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Whose Fiduciary Standard Are You Using?

15:00 28 April in Articles Written by Jon Henschen by rafferty

April 27, 2022 By Jon Henschen, FA Financial Advisor The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation Best Interest is not only confusing to clients. It’s confusing to financial advisors as well. One advisor told me that he now adheres to a fiduciary standard because of this regulation. My response: “Well, not really!” While the regulation requires advisors to put clients’ interests ahead of their own at the time of a securities transaction, a true fiduciary standard asks you to put clients ahead at all times. It’s not limited to the time and date of a particular trade. Take a group whose view on the matter is likely more orthodox: CFP mark holders. Those holding the designation have three core duties: The duty of care. They must act with the care, skill, prudence and diligence that a prudent...

The Big Blur

21:20 06 April in In the News by rafferty

April 1, 2022 By Eric Rasmussen, FinancialAdvisor To view FA's 2022 broker-dealer ranking, Click here . To view FA's 2022 extended broker-dealer ranking, Click here. As Jodi Perry, president of Raymond James’s independent contractor division sees it, the history of the broker-dealer industry is only half-written. In the last decade, the business has seen a wave of consolidation as firms with huge capital resources gobble each other up, leaving smaller firms to try navigating a rocky course of fee compression, regulation and a brutal war for talent—(especially talents with the biggest books of business). According to Cerulli Associates, the top 25 firms control 68% of the assets under management and 58% of all industry advisor affiliations. If the advisory world were seen as a tableau on the wall of a museum, the lines would increasingly seem meshed as the...

The Big Mistake That Leaves Advisors Open to Lawsuits

15:26 02 March in In the News by rafferty

February 28, 2022 By Jeff Berman, ThinkAdvisor After Hightower sued a breakaway advisor in December on accusations he broke an agreement protecting client information, advisors and other industry leaders criticized the firm for using what they deemed a wirehouse tactic. But in recent years, an increasing number of RIA firms have filed similar suits, legal experts told ThinkAdvisor. Across channels, too many advisors and brokers don’t read the terms of the contracts they sign or even know what the exact terms are when they join a firm, they said. One big mistake is that advisors “almost never” have a lawyer review a contract from a financial services firm before signing it, according to Brian Hamburger, CEO and president of MarketCounsel and chief counsel of the Hamburger Law Firm. Not Just for Wirehouses Anymore It used to be the wirehouses...