fi360 Blog

How the fiduciary issue will be resolved in Congressional reform bill

With the Senate passing its financial reform legislation last week, we appear to be in the final stretch of reaching a final bill.  So exactly where do we go from here and how will affect the fiduciary standard?  Members of the Senate and House will now participate in a conference committee to reconcile differences between the House's Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173) and the Senate's Restoring American Financial Stability Act (S.3217).  Once the committee completes its work, it will submit a conference report to both the House and Senate, which both must approve the report for the reconciled bill to become law. 

The conference committee is expected to start its work in June and to take about a month to resolve outstanding differences.  Many lawmakers are predicting a bill will be ready for President Obama's signature before the July 4th holiday.  Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) and Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT), the chairs of the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee, respectively, will lead the conference committee.  Yesterday, the Senate appointed eleven other members to the conference committee, all whom come from the Senate Banking and Agricultural Committees.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is expected to name the House appointees to the conference committee within the first two weeks of June.

In the meantime, Congressional staff will be working behind the scenes to reconcile minor differences between the bills and identify a list of key issues for the conference committee to resolve.  With House members of the committee still to be named, much of the heavy lifting with regard to negotiations is expected to take place throughout mid to late June. 

For those closely watching the fiduciary standard and how it will be addressed in financial regulatory reform legislation, let's be clear, this has not been one of the big ticket items receiving Congress' attention.  There are bigger issues, such as derivatives regulation, a proposed consumer protection agency, and the so-called Volcker rule, that will occupy most of Frank's and Dodd's time as they navigate the negotiations of the committee.  With that said, the conference committee still marks a critical period for the fiduciary standard and its possible extension to broker-dealers who provide investment advice. 

We are now down to two final provisions that address the fiduciary standard in markedly different ways.  The Senate's bill would require the SEC to complete a study and report back to Congress on the effectiveness of investment adviser and broker-dealer regulation, including the fiduciary and suitability standards under which they operate, and whether there are differences or gaps that should be addressed through legislation or regulatory rulemaking.  It remains unclear, however, how much authority the SEC would have to engage in rulemaking after it completes the study.  The House bill, on the other hand, provides clear authority for the SEC to act upon adoption of legislation to extend the fiduciary standard to broker-dealers who provide investment advice. 

The question remains whether the Senate version or House version will prevail in final legislation.  Congressman Frank has suggested he will seek to maintain strong investor and consumer protections in a final bill, but with larger issues looming, the fiduciary standard could be a chip that is bargained away in order to reach consensus on more controversial issues.  All would not necessarily be lost, though.  Even if the Senate's provision prevails, it at least means the fiduciary standard stays in the spotlight while the SEC studies and reports on it.  Moreover, as I've mentioned in the past, the SEC Investor Advisory Committee and SEC staff remain focused on the fiduciary standard and ways the SEC can adopt fiduciary-like measures, such as improved disclosure rules.

And finally, there is an even greater benefit that professionals need to capitalize on now and moving forward.  The fiduciary standard has received a great deal of attention from legislators and regulators over the past year and has been increasingly covered by both the trade and popular media.  Mercer Bullard summed up the potential impact of this coverage at the fi360 conference just a few weeks ago when he noted that professionals need take advantage of the current legislative environment and related press to inform the public and investors and prevent any possible dilution of the fiduciary standard. 

Fiduciary Links: Fiduciary issue to be decided by House-Senate committee

The big news from last week was obviously the passing of a financial reform bill by the Senate. No new fiduciary amendment was included in the bill and the provision requiring a study on the benefits of a fiduciary standard remains. Last week, Kristina blogged on what this means for the fiduciary standard going forward. As you'll see in the links below, the short answer is that the last chance for the issue to be addressed through legislation will be during the reconciling of the House and Senate bills. The optimistic development for this to happen is that Barney Frank is reportedly going to chair the committee to reconcile the bills, and his House bill does include a strong fiduciary amendment.

