The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard

A resource site for investors, brokers, academics and the media.


Building a fiduciary culture of honesty, integrity, and expertise.

Fiduciary September 2017

2017 Fiduciary September

Fiduciary September, established in 2012 by the Institute, is the Institute’s annual month-long special recognition of the vital role of fiduciary duties for investors and the capital markets.

In announcing the Fiduciary September 2017 program, Institute President, Knut Rostad, said. “We are proud to again have TD Ameritrade Institutional as the exclusive sponsor of Fiduciary September in this very important year for fiduciary duties, advice and investors. The importance of fiduciary remains front and center in 2017. The DOL Rule is being implemented amidst historic legal and political challenges. Meanwhile, firms are making product and pricing changes to comply. The SEC is requesting additional industry input for a “uniform standard; the new SEC Chairman has spoken clearly of his “limited government” view of fiduciary. Further, the CFP Board has proposed revisions to its standards. Market forces continue to disrupt established advice practices and create new advice opportunities; investor distrust, continues to keep many investors away from advice.”

Events

September 19, 2017  – How fiduciary advisors need to talk so investors (really) listen: Jane Bryant Quinn and Terry Savage, nationally acclaimed personal finance writers, speak out.

News

August 8, 2017  –  Fiduciary September 2017: Era of Fiduciary Promise Brings Uncertainty With Implementation
August 15, 2017  – CFP Conflicts – CFP Board’s revisions to their standards are a good step, but more needs to be done. Conflicts of interest should be recognized as inherently harmful, and there must be enforcement of standards.
September 6, 2017  – Broker/Advisor “Titles”: Potential Rulemaking at the SEC: discussion slides (pdf) and webcast replay (registration required)
September 6, 2017  – Luis Aguilar Advisor Titles – Former SEC Commissioner, Luis A. Aguilar, discusses the importance of the SEC using title-based rulemaking to uphold a uniform fiduciary standard in investment advice.
September 7, 2017 – A Debate On The DOL Fiduciary Rule: Affirmative Statement and Rebuttal
September 27, 2017  –  Barbara Roper, Investors’ “Most Fearsome Advocate,” The 2017 Frankel Fiduciary Prize Recipient
September 28, 2017  – Transparency in Financial and Investment Advice – Transparency is essential but insufficient in fiduciary advice, which requires duties of loyalty and due care.

Media

August 28, 2017   –  Walking the Walk

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