| Similar Articles |
 |
Registered Rep. April 8, 2005 John Churchill |
`Merrill Rule' Debate Not Over The SEC unanimously voted to allow Series 7 holders, or registered reps, to position themselves as financial advisors -- with certain caveats. But once again the SEC seemed to hedge its bet. So the debate rages on.  |
Registered Rep. February 1, 2005 John Churchill |
A Monster Issue Will the SEC withdraw the Broker-Dealer Exemption, causing reps to back away from adviser status? If so, the impact could cause substantial disruption in the markets.  |
Registered Rep. October 1, 2004 John Churchill |
BrokerAdvisor BrokerAdvisor Let's Call the Whole Thing Off! The Financial Planning Association and some consumer groups are in court in an effort to block brokers from introducing themselves tp prospective clients as finanical advisors or financial consultants.  |
Registered Rep. December 1, 2005 Andrew Osterland |
Brokering Advice The essential difference between brokers and registered advisors, say financial planners, is fiduciary duty. The notion that b/ds have a lighter burden of regulation than registered advisors, however, is something the securities industry vigorously disputes.  |
Registered Rep. February 2, 2006 Kristen French |
Brokers Learning to Play by New Rules It's no longer business as usual on Wall Street. Starting yesterday, broker/dealers must follow a new SEC rule that requires them to disclose at certain times that they may not be acting in their clients' best interest.  |
Registered Rep. April 6, 2005 John Churchill |
SEC Adopts Broker-Dealer Exemption Over the vociferous objections of fee-only financial planners, the SEC voted unanimously to permanently adopt the broker/dealer exemption rule, formerly known as the Merrill Lynch exemption.  |
Registered Rep. October 8, 2004 John Churchill |
Are Reps Advisors or Mere Brokers? The CFA sent a comment letter to SEC Chairman Donaldson, suggesting the nature of the services, not the compensation model, is what is important. And the current exemption misses this point.  |
Registered Rep. March 30, 2007 John Churchill |
Surprise! FPA Wins Lawsuit Against SEC and the Broker-Dealer Exemption Three years after suing the SEC over the controversial "Broker Dealer Exemption" rule, a federal court has ruled that the SEC exceeded its authority in adopting the rule.  |
Registered Rep. April 29, 2005 John Churchill |
FPA Sues to Stop Broker-Dealer Exemption The Financial Planning Association believes that the SEC rule which allows registered reps to call themselves financial advisors is contrary to law and encourages broker-dealers to engage in self-dealing with their clients without disclosing their conflicts of interest.  |
Registered Rep. November 3, 2004 |
Broker or Advisor---Who Knows the Difference? More than half of American investors look to brokers for more than just transactional assistance, according to new research, which also finds that investors don't understand the differences between brokers and registered investment advisors.  |
Registered Rep. December 1, 2004 John Churchill |
If You're a Broker and You Know It As the holiday season approaches, the SEC is getting daily entreaties from registered investment advisors seeking an end to the broker/dealer exemption rule.  |
Registered Rep. January 3, 2008 Christina Mucciolo |
SEC's RAND Study Released The SEC release the results of the RAND study, which examined how broker/dealers and investment advisors market products and services to investors, and how investors understand the differences between investment advisors and broker/dealers.  |
Registered Rep. December 1, 2006 John Churchill |
Of Two Minds An internecine argument at the FPA gets to the heart of one of the industry's more vexing problems: Should brokers be able to position themselves as financial planners?  |
Financial Planning July 1, 2005 James A. Barnash |
Why We're Suing The FPA president explains the lawsuit over the SEC's broker-dealer rule that exempted certain broker-dealers from disclosure standards that apply to investment advisers and most financial planners.  |
Financial Advisor November 2005 Tracey Longo |
The Embattled Broker Exemption Rule While advisors talk a good game about their desire to see consumers protected by meaningful regulation, the Financial Planning Association remains the sole litigant in its lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called Merrill rule.  |
