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Fiduciary September 2020

Fiduciary September: Leading Scholars and Experts Discuss the “Hard Time” for Fiduciary Rules in 2020

Scholars and experts, led by Tamar Frankel, Luis A Aguilar, Phyllis Borzi and Barbara Roper speak; Vanguard founder Jack Bogle’s “arc of fiduciary duty” cited

“Fiduciary Advice: Where do we go from here?” was discussed at the Frankel Fiduciary Prize program honoring Dr. Ron A Rhoades, Western Kentucky University

Washington DC, October 2020 – The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard Fiduciary September program featured seventeen experts in seven programs from August 20 to October 8. This comes at a critical juncture for federal regulation. Institute president, Knut A. Rostad, noted:

“Fiduciary advice is at a pivotal moment in 2020. SEC’s Reg BI and accompanying Form CRS, as well as CFP Board’s new standards, each enshrine new thinking around sales and advice that abandons principles in the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Those who have been paying close attention recognize the net negative impact for investors. They also realize, as did Vanguard Founder John C (Jack) Bogle, that the time horizon is long. Jack Bogle lead a meeting of Institute leaders with Chairman Clayton in June 2018. At the close of his remarks he noted, ‘The arc of fiduciary duty may be long, but it is bending in a direction that will serve the national interest and the interest of investors.’

This year’s Fiduciary September displays the brightest minds with the sharpest pens and clearest voices: Tamar Frankel. Luis Aguilar. Phyllis Borzi. Harold Evensky to start. Scholars Benjamin Edwards, James Cox, Donald Langevoort, and Ann Lipton offer important insights. Lecturer JC de Swaan looks at finance broadly in his new book, “Seeking Virtue in Finance …” Finally, an interview with George Kinder completes the month-long (plus a few days) feast on the state of fiduciary advice and why it matters.

And, the most prolific fiduciary scholar and educator of our age, Ron Rhoades, is awarded this year’s Frankel Fiduciary Prize. There is much these experts—and others—have to say about where we have been, and what it means for, as Bogle reminds, the arc of fiduciary duty.”

News

Events

August 20: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET. The Advisers Act and Advice at 80. An Advisor Perspective podcast. Bob Huebscher, Advisor Perspectives Editor, interviews Jim Allen, Head of the Americas and Capital Markets Policy Group, CFA Institute, Ron Rhoades, Western Kentucky University, and Knut A. Rostad, the Fiduciary Standard.

August 31: Tamar Frankel: The Regulators do not Understand Conflicts. An interview by Knut Rostad with the nation’s pre-eminent fiduciary law scholar in Advisor Perspectives on origins of fiduciary law, the Advisers Act of 1940, and Reg BI.

September 1: Mourning the Passing of the 40 Act, Knut Rostad, Advisor Perspectives.

September 3: 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM ET. Discussion on DOL hearing on fiduciary rule. Panelists: Phyllis Borzi, David Certner, Ron Rhoades, Norman Stein, and Knut Rostad.

September 10: 3:00 – 4:00 PM ET. Financial Advice Landscape in 2020. Four law professors discuss advice in 2020 in light of recent SEC, DOL, and CFP Board rules. Benjamin Edwards, James Cox, Donald Langevoort, and Ann Lipton.

September 29: 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM ET. Frankel Fiduciary Prize honors Ron A. Rhoades, Associate Professor, Gordon Ford College of Business, Western Kentucky University. Rhoades joins Barbara Roper and Knut Rostad to discuss, Fiduciary Advice: Where do we go from here?

Speaking on Rhoades, we hear from Deborah DeMott, Tamar Frankel, Luis Aguilar, Phyllis Borzi, Harold Evensky, Indu Chhachhi, and Elijah Essa. See the event and view the full webinar recording here.

September 30: Seeking Virtue in Finance, an interview with author JC De Swaan on his new book on what finance leaders ‘must do’ to regain their lost luster.

October 6: 3:00 – 4:00 PM ET. Fiduciary Future, a panel discussion with Ron Rhoades and Knut Rostad at the Advisor Perspectives Summit.

October 8: 4:00 – 5:00 PM ET. Life Planning for You, an interview with the movement’s godfather, George Kinder, on the state of holistic financial planning and fiduciary.

Fiduciary September 2020 Program Speakers

  • Luis A. Aguilar, Commissioner, Securities & Exchange Commission, 2008-2015
  • James Allen, Head of Capital Market Policy Group, CFA Institute
  • Phyllis Borzi, Assistant Secretary, EBSA, Department of Labor, 2009-2017
  • Indu Chhachhi, Chair, Department of Finance, Western Kentucky University
  • David Certner, Director of Legislative Policy, AARP
  • James D. Cox, Brainerd Currie Professor of Law, Duke Law School
  • Deborah A. DeMott, David F. Cavers Professor of Law, Duke Law
  • JC de Swaan, Lecturer, Princeton University
  • Harold Evensky, Evensky & Katz / Foldes
  • Elijah Essa, WKU student, Class of 2017
  • Benjamin Edwards, Professor of Law, Las Vegas Boyd School of Law
  • Tamar Frankel, Professor of Law, Emerita, Boston University School of Law
  • George Kinder, The Kinder Institute of Life Planning
  • Donald C. Langevoort, Thomas Aquinas Reynolds Professor of Law, Georgetown Law School
  • Ann M. Lipton, Michael M. Fleishman Associate Professor in Business Law, Tulane University
  • Ron A. Rhoades, Associate Professor of Finance, Western Kentucky University
  • Barbara Roper, Consumer Federation of America
  • Norman Stein, Pension Rights Center

About the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard

The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard formed as a non-profit in 2011 to provide research, education and advocacy on the vital role of the fiduciary standard for investors and the capital markets. For more information, visit www.thefiduciaryinstitute.org.

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Download a copy of the Fiduciary September 2020 press release.

Fiduciary Doings

Tamar Frankel and Phyllis Borzi

 

The Institute organized a meeting to discuss common interests on Reg BI, the states and advocacy on January 16 in Washington. 22 leaders from nine advisor and consumer advocacy organizations attended.

Here, Phyllis Borzi (left) and Tamar Frankel, Institute Board of Advisor members, are seen readying to depart an Institute dinner, the evening before, where they led discussions.

Carolyn McClanahan

 

"With the advent of 401(k)s and the decimation of pension plans to ensure financial security in old age, a fiduciary standard is more important than ever. The public needs to be confidant that advisors helping them plan for their retirement years always and only act in their best interest as a fiduciary. I'm happy to endorse organizations such as the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard that promote protections for those who need to secure their financial future."