May 6, 2004
Current proposals to eliminate 12B1 fees from client accounts will hurt the small investor. As a CFP practitioner since 1996, I am paid by 12B1 fees to continue to service my clients, which I do semi-annually. If 12b1 fees are eliminated,at .25 basis points, then I will be forced to stop servicing these accounts, or move them to a fee based account, in which case their servicing fee rises. There is no benefit to anyone to have their account servicing terminated by their representative, or their fees increased because it is the only way to compensate the representative for work done. Small investors need help more than affluent investors and a quarter of one percent seems a small price to pay for years of experience and education that we bring to the table. Please do not eliminate the 12b-1 fees.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Durkin, CFP, CFS