August 24, 2010
As a Registered Representative in the business of advising clients how to protect their families make smart choices with their money, I don't see that we as advisors should be held to a higher standard than any other advisors, Legal, Medical,CPA's,or sales people advising people on a product purchase. The answer to the crimes commited in the last financial meltdown resulted from self serving people violating the moral principles inherent in any advisory role. They deserve to be punished. This debacle did not result from the absence of regulation. In fact, the Madeoff case was investigated years ahead. It might help if we had more knowledgable people with understanding of the business they are regulating. The innocent don't deserve to pay a price for the crimes of a few. The disclosures consumers are asked to sign today are so voluminous that they are disregarded and are meaningless. They are designed to protect the regulators and institutions, not the consumer.