Registered Rep. August 28, 2007 John Churchill |
SEC Principal Trade Proposal: A Stalling Tactic? A 2-year "interim rule" would allow large brokerage firms that also have many other business lines to meet their fiduciary obligations to customers while still engaging in principal trading activity -- selling customers products from their own inventory.  |
Registered Rep. February 1, 2006 Kristen French |
Both Sides Now Brokers who hold dual licenses -- both the Series 7 and Series 65 licenses -- will have to take fiduciary responsibility on some accounts. But they can also sell investments, after they make it crystal clear that they're doing so.  |
Registered Rep. August 1, 2006 |
The Broker-Dealer Exemption: Good or Bad for the Investing Public? (Oy, This Still Hasn't Been Resolved?) True financial advisors -- those who hold Series 65s and Series 66s, and who are fiduciaries -- aren't too happy that Series 7-holders have been able to cast themselves as financial advisors.  |
Financial Planning November 1, 2006 Daniel B. Moisand |
Keep Standards High Financial planning is surprisingly under-regulated. The rules that do exist apply primarily to subset disciplines. As a result, all planners are regulated but no one really regulates planning.  |
Investment Advisor March 2006 Melanie Waddell |
Piling On Keeping up with compliance chores will continue to occupy a substantial portion of advisors' time, as industry officials and observers are steadfast in their belief that regulatory scrutiny by the SEC and NASD isn't going away.  |
Financial Planning June 1, 2007 Marshall Eckblad |
The United Way The FPA's unexpected victory could pave the way to new regulations that cover both brokers and investment advisors.  |
Registered Rep. October 23, 2006 John Churchill |
Opulence (and a Wee Bit of Strife) at FPA Confab in Nashville Education and networking were on order at the recent annual Financial Planning Association conference.  |
Registered Rep. March 11, 2009 Christina Mucciolo |
Brokers Versus Advisors--SIFMA Wants "Universal," Not Fiduciary, Standard Will the patchwork rules governing the conduct of Series 7 holders and registered investment advisors, a patchwork that confuses the public, finally be sorted out?  |
Investment Advisor February 2008 Melanie Waddell |
A Groundbreaker SEC's Rand report, of the broker/dealer and investment advisory industries will dominate the discussion among brokers and advisors in 2008.  |
Investment Advisor May 2007 Melanie Waddell |
Victory for the FPA The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned the SEC's Merrill rule.  |
Financial Advisor May 2006 Andrew Gluck |
New Rule Causes Software Schizophrenia New financial software programs for advisors reflect the difference between fiduciary and suitability requirements.  |
Registered Rep. March 1, 2008 John Churchill |
Fix Advisor Laws! Laws should reflect the fact that the differences between registered reps and registered investment advisors have largely evaporated.  |
Registered Rep. October 1, 2002 David A. Geracioti |
Outgrowing the Series 7? Registered investment advisors must take the Series 65 exam. As the line between brokers and financial advisors blurs, what responsibilities do brokers that dispense advice and collect a fee based on assets have?  |
Registered Rep. September 13, 2004 John Churchill |
A Broker or An Advisor? A hot topic among the financial planning community as financial planners continue to try to define and bolster themselves as a profession: fiduciary status. Of particular concern is the "broker-dealer exemption rule" to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.  |
Investment Advisor June 2007 Melanie Waddell |
SEC Won't Appeal Court Ruling The SEC has decided not to appeal the recent ruling which exempted brokers from being subject to regulation as investment advisors in fee-based brokerage accounts, on the basis that the SEC had exceeded its authority under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.  |
Investment Advisor January 2006 Bob Clark |
Clark at Large: Two Steps Back? Just when FPA is moving into high gear, some of its rhetoric sounds suspiciously retro.  |
Registered Rep. May 1, 2007 |
The Great Reckoning Whatever the specific business impact the Merrill Lynch ruling may have, many see the return to pre-1999 rules as a chance for the brokerage industry, which has long avoided fiduciary duty for business and regulatory reasons, to overcome those obstacles and embrace it.  |
