August 30, 2010
COMMENTS
I would emphasize the immense differences between the practices of a broker/ dealer and an investment advisor.
I have never had a broker/dealer or representative of such go beyond qualifying my stock purchases other than by my net worth. The focus was on stock purchases or mutual fund investments with no concern about how this fit into an overall benefit in reaching goals or paying off other accumulated debt. Broker/dealers are single minded transaction based businesses. This is shown by the hundred of clients a rep.can accumulate over time.
The financial representatives who are CFPs or investment advisors take a broader perspective in fiduciary responsibility and handle fewer clients as a result. They take into consideration goals that may not relate to invesments but lifestyle also. They can have a broad choice of investment products by using no-load funds with no bias in there choosing other than performance within portfolio sectors and peer groups.
These distinctions between two different standard of accountability should be emphasized in the public square and regulated very differently.