August 6, 2010
Regarding the proposed additional fiduciary standards for financial advisors and broker-dealers, I am personally opposed to these additional regulations and compliance.
I feel that we already have a very high level of compliance in our industry and I and my staff spend an extraordinary amount of time currently, just keeping up with compliance requirements, as it is. If we add more and more layers of cumbersome, redundant compliance to advisors daily routine, many of the good advisors will say let me out of here. I don't believe that would be in the public's best interest.
Adding more compliance and time consumption, does not guarantee the client will be better served. "Good eggs will continue to offer good advice and "Bad eggs" will continue to do bad things.
Along the same vein, I feel that going to fee only advice and pay, will not guarantee that the public will be better served. Many in the general public will need to invest or get good advice, but will not be able to pay for this advice.
In my opinion, the laws that we have, just need to be enforced and common sense needs to rule out in how this issue needs to be addressed.