August 30, 2010
Dear SEC:
Date: July 30, 2010
I have been saying for years that registered reps and investment advisors are over regulated. That the existing system of regulation failed to deal with credit default swaps, fraudulently constructed mortgage backed securities, and let one giant Ponzi scheme after another get away with it for years was criminal. However, by this legislation you are persecuting the wrong people.
The time and money that I spend on compliance already is excessive, not just in the frequent testing of my knowledge of compliance issues, but also in all of the paperwork that must be dome to accomplish the most basic transactions. How about enforcing the existing rules on a level playing field instead of looking the other way until it is too late with Bear Stearns, Madoff, and many others?
A new liability-ridden fiduciary duty for registered representatives if not done right will result in regulation that will have a very profound impact on how I serve my clients or even whether I will continue to do so.
The independent channel of advisors and reps for years has taken market share from the large brokerage houses. This proposed legislation appears to be an unholy alliance of big government and big business that is using the current financial crisis, which among other things was a great failure of government to regulate as it should have, to pursue a regulatory environment that does not favor the well being of the American consumer.
Joseph R. Hope