Same-sex marriage’s journey from minority status to the law of the land offers important lessons about gaining broad-based public support that fiduciary advocates can gain from.

Wall Street Journal editors performed a public service when they set out their case against the fiduciary standard recently. The editorial shines a bright light on arguments against the fiduciary standard that the brokerage industry, understandably, tries to keep under wraps.

Last week the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard proposed eleven Best Practices for advisors and brokers who seek to meet the true fiduciary standard. While these Best Practices are crafted to mainly assist investors in evaluating investment and financial professionals on their adherence to fiduciary duties, they also serve a larger purpose.

New York Fed’s William Dudley, CFANAdvisors and brokers are upbeat by nature. It’s in their DNA. So it’s no big surprise when Liz Skinner reports that an Investment News survey says “optimism abounds.”

The media blast about Tony Robbins as a potential RIA spokesman has produced a torrent of RIA comment ranging from the most cynical to the most hopeful. Is Robbins just hyping his book or, as he contends, seeking to help investors who suffered in the 2008-’09 financial crisis?

The midterm election results are still fresh and Wall Street’s grin, with a friendlier Congress in hand, is still wide. Voters sent a message and both sides agree on this much: the election was a referendum on the president and he lost.