Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Department

Finance

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Through attending my classes and working part-time at a financial planning firm, I have learned about many different types of compensation for financial planners, the most common being commissions and fees. Western Kentucky University allowed me to travel to San Diego in January of 2017 to attend the TD Ameritrade LINC 2017 conference, and it was there that I was introduced to the concept of a monthly retainer model of compensation. This grabbed my attention because it was a relatively new and unusual form of payment for financial planning services. Through curiosity, this topic encouraged my study of the past, present, and future of financial planning compensation methods. In this thesis, I will explain the multiple ways financial planners can receive income, and the benefits and potential drawbacks of each of those, and an analysis of the monthly retainer model and how it could be implemented alongside current compensation methods or used alone.

Advisor(s) or Committee Chair

Ron Rhoades, Andrew Head

Disciplines

Finance and Financial Management

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