1. Are Brokers Fiduciaries, Even Though They Accept Commissions? Yes, Says Financial Advice Ethics Expert Ron Rhoades
(Matching tags: compensation,Dodd-Frank,fiduciaries,fiduciary standard)

A lot of fee-only advisors think that advisors who accept commission compensation cannot be fiduciaries. That’s not necessarily true. Legal experts say the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 imposes ...

2. CFP Board Campaigns Against Advisor Rip-Offs Even As Its Rules Largely Exempt CFPs From Acting As Fiduciaries
(Matching tags: financial planning,CFP Board,fiduciaries)

... to act as fiduciaries—and only offer advice in the best interest of clients—exempt CFPs from a duty to act as fiduciaries in most client engagements.  ...

3. Are Financial Advisors Who “Expose” Activities Of Bad Advisors Really Just Self-Interested Jerks?
(Matching tags: media,Advisor businesses,integrity,fiduciaries,advisor industry people)

Financial advisor Allan Roth, on MoneyWatch.com, posted this morning about “how financial advisors lie to themselves.” But is he guilty of the very offense he accuses other advisors of committing? ...

4. Schwab's Forced Arbitration Clause: A Leader Among Fiduciaries Says Custodians Imposing Arbitration Triggers An Obligation Of Disclosure On RIAs
(Matching tags: custodians,fiduciaries)

Charles Schwab's brokerage agreement contains a clause forcing customers to arbitrate disputes, and some RIAs are expressing concern that using Schwab as a custodian and requiring them to accept the arbitration ...

5. Financial Planning Coalition Calls On New SEC Chair To Focus On Fiduciary, Increase Oversight Of Investment Advisers
(Matching tags: Dodd-Frank,fiduciaries,financial planning,RIA compliance)

80% of American investors do not believe the federal government is doing enough to protect “consumers from being taken advantage of” by financial advisers, and 84 percent investors agree that ...

6. Accused By State Securities Regulators Of Falesly Advertising He Acted As A Fiduciary, Illinois Advisor Says He’s Done Nothing Wrong
(Matching tags: Advisor businesses,marketing,compliance,fiduciaries)

In a case that could have wide repercussions for financial advisors and consumers, the State of Illinois last week filed civil charges against a financial advisor that essentially alleges he advertised ...

7. NPR Reports On “The Personal Finance Industrial Complex” And Says The Only Person You Should Trust With Your Money Is Yourself
(Matching tags: public relations,SEO,profession,client education,fiduciaries)

NPR’s Michel Martin interviewed a financial journalist yesterday and they together bashed financial advisors. What's happening is not simply part of a longstanding tradition in which the consumer ...

8. Labor Department Issues A Must-Read Guide On Target Date Funds For ERISA Plan Fiduciaries
(Matching tags: target date funds,retirement income,retirement plans,fiduciaries)

 A new document from the U.S. Department of Labor clears up two widespread safe harbor misconceptions: It’s not true that any QDIA will do – you need to vet your selection, and “safety ...

9. Understanding Family Dynamics Can Protect You From Legal Liability, Annuitize Your Business, And Make You The Family Hero
(Matching tags: Advisor businesses,investment fiduciaries,fiduciaries)

Over the next forty years, the number of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease is expected to triple.   A new report out by the medical journal Neurology says that by 2050, there will be 13.8 ...

10. Massachusetts Calls On SEC To Prohibit RIAs From Using Mandatory Arbitration Clauses, Saying It Is "Troubling," Widespread And Not Consistent With Fiduciary Practice
(Matching tags: RIA compliance,RIAs,compliance,Dodd-Frank,fiduciaries,sec)

The Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in a public letter, is calling on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to prohibit Registered Investment Advisers from inserting mandatory arbitration ...

