August 17, 2010
I am a fee only financial planner,investment advisor, and RIA registered in Kansas. I have found that adhering to fiduciary standards increases my clients ability to experience better outcomes than if I were selling products and only held to a suitability standard. My clients and I are on the same side of the table.
I think many Americans are confused by the differences and don't understand that the fiduciary standards are better for most of them.
I urge you to either specify all "investment advisors" to use the fiduciary standards or at the very least require commission based compensated advisors to thoroughly explain and even have the client sign a document that the client understands that the advisor may not always act in the clients best interest.