August 23, 2010
The standard should be as follows: (1) put clients interest first, (2) act with prudence, (3) do not mislead clients, (4) avoid conflicts of interest by not limiting what a registered rep is allowed to sell to only products endorsed by his/her broker dealer, (5) fully disclose all incentives, pay commissions (6) fairly manage unavoidable conflicts via the use of complaince officers at each firm.
With this a strong and swift mechanism to publically punish the rep and the firm who fail to live by these standards will certainly bring honor, respect and dignity back to broker dealers and the reps.