"In effect, the DOL is saying that, if one investment pays more to the firm (for example, 8%), and another pays less to the firm (e.g., 4%), and if the firm passes through a set percent of the commission to the investment professional (e.g., 80%), the firm has an arrangement that passes through its incentive to make more money to the financial professional. The question, then, is, how can the conflict be mitigated? One obvious answer it to levelize the investment professional's compensation regardless of which investment is recommended. While that should effectively mitigate the conflict, it may not be a practical 'solution.' "