Human Capital: Michael Kitces on Fiduciary Fight and Why He’s ‘Extremely Nervous’ About Schwab Deal

In this episode of Human Capital, we talk with popular blogger and financial planner Michael Kitces about XY Planning Network’s recent decision to not pursue a Supreme Court challenge to the appeals court ruling that upheld the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation Best Interest.

Says Kitces, who’s also co-founder of XYPN, “The judges said outright in the ruling that RIAs would be put at a competitive disadvantage compared to the status quo as a result of Regulation Best Interest.”

Now, says Kitces, XY Planning Network will shift its focus to pushing for state fiduciary rules in the coming year.

“When at the end of the day the only alternative is a federal regulator that outright says we’re willing to harm the RIA community to serve the interests of the broker-dealer community, we don’t see that there’s really much other choice in how to advance the fiduciary ball down the field.”

Kitces also talks about the chances that a Biden administration would overturn Reg BI — or rewrite it — as well as “the fundamentally broken approach” the SEC took with Form CRS.

Kitces also lays out why he’s “extremely nervous” about the Charles Schwab-TD Ameritrade deal.

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