Michael Kitces makes an important contribution to the discussion about how CFP Board should apply its fiduciary standard, in his recent blog post. In sum, Kitces urges CFP Board to abandon its approach of applying its fiduciary standard only when a certificant is doing financial planning, or material elements of financial planning, and instead apply […]
Knut's Views
CFPs Should Vote on the Future of Financial Planning’s Character
Just as the election campaign is over, a campaign that has been reported to make children cry, CFP Board is in the midst of a public discussion about what the CFP designation means. This discussion is extraordinarily important and has no easy solution. CFPs should be allowed to express their voice — to vote to […]
Paying Attention to Investor Distrust
Last week witnessed a number of thought provoking and important commentaries that raise important questions on the status of investor trust — and what to do about it. Sunday. One-man think-tanker Ron Rhoades provides a detailed legal analysis of the background on the facts and circumstances determining the presence of fiduciary status, as a […]
CFP Board of Standards Concurs: “Zero” Conflicts of Interest is an Impossible Claim
In a recent article on AdvisorOne, Rex Staples, CFP Board of Standards Inc., wrote that HighTower CEO Elliot Weissbluth’s claim that his company has “zero conflicts of interest” is an “incredulous” suggestion. “I agree with author Knut Rostad’s premise and conclusion…” he writes. “It is simply inappropriate for a CFP® professional to say to a […]
The Fiduciary Standard, for Advisors and Brokers?
“I just want to keep this real simple,” began Ron Rhoades. “Brokers are fiduciaries. They always have been, and they always will be.” In a panel discussion co-hosted by the Cato Institute and the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard, Rhoades highlighted the idea that when an investor relies on a professional’s personalized advice, they enter […]
Hightower Advisors: The New Face of Fiduciary?
By Knut Rostad Avoiding or managing conflicts of interest is, arguably, the center piece of a fiduciary’s responsibility and the glue in an advisor/client relationship of trust and confidence. At least this is what one might surmise from the investment professionals who advised Congress as it crafted the Advisers Act of 1940, or the Supreme […]
