Financial Planning Coalition Sends Fiduciary Letter and Petition to SEC, Congress

The Financial Planning Coalition delivered a letter to the Securities and Exchange CommissionThursday, accompanied by a petition signed by 5,200 financial planners, urging the SEC to apply a fiduciary standard to anyone providing personalized investment advice to retail clients.

“The Coalition appreciates the leadership you have shown in your support of a fiduciary standard for advice provided to retail investors,” the letter said, which also sent to members of Congress. “We are deeply concerned that current regulations governing the delivery of personalized investment advice are insufficient to protect investors.”

The coalition is comprised of the Financial Planning Association, Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards and National Association of Personal Financial  Advisors.

In its letter, the Coalition urged the SEC to use its authority under Section 913 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to establish a strong and uniform fiduciary standard of conduct for broker-dealers and investment advisers that is no less stringent than that under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The Coalition continues to advocate for rulemaking that would establish this uniform fiduciary standard.  

“The Financial Planning Coalition and thousands of financial planners across the nation believe that those who provide personalized investment advice to retail clients should be held to a fiduciary standard,” stated the letter. “Requiring advisors to act in their clients’ best interests should help restorethe confidence of millions of American investors in the securities markets and facilitate the needed return to the markets as the economy continues to recover.”

The Coalition’s petition, the text of which is provided below, urged the SEC to move forward with the rulemaking.