August 25, 2010
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this very important CFP practitioner issue. It is important to advisors, clients, and investors. I urge the SEC to adopt a fiduciary standard for all financial professional who provide financial planning advice. Clients deserve a common standard and should not be left to guess what kind of protection they are provided by their advisor. The standard for financial advice should be the same for brokers and advisors - to always act in the best interests of the client. It is what clients deserve and what they expect. The SEC must take this opportunity to exercise its authority and get brokers and advisors on the same page in providing advice. When you have that type of trust and confidence in a client-advisor relationship, it makes sense to regulate it consistently. As a CFP, I am committed to always act in the best interests of clients. This may be more demanding, as I document why a particular strategy is preferable to others with respect to client long term goals and risks tolerance, but in the long term it is worth it. This will restore faith and confidence in our markets and financial professionals that is so desperately needed. It is just good common sense to take this investor protection program to the next level.