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Maryland bill would impose fiduciary duty on brokers, insurance reps

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By Mark Schoeff Jr.

Originally published on InvestmentNews

Legislation introduced this week by Maryland state lawmakers would raise investment advice standards for brokers and insurance representatives — marking an expansion of coverage compared to a Securities and Exchange Commission proposal.

The Financial Consumer Protection Act of 2019, introduced in the Maryland Senate on Monday and recently posted online, contains a short provision that would make brokers and insurance agents fiduciaries and would require them to act in the best interests of their customers “without regard to” their own financial gain.

“Insurance producers have a significant impact on the marketplace and they are important to a lot of ordinary investors and consumers,” said Knut Rostad, president of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard. “It’s good that they are brought in under this legislation.”

Read the full article on InvestmentNews.

Dan Moisand

 

Dan Moisand is a nationally recognized fiduciary fee-only financial planner, an Institute Real Fiduciary™ Advisor and Chair-elect of the CFP Board.

The Institute has enshrined the ‘Moisand Rule’ on fiduciary practices. It is basic and is more important today than ever: “You have to avoid conflicts. If I avoid a conflict, I don’t worry about it.”

Watch the video of Moisand speaking here.

Bob Veres

 

Bob Veres is a long term observer of financial planning. His Newsletter, “Inside information” Is a staple of leading planners. In the May edition he writes about fiduciary and the Institute.

"But a much bigger point is that the fiduciary standard—as Knut Rostad of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard has pointed out—has been determined by the Supreme Court (1963 ruling) to be at the very heart of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. It is the foundation of what it means to be an RIA registered with the SEC instead of a tipster or a tout."

- Bob Veres, Parting Thoughts ... The SEC's Own Compliance Culture