Subject: File No. S7-25-99
From: Michael P Haubrich
Affiliation: Certified Financial Planner

August 26, 2004

I support the position of the consumer groups that recognize that it is in the best interest of all consumers of financial planning/services that there be full disclosure and a level playing field among all providers of investment/financial advice.

Anyone objectively looking at the public relation/advertising campaigns of the major brokerage firms will see that they are offering as their primary product, financial planning. It is not incidental to the sale of securities as they may argue with the regulatory community. If they wish to be financial/investment advisors, they should be regulated as such.

I have witnessed how consumers, confused about the services and the type of relationship they have with a broker have been misled and sold investments that objectively were not in their best interest. When this happens,the consumer finds out too late to have any value that the broker is acting as a sales rep not an investment advisor. The broker uses the defense that he was only a broker, even though their firm has been marketing them as advisors.

Lets stop this double standard which has been detrimental to the best interest of the public by making all who are acting as advisors be so regulated.