July 30, 2010
Imposing a new fiduciary standard will be an onerous and impossible standard to define, measure, and enforce. This is due to the subjective view all people will have regarding any recommendation of a financial product or service. There is no evidence that the public has been harmed in any way using the current system.
The newly proposed standard, while it may have good intentions, will force many ethical financial advisors out of business, resulting on only the large brokerage firms remaining in an industry now with many choices for consumers. This new consolidation will mean fewer financial products, not more. The result will mean that any product that seeks to address concerns in a different manner to protect consumers will be regarded as outside the mainstream, and will be rejected.