Those links and more can be found below in our best links from the past week:

In the news/commentary: 

• Senate passes reform bill with no new fiduciary amendment [InvestmentNews]
• Last chance for a fiduciary standard resides in the reconciling stage [InvestmentNews]
• Universal fiduciary standard won't cost brokers much if arbitration is still mandatory [InvestmentNews]
• Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, will chair the committee to merge the House and Senate reform bills [Reuters]
• Fresh from the fi360 Conference, general session speakers Mercer Bullard and former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill talk financial reform and fiduciary [Investment Advisor]
• As does FPA's president, Tom Potts [Investment Advisor]
• Chairman of the Committee for the Fiduciary Standard Knut Rostad criticizes the reform bill for its lack of a direct fiduciary standard provision [Wealth Manager Web]
• Ron Rhoades explains why the ruling to overturn the broker-dealer exemption hasn't worked out as expected [Investment Advisor]
• Now is not the time to panic [New York Times]
• Local main stream media provides good advice for investors [Des Moines Register]
• 2010 is almost half over, time to take stock of your financial investment situation [St. Louis Dispatch]
• Forthcoming 408(b)(2) rule may see many  brokers lose 401(k) clients to RIAs [InvestmentNews]

From the organizations/associations/government/academia:

• On Thursday, Roger Ibbotson, the author of the article, "The importance of asset allocation," will be the subject of an online author's seminar to talk about his conclusions. [Financial Analysts Journal]

From the blogs:

• Roger Wohlner's clients don't panic during a stock market drop. [Chicago Financial Planner]
• Three critical fiduciary duties ERISA plan sponsors must know [Fiduciary News]
• SRI for dummies [Michael Grodsky]
• Dilbert on diversification [NYT Freakonomics Blog]

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.

With no vote on cloture providing more time, Senate has opportunity to come together on fiduciary amendments

Yesterday, a vote for cloture failed in the Senate, which means the debate for financial regulatory reform will continue past this week.  The final vote revealed at least one interesting development in financial regulatory reform--that attempts by Democrats to court Maine Republican Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, who both voted for cloture, have been successful.  However, the vote ultimately failed as a result of Democratic Senators Russ Feingold (WI) and Maria Cantwell (WA) breaking from their Democratic colleagues and voting against cloture, signaling their frustration that not all proposed amendments have been considered yet.  So, for now, debate will continue for the remainder of this week and continue into next week, but a new motion for cloture will likely materialize quickly.

Some are viewing the continued debate as a positive outcome for financial regulatory reform.  For the fiduciary standard, in particular, it could signal a second (or are we now on the third or fourth?) chance to make it into a final bill.  With the Senate focused on larger issues, the fiduciary standard has not had its moment in the spotlight on the Senate floor yet.  However, complicating matters for the fiduciary standard is the trifecta of amendments put forth by Arlen Specter (D-PA), Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and Susan Collins.  Akaka's amendment at this point appears to be the greatest hope because it nearly mimics language in the bill passed in November by the House, which calls for a fiduciary duty for any broker-dealer who provides personalized investment advice to retail investors.   

Specter's and Collins's amendments, while admiral in their attempts to promote fiduciary responsibility, appear also to have created a confusing environment for the extension of the fiduciary standard. On the bright side, Specter's amendment would protect both retail and institutional investors while extending the fiduciary standard to broker-dealers. The amendment, however, seems to try to cover traditional brokerage activity that even advisory and investor groups have acknowledged should not be covered.  Specter's amendment also tries to criminalize "willful violation" of the fiduciary standard by broker-dealers, which has opened up a new can of worms that not too many seem happy to tackle. 

Collins, on the other hand, has put forth an amendment that largely tracks Akaka's amendment, but creates an unusual carve out for proprietary products, mutual funds and variable annuities.  Apparently, Collins has been vulnerable to the brokerage and insurance lobbies that have argued they won't be able to operate properly under the fiduciary standard.  Several articles have already claimed that the Collins amendment is a major disappointment and even betrayal in the eyes of advisory and consumer groups. What Collins' amendment (and Specter's for that matter) highlights to me, though, is what has gone wrong in general with financial regulatory reform and Congressional efforts as a whole.  Special interests permeate the legislative process, and what should be clear problems for which clear and simple solutions are devised, end up being muddled issues with ineffective solutions.  

