July 22, 2004
Sirs:
I agree entirely with today's Washington Post column by Michelle Singletary regarding the above rule proposal and the related court proceeding.
Broker-Dealers who provide investment advice should, under no circumstances, be exempted from the fiduciary responsibilities imposed by the Advisers Act. I and my family rely entirely on the advice our investment adviser, who is also our broker, gives us in deciding about important bond investments that we make for retirement income. We do not want him ever to be in a position where he may be inclined to place his own financial interests before ours because of ambiguities in the regulations as to whether he is or is not a fiduciary covered by the Advisers Act.
The SEC's role is to place the interests of investors ahead of those of broker--not the reverse. Yet, the effect of the rule proposal would be just that--the reverse.
Jerome Ackerman
7204 Bybrook Lane,
Chevy Chase, Md. 20815