February 4, 2005
There should be one standard of fiduciary care for every client and for every advisor who serves a client in the financial services professions.
There is no such thing as incidental advice - it is like being a little bit pregnant. In the course of a transaction, unless the customer specifically called and ordered the broker to execute a particular trade, there is going to be an element of pursuasion or advice in every broker-client conversation.
Everyone in a position to influence a clients decision to make a purchase of any financial service, product or strategy should be held to the standard of a fiduciary. All compensation and any and all potential conflicts of interest should be fully and completely disclosed at the beginning of any relationship.
There should be a single standard to protect the public, not multiple standards to protect particular segments of the industry.
Thank you.