August 24, 2004
Dear Memebers of the SEC:
I have difficulty understanding your logic that any employee of a Broker/Dealer is eligible for a lower standard of professional practices than an RIA whose business and livlihood depend on their reputation within the community.
It is much easier to hide under theumbrells of someone else than to face the public and the highest standards exacted by the NASD. Any employee can simply migrate from firm to firm to hide his/her impropriety.
How does this protect the public? The public needs a clearly defined standard of what the educational qualifications of the individual are, and a clear definition of what services and priorities they can expect, as they proceed forward.
You have the opportunity to create standards instead of exemptions. Please use the authority that had been granted to you for the public good.
Sincerely,
Eileen J. Trott, CFP