We would love to hear from you. Click on the ‘Contact Us’ link to the right and choose your favorite way to reach-out!

wscdsdc

media/speaking contact

Jamie Johnson

business contact

Victoria Peterson

Contact Us

855.ask.wink

Close [x]
pattern

Industry News

Categories

  • Industry Articles (21,155)
  • Industry Conferences (2)
  • Industry Job Openings (35)
  • Moore on the Market (414)
  • Negative Media (144)
  • Positive Media (73)
  • Sheryl's Articles (800)
  • Wink's Articles (353)
  • Wink's Inside Story (274)
  • Wink's Press Releases (123)
  • Blog Archives

  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • August 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • November 2008
  • September 2008
  • May 2008
  • February 2008
  • August 2006
  • Advisor Groups Voice Opposition To Weakened Fiduciary Standard

    June 7, 2013 by PR WEB

    Washington, D.C. (PRWEB)June 07, 2013

    In a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mary Jo White, a broad-based coalition of organizations today urged the agency to establish a uniform fiduciary standard for broker-dealers and investment advisers that is at least as strong as the existing standard for investment advisers and asserted vigorous opposition to any rule that would weaken investor protections. The group comprises like-minded organizations advocating for the extension of a client-first fiduciary standard to broker-dealers providing personalized investment advice to retail customers.

    The letter outlines the group’s concerns that the SEC’s March Request For Information (RFI) signals that the SEC may be backing away from requiring a fiduciary standard for broker-dealers that is “no less stringent” than the one under which registered investment advisers currently operate.

    Section 913 of Dodd-Frank required SEC staff to analyze standards of care applicable to investment advisers and broker-dealers and it recommended that the standard of care should be what is in the best interests of the consumer without regard to business model.

    “The assumptions contained in the RFI fail to include key elements of the fiduciary standard such as the obligation to act in the best interest of the customer. If the fiduciary duty is based on theRFI assumptions, it would be weaker than that originally set forth in the Section 913 Study and far less stringent than that currently imposed under the Advisers Act,” stated the group in its jointly signed letter. “If the SEC were to adopt this approach, we fear that it would significantly weaken the fiduciary standard for SEC-registered investment advisers, while adding few new protections for investors who rely on broker-dealers for investment advice. This approach would have negative consequences for investors and is one we would vigorously oppose.”

    The organizations signing the letter are: AARP, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Consumer Federation of America, Financial Planning Association, Fund Democracy, Investment Adviser Association, National Association of Personal Financial Advisors and the North American Securities Administrators Association.

    Comments from each of the organizations signing the letter:

    “The Commission’s RFI does not appear to incorporate the most crucial aspect of fiduciary duty – that the overarching duty to act in the client’s best interest is an ever-present overlay to all of the other duties, rules, and assumptions discussed in the RFI. Indeed, the RFI seems to contemplate simply adding disclosure requirements to existing broker-dealer rules and labeling the result a fiduciary standard. We would oppose such an approach as watering down the Advisers Act fiduciary standard.”

    •David G. Tittsworth Executive Director, Investment Adviser Association

    “Broker-dealers call their sales representatives financial advisers, they market themselves based on the advice they offer, and they encourage investors to rely on them as trusted advisers. It is hardly surprising then that most investors make no distinction between brokers and advisers and that disclosure is ineffective in eliminating that investor confusion. That is presumably a key reason Congress, in drafting Section 913 of the Dodd-Frank Act, specified that any new standard for brokers must be the same as the standard for advisers and no weaker than the existing standard under the Advisers Act. While we remain optimistic that the SEC can craft a regulatory approach that provides much needed strengthened protections for investors – a standard that CFA can support – doing so will require the agency to radically rethink the assumptions in the recently issued request for information and to adopt a far more investor protective approach.”
    •Barbara Roper Director of Investor Protection, Consumer Federation of America

    “Older Americans need to know that the people who are helping them save for retirement, as well as those managing their savings throughout retirement, are indeed putting their interests first. It is more than reasonable to have broker-dealers – who are often providing advice to clients – held to the same standard as investment advisers. Extending the fiduciary standard will help protect investors and reduce consumer confusion. We encourage the SEC to stand firm and not retreat from implementing a client-first fiduciary standard.”
    •Joyce A. Rogers Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, AARP

    “The SEC has assumed that there will be multiple fiduciary standards that apply to personalized investment advice, which will create more confusion and engender conflicts among, for example, federal laws that apply to broker-dealers and investment advisers. The SEC’s approach will exacerbate the already dysfunctional regulation of personalized investment advice.”
    •Mercer Bullard President and Founder, Fund Democracy

    “State securities regulators urge the SEC to exercise its discretion, pursuant to Section 913 of the Dodd-Frank Act, to engage in rulemaking to subject broker-dealers to a fiduciary duty, which should be no less stringent than the standard codified in the Investment Advisers Act. While there may be some debate about the precise parameters of the application of the duty to broker-dealers, it cannot be seriously debated that when enacting Section 913, Congress ever intended to lower the standards currently applicable to investment advisers. The goal was always to raise the standard of conduct of brokers to align with investment advisers. Such an alignment would enhance investor confidence in the financial services industry, the products they are being advised to purchase and the securities markets overall.”
    •A. Heath Abshure President, NASAA

    “Fairness is at the heart of the debate surrounding the need for a fiduciary standard. Whether saving for retirement or their children’s college education, American investors should get advice that is best for them and not their financial adviser. And an adviser’s duty to an investor should not depend on who is regulating that adviser. We urge the SEC to stay true to Congress’ intent in Dodd-Frank and give American investors what they deserve – investment advice from an adviser who has a fiduciary duty to act in their best interests at all times. ”
    •Kevin R. Keller, CAE Chief Executive Officer, CFP Board

    “Relying on disclosures to sidestep working in the best interest of the client is inconsistent with the Advisers Act of 1940 and would weaken the existing fiduciary standard for registered investment advisers. Full disclosure plays an important part of the fiduciary relationship between an adviser and client, but it does not replace loyalty, ongoing duty of care, or managing conflicts or avoiding them where possible. We would strongly oppose a standard where disclosure displaces principles based advice.”
    •Lauren Locker, CFP® National Chair, NAPFA

    “Requiring a fiduciary standard of broker-dealers doesn’t mean they need to stop earning commissions or providing services to middle class clients. Rather, it means that they need to put their clients’ interests first by, among other things, fully disclosing and appropriately managing conflicts of interest. Financial planners, who have voluntarily embraced the fiduciary standard, have demonstrated that it can be applied successfully across business models for the benefit of both clients and advisors.”

    •  Michael Branham, CFP® President, Financial Planning Association

    “Investors cannot be put in a position of trying to determine when their advisers are required to work in their best interest and when they are not. We urge the SEC to establish a fiduciary standard for broker-dealers giving investment advice that truly protects investors by requiring a continuing duty, as currently exists for investment advisers, to put the investors’ interests first.”
    •  Barry C. Melancon, CPA, CGMA President and CEO, AICPA

    Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/6/prweb10805906.htm

    Originally Posted at InsuranceNewsNet on June 7, 2013 by PR WEB.

    Categories: Industry Articles
    currency