Financial Advisor October 2004 Evan Simonoff |
Editor's Note Back in July when the Financial Planning Association filed a lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission, many advisors could be forgiven for wondering if the FPA was losing its grip on reality.  |
Investment Advisor August 2006 Kathleen M. McBride |
B/d Briefing: A New Regulatory Framework? In a move that may be the opening salvo in a fight for unified investor protection rules, the SEC is seeking information from potential contractors to conduct a study about how investments and advice are marketed to individual investors.  |
Financial Planning June 1, 2005 Harold Evensky |
The New 'F' Word A new group would irrefutably link the concept of "fiduciary" to financial advice.  |
Investment Advisor February 2008 Melanie Waddell |
A Busy Year in Washington Now that the Rand report assessing the advisory and broker/dealer industries has been released, No doubt advisors and brokers will be anticipating any possible regulatory actions that the SEC may take.  |
Financial Planning June 1, 2007 Bob Veres |
Victory, for Now Brokerage firms have little choice but to adapt to a world in which their traditional service -- clearing trades and executing transactions -- has become "solely incidental" to the increasingly valuable business of providing advice.  |
On Wall Street July 1, 2009 Helen Kearney |
The 'F' Word Stirs Up Controversy Advisors who fall under the new fiduciary standard, namely investment advisors who run a fee-based business, must always put clients' interests before of their own.  |
Registered Rep. March 1, 2008 |
Plain English: The Cost of Compliance The SEC voted in February to propose changes to the structure of the Form ADV, the disclosure document that all investment advisors must complete.  |
BusinessWeek August 30, 2004 Amy Borrus |
Brokers Aren't Advisers The line between brokers and advisers was clear for decades. But in 1999, the Securities & Exchange Commission blurred that line. Now, to protect investors, the SEC must redraw a clear line.  |
Registered Rep. April 1, 2007 |
Turf Wars Over Advice The age-old debate between the b/d and investment advisor (RIA) industries over who should be able to provide advice and when, and whose regulatory regime offers better investor protections, is far from over.  |
Registered Rep. June 30, 2010 Christina Mucciolo |
Clients, though Mostly Satisfied, in the Dark about FA Fees, Says Study Overall advisors and investors are still confused about what the advisors' fiduciary responsibility is exactly.  |
Financial Advisor May 2005 Evan Simonoff |
Editor's Note Ohio Republican Michael Oxley addresses the issue of exemption from RIA regulation that the SEC just granted brokers and specifically the Financial Planning Association's lawsuit.  |
Registered Rep. May 14, 2007 John Churchill |
"Merrill Lynch" Rule Dead, But SEC to Ask for Time The securities industry still hopes that the SEC will somehow come up with a new plan to keep the fee-based brokerage account from coverage by the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, which mandates that to offer financial advice, you have to be a fiduciary.  |
Financial Planning November 1, 2009 Robert Pozen |
Think Twice Congress is seriously debating legislation that would significantly expand the coverage of the Investment Advisers Act, empower the SEC to make rules on advisor compensation and increase the likelihood of lawsuits against advisors.  |
Investment Advisor May 2007 Bob Clark |
We Win, Sort Of How the FPA can make the most out of its upset victory over the SEC.  |
Financial Planning July 1, 2006 Marshall Eckblad |
Chalk One Up for RIAs According to a recent survey, a majority of investors believe stockbrokers and investment advisers owe the same fiduciary responsibilities to their clients.  |
BusinessWeek April 11, 2005 Toddi Gutner |
Broker Or Adviser? Be forewarned: If yours is employed by a brokerage, your interests come second  |
Financial Advisor March 2006 Nancy Lininger |
Letters to the Editor The New Advisory-World Order: Commissioned reps have lost clients over the years to discount brokers, day traders and now, the divine fee-only advisor. Firms embracing fees and commissions, and offering the most services and compensation options, will be reborn.  |
Financial Advisor April 2004 Tracey Longo |
Wanted: Real Disclosure Rules on brokers compensation disclosure are changing---but slowly.  |