The commission vs. PFOF debate has a clear answer: transparent commissions with best execution are better for most retail investors than zero-commission PFOF trading.
For investors who trade more than a few times per month, the PFOF execution quality degradation exceeds traditional commission costs. For very infrequent traders, PFOF costs may be lower in absolute terms — but the conflict of interest remains regardless.
Fidelity offers zero commissions without PFOF for equity orders — proving the zero-commission model does not require PFOF. Fidelity simply earns revenue from other sources.
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