I Have Never Operated My Practice Any Other Way...

..but according to the wsj today it is a new concept to many of my colleagues:

Adviser Shift Expected To Boost ETF Sales

Exchange-traded funds have been embraced by fee-based financial advisers, something that will help fuel their growing popularity.
As regulators tighten up on potential conflicts of interest in the brokerage and advisory industry, more advisers are expected to move toward business models based on fees from clients rather than sales commissions on products.
“When brokers move to a fee-based advisory, we see a significant increase in the use of ETFs,” says Deborah Fuhr, global head of ETF research and implementation strategy at BlackRock Inc. Advisers who depend on commissions “typically do not embrace ETFs,” she says.