August 23, 2004
I strongly urge the Commission to withdraw the proposed rule referenced above. The impact of this rule, if enacted, would unfairly exempt certain brokers from practicing under the more stringent standards of a fiduciary that would otherwise apply to Registered Investment Advisors. Such an effect is clearly not in the best interest of the public, in what now is the post-Enron mood of a desire for greater, not more lenient, standards of professional behavior.