When it comes to the fiduciary standard, from the beginning, investor and advisory groups have advocated for one thing:  extend the fiduciary duty to broker-dealers who provide investment advice to investors.  Do so, and you will ensure that all investment advice professionals minimize conflicts of interest and are transparent about the conflicts of interest that remain.  However, what we've ended up with is a Senate bill that calls for the issue to be further studied (despite the release of the SEC's RAND Report in 2008) and three proposed amendments, all of which in their own right fail to provide the clear and simple solution to address investor confusion in the marketplace.  Here's to hoping that the extra time bought by today's failed vote for cloture and the continuing attention mainstream media outlets, such as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, have shown to the fiduciary standard will finally bring clarity to the issue and the simple and workable result that investors deserve.

UPDATE MAY 20, 2010, 3:58pm

A second vote for cloture this afternoon in the Senate was successful with a final vote of 60-40.   Further consideration of the Senate's financial regulatory reform bill will now be limited to thirty hours, and no more amendments may be submitted on the bill.  After the cloture vote, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) indicated they would work to consider outstanding amendments the remainder of the day in hopes of quickly reaching final consensus on the bill.  A vote on the Senate's version of financial regulatory reform legislation could come as early as tomorrow.  With the bill nearing the finish line in the Senate, it's unlikely the amendments on the fiduciary standard will be considered on the Senate floor, but it could be included in a manager's amendment expected to be submitted by Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.  If the fiduciary standard is not included in Dodd's amendment, there may still be hope that the House fiduciary provision, which extends the fiduciary standard to broker-dealers providing personalized investment advice to retail investors, will prevail when the Senate and House reconcile their respective financial reform bills in conference. 

Fiduciary Links: Where would the fiduciary standard stand if Congress had a fiduciary duty?

As we highlighted in last week's Fiduciary Links post, and as you'll see in a number of the links below, fiduciary amendments to the Senate financial reform bill are one of the hot topics going on right now. There are multiple amendments currently being discussed and an ongoing debate as to which one will prevail, if any does at all. This has led at least two commentators (see links to columns by Evan Cooper and Jan Sackley, below) to ask how Congress can appear to be so concerned with the fiduciary standard for brokers when they show little ability to apply the same standard to themselves?

It's a good question. Is Congress going to apply the same high standard in making their own decision as the one they are contemplating applying to all investment advice? If they were, or, more accurately, if they had demonstrated an ability to do so, would there really be so much pessimism that a fiduciary standard will eventually be enacted?

Those links and more can be found below in our best links from the past week:

In the news/commentary: 

• With all the competing fiduciary amendments, which one will come on top? [InvestmentNews]
• Evan Cooper asks, "where's the fiduciary standard for Congress?" [InvestmentNews]
• The fiduciary amendment from Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) isn't as strong as some pro-fiduciary advocates were hoping for. [InvestmentNews]
• What constitutes reasonable in looking at mutual fund fees still depends on who you ask and how you look at it [New York Times]
• The New York Times Editorial Board backs the fiduciary standard for advice [New York Times]
• Jason Zweig explains why the fiduciary standard is good for investors and why Congress may not get it. [Wall Street Journal]
• Advice on how to communicate with clients about expected return [Advisor Perspectives]
• Despite pro-fiduciary posturing now, some remain pessimistic about the chances of a strong fiduciary amendment making it into Senate bill [Wall Street Journal]
• Jan Sackley also laments Congress's lack of a fiduciary standard [American Chronicle]

From the organizations/associations/government/academia:

• SEC's Investor Advisory Committee is meeting today, here's the agenda. [SEC]
• SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar voices unequivocal support for the fiduciary standard for investment advice. [SEC]
• CFA Institute is hosting a webinar with Roger Ibbotson on the importance of asset allocation next Thursday, May 27 at 1 p.m. EDT. (click "play" to register) [CFA Institute]

From the blogs:

• Wall Street and insurance companies serve an important purpose, providing advice isn't it. [Living Financially Aware]
• Behavior Gap's Carl Richards warns investors about the temptation to focus too much on past performance [NYT Bucks Blog]
• Chad Griffeth of BeManaged shares his experience and slides as a speaker at the fi360 Conference [The 401(k) Fiduciary Advice Blog]
• More on the dissappointment of the Collins amendment [CNN's More Money Blog]
• To live long and prosper, you better be planning now [PLANSPONSOR Perspectives]

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.

