By Arthur Laby — Investment managers owe fiduciary duties to clients, including the duty of loyalty and the duty of care. A persistent question, with no clear answer, is what precisely is required by the duties of loyalty and care. In this paper, I argue that much of investment management regulation is a response by regulators to the uncertainty inherent in the fiduciary obligation.

By Jeffrey W. McClure, CFP® — An excellent paper on the origins, meaning and importance of professions, and the status of financial planning as a profession.

By By Robert H. Sitkoff — “Whether a financial advisor is an “investment advisor” or a “broker” (or neither) under the federal securities laws, an advisor may be an agent under the common law of agency.”

By Arthur B. Laby — Because investors reasonably expect that brokers will, in fact, operate in a fiduciary capacity, the SEC should impose a fiduciary duty on brokers that give investment advice.

By Alan R. Palmiter & Ahmed E. Taha — Despite the fact that mutual funds’ past performance is not a good predictor of future returns, mutual fund companies routinely advertise the returns of their best funds.

By Tamar Frankel — This paper was presented as part of a conference on fiduciary law at Boston University on October 29, 2010.