Subject: File No. S7-25-99
From: Anthony P. Eastmond, CFPr

January 17, 2005

I believe that exempting broker/dealers from the Investment Advisor Act does two things:
1. I gives reps of the b/d an advantage over professionals operating outside a b/d.

2. It provides a vulnerability to the consumer. The purpose of the act is to protect the consumer, and exempting certain persons lessens that protection. The fact that certain activities are incidental to the broker does not mean they are incidental to the client. If certain acts invoke the act of 1940 for some people, it should do so for all people, regardless of how incidental they may be. If they are truly incidental, perhaps the inconvenience of compliance will discourage the b/d from engaging in that activity.

ARE YOU TRYING TO BE SENSITIVE TO THE CONSUMER OR THE BROKER/DEALER?