June 30, 2009
This legislation misses the key issue and should not be directed at those who have discretion but to those Firms that have custodianship only.
If you house your assets at Schwab, Fidelity or Pershing you can not fabricate assets or take them to some foreign island.
Why punish the honest Registered Investment Advisor who allows a third party to hold and audit the accounts for the client’s protection.
All withdrawals are clearly reported and available to review for the client and any Federal authority empowered to protect the client.
In reality most improper behavior goes down on Wall Street not Main street where the vast majority of advisors are fighting to do the best job for their clients each day.
My hope is that is someone left in authority that can see the difference and not make the wrong people suffer from a head hunt in the honest portion of our industry.
Regards,
Gregory Lawrence