January 7, 2011
Do SEC employees and members of Congress get 12B-1 fees waived? Why else would they continue to allow the financial industry to "legally screw" their investors? In the early days of the mutual fund business, the 12b-1 fee was thought to help investors by mass marketing mutual funds and thus reducing expenses because of economies of scale. Clearly, a ploy of the financial industry and one never proven true. Mutual fund assets now exceed $10 trillion and are growing. This fee is mainly used to pay intermediaries for selling fund shares. A commission paid to salespeople does nothing to enhance the performance of a fund and those fees have NEVER ended. In what other privately owned business dues the customer pay a percentage fee for the sellers advertising and other expenses? Adding insult to injury, the Funds disclose little, if any, information about those fees.
Financial advisors handle billions, maybe trillions of dollars of client's money, yet they have no legal FIDUCIARY DUTY to their clients. Why shouldn't they be legally deemed professionals, like doctors, lawyers, CPA's? Did the government learn nothing from the blatant fraud and misrepresentation of the financial industry, just a few years ago, that almost brought this country to it's knees? Remember-- the bogus mortgage backed CDO's and broker's touting and selling one security, while simultaneously betting it will fail, thus making them money on both sides of the transaction.
Does it take a full blown depression before the SEC and other governmental agencies do what is fair, just and sound for business from the standpoint of the American Investor?
I told my friends that the Obama SEC and Congress would hold the financial industry accountable for their greed, fraud and misrepresentations in past years. So far, little has been done. However, I refuse to give up and will continue to urge you to DO THE RIGHT THING and stand up for everyday, working Americans. Most Americans want and need to know what is actually going on in financial markets so that they can make INFORMED decisions, not play into the hands of financial swindlers.