A comparison of responses to the 2010 investment advice rule

The deadline for submitting comments to the DOL on the 2010 Investment Advice Rule was May 5th and sixty-eight comment letters were submitted by individuals or organizations.  The expectation is that the comments will be analyzed in short order and the final rule published later this year. To get an idea of how the final rule might go, we'll take a look at two of the comment letters submitted.

The American Benefits Council, the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), and the Investment Company Institute (ICI) submitted joint comments. Their comments recommended the following:

• State that historical performance is an appropriate factor to consider
• Refrain from defining generally accepted investment theories
• Refrain from favoring one investment style
• Clarify the fee leveling condition by stating that fees cannot vary, but remove the suggestion that the fiduciary adviser is not permitted to receive any compensation based on the investment chosen

In fi360's submitted comments, it's interesting to see how our thoughts compare with respect to the four overall recommendations submitted by the American Benefits Council, ACLI, and ICI.  Specifically, fi360 stated:

• A fund's past performance relative to the average for its asset class is an appropriate criterion for allocating assets to the fund; especially risk-adjusted returns.
• Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) and the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) should be specified as generally accepted investment theories.  Others may be permitted as well, but there is a need to be specific to (a) assure that the processes used to formulate the asset allocation and investment selection recommendations are reasonable and (b) make certification of the computer model practical.
• The model should not assign different levels of risk to passively versus actively managed investment options because this would be neither practical nor reliable.
• The fee neutral (leveling) requirements in the proposed rules will provide significant benefits to participants and beneficiaries.

For three of the four, the organizations are pretty much on the same page; a sampling of comments submitted by others indicate that most agree on these issues as well, although there are differing views on specifics related to the fee neutral approach.  Where we find differences is with respect to generally accepted investment theories.  The American Benefits Council, ACLI, and ICI favor letting the market determine how and what generally accepted investment theories are applied to computer models and fi360 called for more specific guidance.  Fi360 also stated that the fee neutral approach is preferred because the complications and possible manipulation related to the computer model with respect to managing conflicts of interest will make it much more difficult to implement and enforce.

Clearly there is interest in this final rule and most agree that implementation is necessary in order to give participants better access to professional investment advice.  We're hoping that we see the final rule very soon.

Fiduciary Links: Fiduciary amendments coming from all directions

Lots of activity on the fiduciary front over the past week. With at least three separate fiduciary amendments to the Senate regulatory reform bill being openly discussed, many are wondering how they will be reconciled and if any have a chance. The SEC's case against Goldman, as well as the Senate inquiry into Goldman, have both continued to generate response. And, the SEC and DOL both made their presence known with the comments from their leadership and a joint release on target date funds.

Those links and more can be found below in our best links from the past week:

In the news/commentary: 

• One of our Alaska-based designees explains the Goldman case in her hometown paper and recommends her investing readers seek out fiduciaries to be their advisors. [Anchorage Daily News]
• With Senators Specter (D-PA), Akaka (D-HI) and Collins (R-ME) all introducing, or considering, proposals for implementing a fiduciary standard in the Senate reform bill, no one is quite sure if one will become the favorite, if they will all be reconciled, or if a fiduciary amendment stands a chance at all. [InvestmentNews]
• Wall Street worried about the consequences of the Goldman Sachs Senate inquiry and SEC case. [InvestmentNews]
• Coverage of the fiduciary amendments, Specter's in particular. [WSJ]
• Blaine's new Fiduciary Corner column argues that while Goldman may view themselves as a market-maker, rather than a fiduciary, their actions point to them being a market-manipulator. [InvestmentNews]
• Left sees opportunity to beef up reform bill, AFL-CIO backing fiduciary standard [Politico]
• The question is still out there over whether the DOL's proposed participant advice rules will result in better advice, or just less of it. [Forbes]
• On Wednesday, Ron Rhoades wrote a column about Goldman, encouraging Senate to stand up to Wall Street by enacting a fiduciary standard and other protections. On Thursday, David Bellaire of the Financial Services Institute wrote a response disputing many of Ron's assertions. [RIA Biz]
• Coverage of former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill's opening remarks from the fi360 Conference last week. [Investment Advisor]
• More coverage of the fi360 Conference [Wealth Manager]
• Scott Simon continues his look at the different flavors of ERISA fiduciaries [Morningstar Advisor]

