Receiving a referral fee has been psychologically proven to remove your ability to give fair advice.
The Research, Study from 2010
In a 2010 study by the Baylor College of Medicine, they did an experiment where people were given the opportunity to view abstract art, where which the value is very subjective, the opportunity to value different art pieces, and they were told that they would be sponsored by a certain art gallery. And it was found that those who were sponsored by the art gallery showed increased psychological preference for the art provided by that gallery above and beyond those who were in the control group who viewed art without any referral fee or without any sponsorship.
Compensation Changes Our Psychology
This helps us to know that if we receive compensation for something, it can change our underlying psychological wiring and change our actual preference so that we ourselves do not realize that we are making a biased decision. If we look at abstract art, which is completely subjective, and the monetary influence changes our taste in art, that shows that this effect goes more deep psychologically than you normally would think with a normal conflict of interest.
Fiduciary Responsibility
So if you are in a position, if you’re in an industry where you have a fiduciary responsibility to do what’s in the interest of your client, in other words, if you have signed an agreement where you need to represent the best interests of your client, the person who you are helping, then it would be against their interests for you to give them any referral for which you receive compensation.
So if you’re going to give referrals to someone whom you’re working with as an agent or a fiduciary, please refrain from giving them any referrals to places where you receive monetary compensation because your objectivity is completely compromised.