Subject: File No. S7-25-99
From: William R Neubauer
Affiliation: Certified Financial Planner and Registered Investment Advisor

August 25, 2004

I wish to register my displeasure with the proposed Broker-Dealer exemption and urge you to WITHDRAW the rule proposal. I am continually frustrated by registered reps who go to great lengths to describe themselves as financial planners but who lack the same ethical standards that I must and do uphold. I believe this creates serious confusion among the general public and is harmful to average consumers who lack a full understanding about the nuances of a true fiduciary relationship versus one that is ripe with conflicts of interest driven by product sales. I urge you not to bow to the lobbying pressures of the broker/dealer industry and to bring greater clarity to those who serve the consumer in a fiduciary capacity and those who do not.