From the organizations/associations/government/academi

• Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) introduced an amendment to the Senate financial reform bill that would impose a fiduciary standard on all investors, including institutional, and include jail time for some breaches of fiduciary duty. [U.S. Senator Arlen Specter]
• The Investment Company Institute, American Benefits Council and American Council of Life Insureres submitted a joint response to the DOL's request for public comments on participant advice rules, arguing, among other things, that the rules should not have a prohibition from considering historical performance and should not seek to identify any generally accepted investment theories. [ICI]
• DOL and SEC released an investor bulletin on target date funds, mostly explaining on the funds work. [DOL]

From the blogs:

• Bob Clark is beginning to come around on Mary Schapiro, and because of that thinks the House's fiduciary proposal may be worth getting behind. [Clark at Large]
• Fiduciary investment advice is the number one item on a White House list of "Good guys." [The White House Blog]
• Wall Street historian Dr. Charles Geisst answers questions about Wall Street's fiduciary duty to society. [Wall Street Cheat]
• Do sophisticated investors need the fiduciary standard? [Securities Law Prof Blog]
• Finally, check out the updates from the live blog from our annual conference in the previous two posts on this site. [fi360 Blog]

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.

Live blog from day two of the fi360 Conference

Day two of the conference is underway. The day kicks off with Mercer Bullard speaking on the legislative and regulatory future of the fiduciary standard of care followed by another full day of breakout sessions. Just like yesterday, we'll be live blogging throughout the day, posting some of the best quotes as updates to this post. If you are on Twitter, you also can follow the action from us @Fiduciary360 as well as from other live attendees. Search for the hashtag #fi360_2010 to get the latest updates.

Update 4:00 p.m.: And that's it for the 2010 fi360 Conference. Thanks for following us and thanks to all the speakers for their contributions and the 450 attendees that made this our biggest conference yet. The conference was recorded, so all AIF and AIFA designees can look forward to seeing those recordings made available in the portal within the next few weeks. 

Just a reminder, we announced the other day that the 2011 fi360 Conference will be held in San Antonio on May 4-6. Look for online registration to open soon. Email resources@fi360.com if you are interested in being a speaker and we'll let you know when we have proposal forms available.

Update 4:00 p.m.: Fred Reish just wrapped up his third session here, this time speaking on the changing face of 401(k) plans. He's going over some of the DOL and Treasury measures coming out soon. Says TDFs are no longer special and need to be treated the same as other investments, meaning they should be monitored and replaced, as necessary. 

Reish: "The big question is, 'can we, over forty years, fund a twenty year, full time pre-paid vacation?'"

Update 3:40 p.m.: Chip Hunt's topic is rescuing strategies for defined benefit plans. Going over case studies on how the 2008 credit crisis left most DB plans significantly underfunded and how advisors can structure an investment strategy to help preserve them for their participants.

Update 3:20 p.m.: Greg Porteous discussing ETFs at his session. Discussing how increased focus by the media, lawmakers and regulators on fee transparency make ETFs a good solution for 401(k) plans, especially for small businesses who value low cost.

Update 3:10 p.m.: The last breakout of the 2010 fi360 Conference is underway. David Witz is on stage talking about being a qualified advisor. He says it is harder to become an expert than to be one and that it's near impossible to be an expert in all areas of retirement planning, so most will focus on specific areas and gain the experience to become fully proficient in one area. Takes ten years to become an expert.

Click the link below to read all previous updates from today.

Live blog from day one of the 2010 fi360 Conference

The 2010 fi360 Conference is now underway. After opening remarks from fi360 executives and friends and partners of fi360, former Secretary of Treasury Paul O'Neill began his presentation on government spending and personal accountability. We'll be doing live blogging throughout the day. During the sessions, we'll post some of the best comments as a continuation of this post. If you are on Twitter, you also can follow the action from us @Fiduciary360 as well as other live attendees. Search for the hashtag #fi360_2010 to get the latest updates.

