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A study this week shows 29 percent of investors think advice is free, and 31 percent aren’t sure how their adviser is paid.
In mid-January, the SEC requested comments from the public on financial literacy and investor disclosure issues. The Dodd-Frank Act mandated that the SEC conduct this study to identify investors’ levels of financial literacy and come up with ways of improving disclosure materials pertaining to investment products, services and providers. They also must identify the most
On Thursday, the SEC received a petition signed by thousands of financial planners, members of the Financial Planners Coalition, urging them to apply a uniform fiduciary standard to anyone providing personal investment advice. You may perhaps recall that the SEC was empowered by the Dodd-Frank Act to study the issue last year. They found that
The Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed establishing rules that would impel broker-dealers — and other investment advice-givers — to labor under a fiduciary standard instead of the suitability standard to which they are currently held. Mark Schoeff Jr., writing for Investmentnews.com, reported on Monday that the SEC may move toward rule-making later in the
Last summer, the Securities and Exchange Commission was empowered by the Dodd-Frank Act to study the need for a higher standard of care when giving financial advice to investors. Currently only registered investment advisors are held to the most stringent standards, known as the fiduciary standard. They must work in the client’s best interest and
On Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission delivered their study on the standards of care for providers of investment advice. After six months of study, the SEC recommended a uniform fiduciary standard for broker-dealers and investment advisers “when providing personalized investment advice about securities to retail customers,” the report stated. The study recommended that the
It’s finally here, the day the Securities and Exchange Commission delivers the fruits of a six-month study on standards of care to Congress along with their recommendations. It will be interesting to see what happens. On the one hand, some industry groups oppose a strict fiduciary standard and instead feel a disclosure-based standard would suffice
Last year the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act passed into law. Among the many other financial issues it dealt with, the act empowered the SEC to study the need for fiduciary standards for broker-dealers and then pass a rule imposing the standard. Congress gave the SEC six months to look at the
If you ask some broker-dealers, as well as insurance agents, a uniform fiduciary standard is not in consumers’ best interests. Disclosing commissions and increased transparency of fee structures will result in higher costs for consumers as well as reduced choice. Consumer advocates disagree. The Dodd-Frank Act, signed into law in July, empowered the Securities and
Investors “clueless” about fiduciary duty A study released Wednesday by the Consumer Federation of America, AARP, the North American Securities Administrators Association and various investment advisor and financial planning organizations has found that investors overwhelmingly support a universal fiduciary standard and, at the same time, are very confused about which financial professionals are now held
