With the financial reform bill and it's direction for the SEC to conduct a study on the fiduciary standard of care being passed this week and the DOL finally releasing the long-awaited 408(b)(2) rule, last week was one of the most intriguing in recent memory on the fiduciary front. No one is quite sure what it all means yet, but we certainly weren't without opinion. If there is one theme to this week's links it is that advocates on both sides of the fiduciary debate are already positioning themselves to have their voice heard during the next six months as the SEC begins its fiducary study.
For fi360's take on last week's developments, make sure you check out Kristina's blog post from the end of last week.
This edition of the weekly Fiduciary Links might be our most extensive one yet. And there were many more worthy articles and blog posts that we weren't able to hit this week. Now on to those links.
In the news:
- Reform is passed with much remaining to be seen on the fiduciary issue. [RegisteredRep]
- Finding investment committee members can be a challenge when they are afraid of their fiduciary duties. [Employee Benefit News]
- An opinion piece likens the current Wall Street culture to a betting culture [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
- Government getting a head start on implementing reform bill for what promises to be a very busy coming year [The Washington Post]
- Some brokers see the fiduciary standard as more of an annoyance than anything else [Financial Advisor]
- The financial reform bill finally brings some clarity to where the fiduciary buck stops. [Money Management Executive]
- Harold Evensky thinks its best to work with the idea of FINRA as fiduciary regulator and thinks that it can work [RIABiz]
- Target date funds continue to be enhanced with annuities despite tepid response from plan sponsors [InvestmentNews]
- Many questions remain with reform bill passed [InvestmentNews]
- Panel at SIFMA Summit discuss ramifications of reform bill [Wealth Manager Web]
- The effects of the reform bill on the portfolios of individual investors [Wall Street Journal]
- Brokers don't need to be afraid of the fiduciary standard [Investment Advisor]
- Not everyone thinks the reform bill was a success [MarketWatch]
- 408(b)(2) should make it easier for plan sponsors to assess fees [InvestmentNews]
- Is fiduciary oversight headed to FINRA? [InvestmentNews]
From the organizations/associations/government/academia:
- DOL releases 408(b)(2) fee disclosure rules. Here's the news release, the rule fact sheet and the full text of the rule itself [DOL EBSA]
- Everything you need to know about the financial regulatory reform bill [House Financial Services Committee]
- Goldman settles SEC complaint, agrees to pay large fine and reform business practices [SEC]
- Reish runs through the details of 408(b)(2) [Reish & Reicher]
- Six steps for avoiding being sued and keeping your reputation intact [RIABiz]
From the blogs:
- Mike Alfred of BrightScope is interviewed on reform, fiduciary duties, plan fees, and more. [NYT Bucks Blog]
- Where did the ethics of investment advice go wrong? [Pilant's Business Ethics Blog]
- Knut Rostad's latest post uses the NFL-AFL merger as an analogy to merging the standards of care for brokers and advisors [Wealth Manager Web]
- Best practices for plan sponsors to avoid compliance issues [The Metropolitan Corporate Council]
- High fees can make small plans a sucker 401(k) plan [The Investment Fiduciary]
- In breach of fiduciary duty cases, the best defense is a good offense [Boston ERISA and Insurance Litigation Blog]
- It will cost money to build systems to disclose fees [Securities Technology Monitor]
- Deciphering Schapiro's words: what did she mean by "harmonized" fiduciary standard? [Registered Rep's The Advisor Reformation Blog]
No one is quite sure what it all means yet, but we certainly weren't without opinion.
Posted by: James Morgan - Puritan Financial Advisor | August 06, 2010 at 03:42 AM