July 23, 2017
Securities and Exchange Commission,
I DO NOT KNOW WHETHER OR NOT ANYONE WILL EVEN READ THIS, HOWEVER I AM SENDING IT. I HAVE BEEN PERSONALLY A VICTIM OF DECEPTIVE PRACTICES FROM TIAA-CREF WHEN I WAS READY TO RETIRE. THEIR SO-CALLED ADVISOR ATTEMPTED AGGRESSIVELY TO INVEST MY LIFE'S SAVINGS AND PENSION MONEYS IN THEIR PROGRAM. I WAS UNABLE TO OBTAIN WRITTEN MATERIALS OR OTHER INFORMATION FROM HIM REGARDING THESE PROGRAMS. I LATER FOUND OUT THERE WERE COMMISSIONS OR BONUSES OR WHATEVER THEIR FINANCIAL INCENTIVES WERE TO OBTAIN MY MONEY. COMPLAINTS TO THE SEC AND NEW YORK STATE DEPT. OF LABOR WNET NOWHERE. THE DELAY WHILE TIAA-CREF LIED TO US AND LED US ONCOST US AT LEAST $100,000 WHEN THE RECESSION HIT. THESE FIDUCIARY RULES ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE WELL BEING OF OUR RETIREMENT POPULATION.
When investors turn to financial professionals for advice, they expect and deserve advice that's in their best interests. But some "advisers" who work for broker-dealers are not always required to meet that standard, and some may even be paid in ways that reward them for putting the interests of the firm ahead of the best interests of the customer. Investors lose out on tens of billions of dollars in investment returns each year when these conflicted advisers recommend inferior investment products that pay them more. I urge the Securities and Exchange Commission to adopt new rules, modeled on the Department of Labor's rule for retirement investment advice, requiring brokers to act in their customers' best interests and requiring firms to reduce conflicts that undermine that standard. Investors don't need more boilerplate disclosures, they need real protections from industry practices that put their financial well-being at risk.
F. Buckley