August 6, 2018
I was extremely disheartened when the proposed "Fiduciary" rule to be enacted in 2018 was cancelled by the Trump administration. I became aware of the problem years ago when a close friend of mine lost $150,000 due to his self-serving financial advisor that he had trusted for many years. This man was not an ignorant person, but rather a military retiree, who had made investments in real estate that proved profitable until the end of his life. The one mistake he made was trusting his "financial advisor"" who, upon my friend's death, shared equally with his 4 children the money he left. Also, I have two acquaintances that live a 1 percenters lifestyle on a "financial advisor" income. Neither of them have any education as a financial "expert", but manage to stay at fancy resorts and hotels several times a year. These are rewards granted to financial advisors that steer their retired clients to investments that give commissions and rewards to advisors that recommend their funds to their clients. Thanks to advance warning that I got from those that have been burned, I put my retirement savings with a fiduciary where I paid upfront commissions that were clearly visible. I am 100% in favor of a SEC ruling that makes it illegal to recommend investments that are not in the best interest for a client's retirement savings.