August 26, 2010
Cutting out 12b-1 fees, if that means cutting my compenation for advising my clients is the wrong move. Not everone in life is a do it yourself investor. If you eliminate what advisors can get paid to advise than you have eliminated or limited greatly the advise available to those who desperatly need it. 12b-1 fees are the least of the worries of an economy that is headed for deflation and is already in dire straits caused mainly by and due to poor management and sensible legislation where it matters most at the top in the investment banks and in Washington. Not in the trenches on the retail side of the investment world. This proposal merely amounts to a bone that Mary Shapiro wants to throw the public to make it look like they are actually doing something. There are much better things the SEC can be spending their time on. I don't need to list them all.
Simply put we are heading toward socialism when you limit or eliminate the ability to be compensated for your services. Who is going to offer real advice to those who need it if they cant make money doing it? What if we limited the amount of money an electrician could make installing electrical work, or a carpenter building homes. Do we expect the public to start building their own homes again. Why do we insist the public invest there money without advice?