Discussion for article #241226
That retirement advisors should offer advice that is in their client’s best interest’s is even a question shows how far down the rabbit hole we’ve fallen.
It’s a shame that investment advisor’s don’t already have a fiduciary relationship with their clients. The real crime isn’t what’s illegal, it’s what’s legal.
45 Likes
Any Democrat or Republican who votes to water this bill down, or votes against it, should be challenged in the next primary and thrown out of office. Anyone care to make a wild ass guess which side Chuck Schumer will be on? I tried the embedded link that could’ve answered that question, but it did not work. “The page you’re looking for doesn’t exist” message appears when I click on it.
18 Likes
This higher standard of responsibility is known as a “fiduciary duty.”
Why was this sentence disconnected from what it describes, and placed where it makes no sense? It has no business where it is.
4 Likes
Gotta love Elizabeth Warren. What a breath of fresh air she is. From her faculty position as a law professor specializing in bankruptcy, as a regulator of the nascent CFPB and now as a junior senator, she has changed the terms of discussion about finance in this country. Wow!
25 Likes
"require that financial advisors behave in their clients’ best interests "
clearly a socialist concept that is a threat to the American way of life…
13 Likes
You beat me to it, bon. I rarely bring up the whole “primary” meme if only because I know it doesn’t work in all instances. BUT, in this case, those bastards need to go as of yesterday! What’s going on now on Wall Street is nothing short of outright criminality. It has to stop. You can always tell which side my senator (Schumer) is on: Follow his donations.
8 Likes
Good for Elizabeth Warren, this is a prime example of the r/w GOP overplaying their hand, if they had just let her be head of the Consumer Protection Agency we would have never heard from her again but once they blocked that she ran for Congress where she can get some real reforms on the books.
15 Likes
the link doesn’t name any of the 80 house dems who should be primaried: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/house-democrats-use-industry-language-to-object-to-obamas-fiduciary-rule-2015-09-24
but it sounds like ben cardin of maryland and jon tester of montana are 2 dems who support a similarly slimey move in the senate.
hey tpm, how about a list of these fuckwads?
5 Likes
Pity the poor bastards who have to make the counter-argument: “We believe that financial advisors should be allowed to give you lousy advice with impunity.”
8 Likes
Agreed. As much as I admire her, that’s why I don’t think I’d like to see her make a Presidential run. I think she can be most effective with a long career in the Senate, fighting the good fights year after year. Her knack for summing up a problem in a single, pithy sentence is a wonder to behold.
11 Likes
The Federal Government should operate a no-fee index fund that’s open to every human American citizen. Management expenses should be paid by general revenue. It should allow pretax contributions like a traditional IRA, but there should be no early withdrawal penalty. Income tax would be due on every withdrawal. Every other private fund should be required to report their performance compared to the index.
7 Likes
The Hill published the actual letter with all the signatures: http://thehill.com/policy/finance/254860-dems-rise-against-obamas-financial-adviser-regs
Notably, House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and House Financial Services Committee ranking member Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) did not sign the letter.
No surprise to see our Rep from Minnesota, Collin Peterson, signed the letter.
3 Likes
Excellent idea. I’ll be waiting for that surviving snowball in hell to see it enacted.
2 Likes
TPM:
To use one example from a White House-cited report: “A retiree who receives conflicted advice when rolling over a 401(k) balance to an IRA at retirement will lose an estimated 12 percent of the value of his or her savings if drawn down over 30 years.” That amounts to five fewer years a retiree can afford to live off of his or her investments, the report said.
But it’s more money the financial advisor can use to buy a yacht, a second home, business advertising, and to donate to the GOP - so it’s all good as far as Republicans and the media go.
5 Likes
As bad as Schumer is, I still believe he wouldn’t be so crass as to vote against providing retirees the reassurance of fiduciary duty for their investments … but not strongly enough to bet on it.
I look forward to hearing, no doubt, the excellent rebuttal Wall Street will have regarding why it’s so burdensome to actually provide ethical services to those who pay their salaries. Maybe they’ll ask Congressman Chaffetz for a suitable chart?
9 Likes
The counter argument, which I have already seen posted in quite a few places, is “but this is unnecessary because the requirement already exists”. Except of course for the fact that it doesn’t. But readers should beware, because I have seen this on some liberal blogs - commenters pretending to be liberals protesting “What’s all the fuss about?”. Don’t be fooled - their explanation (you’ll see them talking about the difference between “financial advisors” and “broker-dealers”) is nothing but a red herring. This reform is absolutely necessary.
In the meantime, for anyone who has a 401k or other investments, PLEASE, I’m begging you, do NOT take anyone’s advice uncritically at face value. This is YOUR future that is at stake. Take the time, make the effort to LEARN what it’s all about. Make sure you understand how investments work. Make sure you understand terms like “asset allocation” and “rebalancing”. Your advisor may be the most honest, well intentioned person in the world, that still doesn’t mean his advice is necessarily correct for you. Hours that you spend now will translate into years of effects on your life.
7 Likes
When the hearing happens, I expect to see you gop/bags ask the wall street ceo’s about THEIR salaries!!
Yeah, I’m not holding my breath.
3 Likes
Somebody should throw that snowball one time, it might just smack the devil upside the head.