July 30, 2010
My feeling as a Registered Representative (Series 6 62) is that compliance costs-both in terms of finances and time-are high, and those costs are eventually felt by clients. Adding another layer of regulation means another layer of compliance, and even more cost to clients. Currently, I have and annual all day compliance meeting with monthly reporting on security related transactions. Every few years I have to complete a tutorial at a testing facility as part of my continuing education and registration with FINRA.
I have been a registered representative since 2002 and currently 31 years old. A significant part of my income comes from helping average families invest in mutual funds (A C shares) for their retirement and financial security. However, if I was force to move to a fee-model and have the additional liabilities of a fiduciary there is a small likelihood that average clients would pay an enormous fee for me to help them. I would imagine if these types of changes were made I would only work with high net worth individual who could afford these costs and not service the average client who my opinion need the most help.