Update 5:15: Day one is in the books. Geoff Davey just wrapped up his session on risk tolerance, saying, "Assessing client risk includes tolerance, capacity, and need." Sunny Loveland gave his presentation on the CFP Board Code of Ethics and acting like a fiduciary. There is a networking reception tonight, with one more full day of sessions tomorrow. We'll be live blogging again, so check in throughout the day.

Investment Advisor magazine has a nice write up on this morning's session with Paul O'Neill.

Update 4:45 p.m.: Brian Graff giving an update on the latest DC developments affecting advisors, including disclosure, advice regs, reform bill and more. Says it is important not to stifle qualified advisors.

Update 4:35 p.m.: Last breakout sessions of day one just started. Brian Graff, Josh Itzoe, Geoff Davey, and Sunny Loveland all speaking.

Josh's presentation is on pre-allocated portfolios. Says consideration of your firm's structure, services, fiduciary status, investment strategy, communications all have weight in deciding to build models.

Click the link below to read all previous updates from today.

Fiduciary Links: Fiduciary is the word at Goldman Senate hearings

Last week was another big one in terms of attention drawn to the fiduciary debate. At the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations' hearings on the financial crisis, executives from Goldman Sachs were grilled about betting against the same securities they were selling to clients, with much of the questioning being about what the executives believed their duty to their clients to be.

We had a conversation on Twitter with our good friend Roger Wohlner (@rwohlner) about what, if anything, may result from the hearings. Roger believes that the hearings were nothing more than a show by Senate to look tough, but would probably never amount to anything tangible. While it is possible that the hearings themselves won't result in any significant changes, we still are encouraged by the tone of the hearings and the significant press coverage. Despite the contentious nature of a fiduciary provision in financial reform, the one positive development throughout the debate that cannot be undone is the increased awareness of what a fiduciary standard of care means and the effect of that awareness on the marketplace. If these same hearings had occurred just a year or two ago, the fiduciary concept may not have been raised at all, and certainly wouldn't have played so prominent a role in the questioning or received the press coverage that it is now. As it is, even the mainstream media is picking up on the significance of the fiduciary issue and may institutions are acknowledging that they will need to adopt a fiduciary model for advice just to remain competitive. We're also not going to be quick to dismiss Senate's resolve in the hearings, as Subcommittee member Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) has indicated she may be introducing a fiduciary amendment to the Senate reform bill that would be broader than even the House bill that was passed last year.

Here are some of the best links from last week related to the hearings:

• The Subcommittee's page on the hearings, including transcripts of the testimonies [U.S. Senate]
• An excellent live blog from the day of the hearings [PBS]
• The InvestmentNews recap focuses on the fiduciary-related questioning [InvestmentNews]
• Goldman may be the momentum needed to seal the deal on a pro-fiduciary reform bill [RIA Biz]
• Odds of a fiduciary standard in reform just went up [Registered Rep]
• Blaine blogs on market-making vs. market manipulation [Forbes]
• The recap from the paper of record [NY Times]
• And the Journal's recap [WSJ]

And on to the rest of the best links from the past week:

In the news/commentary: 

• A strategy of rebalancing your asset allocation helps avoid emotional investing [DJC Oregon]
• What is an investment bank's fiduciary duty to clients? [The Atlantic]
• Our hometown paper gets in on explaining fiduciary [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

From the organizations/associations/government/academia:

• The Senate Agriculture Committee's reform bill added as amendment to Banking Committee's bill  [Senate Agriculture Committee]
• FINRA CEO Richard Ketchum advocates a "business-model neutral" fiduciary standard [FINRA]
• DOL plans to release a target date fund checklist this spring [DOL]
• Commissioner Aguilar continues to advocate for a fiduciary standard in his latest speech [SEC]

From the blogs:

• 401(k) fees that matter [Fiduciary News]
• Blame overconfidence, not incompetence [John Lefferts' Blog]
• Does the risk of holding stocks decrease the longer you hold them? [The Investment Fiduciary]

Finally, today is the start of conference week at fi360. Starting Wednesday, our annual conference will be happening in Orlando. Look for some cool announcements and live updates as we live blog all day Thursday and Friday. You can also follow us on Twitter for instant quotes from our presenters.

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.