Choosing a transparent advisor in India helps you stay confident and build wealth with clear direction. As a registered SEBI financial planner in India , Wealth Crafts clearly explains the fee structure without hiding any terms or conditions.