11. The Poor Performance of Fidelity’s Target Date Funds Demonstrates Need to Vet This Important Choice
(Matching tags: TDFs,Due Diligence,retirement planning,target date funds,investing,fiduciaries,retirement income)

 The New York Times and Investment News have documented the poor performance of Fidelity’s target date funds. Are you using Fidelity’s target date funds? Many are.

12. Underscoring Why The Financial Planning Coalition Is Headed In the Wrong Direction, 1,100 Advisors Attended AICPA’s Financial Planning Conference
(Matching tags: CFA,IMCA,FPA,profession,regulation,RIAs,SRO,financial planning,CFP Board,NAPFA,Dodd-Frank,fiduciaries)

With AICPA saying 1,100 advisors attended its financial planning conference this past week, the importance of CPA financial planners to the financial planning profession is self-evident, as is the unrealistic ...

13. CFP Board Responds To Questions About NAPFA's Decision To Require CFP For Membership, But Continues To Ignore Questions About Its Consumer Disclosures For CFPs Affiliated With A BD And Acting As Fiduciary
(Matching tags: Advisor businesses,financial planning,CFP Board,NAPFA,fiduciaries)

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. earlier this week responded to questions posed about NAPFA's decision last month to only allow CFP designees to become members. On December 4, the ...

14. Controversy Over Recent FINRA And SEC Regulatory Actions Raises Questions Of Investor Trust And Also How These Regs Will Affect Clients
(Matching tags: fiduciaries,FINRA,sec)

FINRA opened the floodgates to broker rage when it put its Proposed Regulatory Notice 13-02 out for comment on January 2. The comment period doesn’t expire until March 5 but comments are already ...

15. FINRA Opens Comment Period On Compensation Disclosure Rule That Would Include Disclosing Signing Bonuses To Clients
(Matching tags: FINRA,registered reps,fiduciaries)

FINRA has opened a comment period on its proposed rule mandating disclosure of broker compensation including bonuses.   Member firms will be required to disclose financial incentives they offer ...

16. SEC Extends For Two Years Principal Trading Rule For Non-Discretionary Accounts
(Matching tags: fiduciaries,fiduciary standard,sec)

A controversial rule that allows brokers to trade as principals in non-discretionary advisory accounts has been extended by the SEC for another two years.   The rule was adopted in 2007 and ...

17. For CFPs To Be Regarded And Regulated As Professionals, Financial Planning Coalition Must Build Bridges, Not Walls; CFP Alignment With CFAs, CPAs, CPWAs Is In Consumers’ Best Interest
(Matching tags: CFA,IMCA,fiduciary standard,profession,RIAs,CPAs,CFP Board,NAPFA,fiduciaries)

  It is provincial, unrealistic and not in the best of interest of consumers to view the CFP designation as superior to all other professional designations, and NAPFA’s full-embrace of the ...

18. New Rules For Independent Advisors In UK To Kick In January; UK Rules Prohibiingt Commissions For Independents May Offer Ideas For Solving The Fiduciary Debate In U.S.
(Matching tags: fiduciary standard,regulation,fiduciaries)

From December 31, advisors in the United Kingdom will have to be much clearer about the type of advice they give, whether it is independent or restricted, and what fees they will charge for it.

19. Eight Days And Still Waiting For An Answer From CFP Board About Whether It Is Misleading Consumers; A Life Lesson For Advisors About The Power Of Blogging
(Matching tags: dually registered,financial planning,marketing,compensation,client communications,Financial Planning Apps,fiduciaries)

CFP Board still has not responded to my posts about its complicated disclosure rules on informing consumers about a Certified Financial Planner’s fiduciary obligation. It’s been eight ...

20. Does CFP Board’s Suggested Disclosure For Form ADV Mislead Consumers About Whether Their Advisor Is A Fiduciary?
(Matching tags: dually registered,RIA compliance,RIAs,financial planning,compliance,CFP Board,fiduciaries)

CFP Board of Standards provides sample language for RIAs to use in Part 2 of their Form ADV that could easily mislead most consumers about a practitioner’s fiduciary obligation. The problem ...