Fiduciary Links: Bogle, Schweiss, Others All Chime in on Fiduciary Standard
Posted by on June 17, 2013
>>>>With the deadline to the SEC’s request for information regarding the fiduciary standard quickly approaching and coinciding with a busy week for conferences and other events, the past week had a number of prominent advocates sharing their thoughts on the fiduciary standard and the outlook for regulatory reform.
In general, most shared similar themes of stressing the importance to investors of a true fiduciary standard, while expressing some concern that we’re headed for a watered down or rules-based approach that lowers the bar for RIA advisors. For today’s links post, we thought we’d share some of the coverage of those events, highlighted by some of the best quotes:
The fact is, the SEC may not be able to craft a fiduciary standard that makes everyone in the financial advice industry happy. In that case, it would be wise for the regulator to remember where its primary allegiance should lie — and that is with the investing public.
— Editorial from InvestmentNews, addressing the warning signs that the securities industry is winning the fiduciary battle.
By having frank discussions with these legislators, they saw me not just as an investment advisor, but as a small business owner facing daunting challenges that additional regulations and compliance would place on me. And that by applying these rules to RIAs, there is no evidence to suggest that investors would be better off.
— Advisor Barry Glassman, relaying what he learned from his meetings with members of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee.
Our feelings and messaging to policy makers are aimed first and foremost at investors. We serve investors directly through the retail side of our business, and indirectly through the advisor custody side of our business, so we are completely comfortable with the alignment of our approach across our business lines.
— Managing director of advisor advocacy at TD Ameritrade Institutional Skip Schweiss at TD's Fiduciary Leadership Summit on why being strong fiduciary advocates does not work contrary to their business interests.
You’re working for the client. You’re trying to help him protect his estate, to ensure his retirement. You have a lot of flexibility in what you do with that and there’s, honestly, a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it.
— John Bogle at the Morningstar Investment Conference, describing why the fiduciary standard is based on straight-forward principles that shouldn’t be so difficult to implement in regulation. The full interview from InvestmentNews is embedded below:
As we mentioned, it was a busy week for comments on the fiduciary standard, so look for a few more below. Now on to the rest of the best links from last week:
News and columns from the leading trade, consumer, and mainstream media:
- John Bogle is feeling both gratified and wary of Vanguard's recent success. [InvestmentNews]
- SIFMA says brokers OK with additional cost of compliance, just keep the standard of care rules-based. [InvestmentNews]
- 401(k) plans paying less for mutual funds, fee disclosure rules part of the reason? [InvestmentNews]
- Thoughts on fiduciary duty, with comments from Kevin Carroll, managing director and associate general counsel of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. [InvestmentNews]
- The always-fun topic of mandatory arbitration was a subject of the latest IN Regulatory Roundtable [InvestmentNews]
- 80 years of the fiduciary standard in 15 minutes, from Arthur Laby at TD's Fiduciary Summit [AdvisorOne]
- Some good, expert advice on how collectibles should be handled as assets in estate planning [AdvisorOne]
- DIY investor satisfaction wanes - good news for advisers. [Wealth Management]
- How to cultivate next-gen clients. [FinancialPlanning]
From the organizations/associations/government/academia:
- 401(k) plan participants increasingly investing in managed portfolios [Vanguard Institutional]
- Plan sponsors likely to change investment lineups over next 12 months [Cogent Research via AdvisorOne]
- CEFEX certifies Barry M. Corkern and Company, Inc. of Little Rock, Arkansas, as an Investment Advisor. [CEFEX]
- CEFEX certifies Intac Actuarial Services, Inc. of Ridgewood, New Jersey, to the ASPPA Standard of Practice for Retirement Plan Service Providers. [CEFEX]
- Amelia Cottrell named Associate Regional Director for Enforcement in New York Office. [SEC]
From the blogs:
- For those considering submitting comment to the SEC's request for information, Ron Rhoades offers some select quotes in favor of a strong fiduciary standard [Scholarly Financial Planner]
- Is the fiduciary liability of self-directed brokerage options too great for 401(k) plan sponsors? [Fiduciary News]
- Portfolio rebalancing is like earning a 'bonus'. [The Investment Fiduciary]
- Why the complexity of plan valuation argues against turning appraisers into fiduciary by regulatory pronouncement. [Boston ERISA Law]
- Former Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank puzzled quite a few with his expressed fiduciary stance at the TD summit. [RIABiz]
- The most misunderstood Social Security rule. [IN's Retirement2.0]
Articles your clients are reading (or should be):
- Four way to calculate your retirement number [USNews]
- Seven reasons to consider phased retirment [USNews]
- Four retirement plan options for small businesses [USNews]
- The retirement savings crisis: this illustration clearly portrays just how few Americans are adequately prepared for retirement. [The Chicago Financial Planner, Masters n Accounting]
Have a link we missed? Leave them in the comments section or email us at blog@fi360.com. For more of the best links during the week, make sure you follow us on Twitter.
