Subject: File No. S7-25-99
From: Annette F. Simon
Affiliation: Fee-only Financial Advisor

September 7, 2004

The Merrill Lynch Rule is a complete joke. You cant turn on the television for more than 10 minutes without seeing one of the brokerage firms falsely sincere commercials depicting thier brokers as caring personal financial advisors. Surely the SEC is not going to let them have it both ways -- claiming that they are not financial advisors for regulatory reasons, but allowing them to scream that they are for marketing purposes.

This is very clear cut and our government needs to do the right thing for American consumers.

Respectfully,

Annette F. Simon