August 24, 2010
The imposition of the fiduciary standard on an already heavily regulated industry seems extremely short-sighted. It's a knee-jerk reaction to a situation where some but not the majority of firms did not behave in the interest of their clients. Instead of working on better enforcement of exisiting regulations, it seems the politicians are just jumping on this idea without looking at the bigger picture.
This misguided fiduciary standard looks back and enforces breaches retroactively through SEC enforcement or private lawsuits. The suitability standard looks forward and tries to PREVENT harm to consumers through ongoing and frequent FINRA and broker-dealer audits and compliance processes. To me prevention is key. The cost and heartache would be greatly reduced with attention to prevention instead of reaction. Save people's investments before they are lost by enforcing what is already in place. Please vote AGAINST the fiduciary standard