Subject: File No. S7-25-99
From: Russ C Rauhauser

September 7, 2004

Sir,

I am a consumer. I have several friends who are registered reps. They KNOW there is more to giving advice than their backgrounds and training provide, but its the game one needs to play in order to have a job in that business. Only regulation from above can make the rules of the game clear to consumers and broker-dealers alike. Please put all of the people who claim to be advisers and planners on the same level playing field by rescinding the Merrill Lynch Rule in its entirety and holding them to their proper fiduciary duty.