July 29, 2010
Requiring all financial advisors to accept a fiduciary responsibility toward their clients is in the best interests of the the consuming public. The SEC's mission is consumer protection. Guys - big picture - I don't see the problem. The rest is in the details. Not requring this is kind of like saying only guns bigger than 6 shooters have to be licensed. Guess what - 6 shooters can kill also.
No execeptions for insurance agents, stock brokers or others who can endanger the consumer with incomplete information, inadequate training and/or conflicts of interest. The pleas of special interest groups are bolstered with self-serving rationalizations of why an excveption in the best interest of a producer group should exist - even if it isn't the very best thing for the consumner. Oxymoronic
The big issue and where the time should be spent is defining a fiduciary and the nature and extent of the fiduciary duty.