The fight to protect consumers against bad investment advice is advancing, but slowly
The fight to protect consumers from bad investment advice has been a multi-year saga.
At first blush, it may seem a losing battle: In March, a judge struck down a Massachusetts rule that aimed to clamp down on unscrupulous investment brokers. The holy grail for consumer advocates — an Obama-era U.S. Department of Labor rule to protect retirement investors — also died in court in 2018.
Since then, consumer groups have bemoaned a lackluster roster of federal and state oversight.
A number of them say recent measures from the Securities and Exchange Commission and National Association of Insurance Commissioners — which outline rules for brokers to give financial advice that's in the «best interest» of clients — are basically straw men.
Here's a look at more stories on how to manage, grow and protect your money for the years ahead.
However, there is broad disagreement on this point.
NAIC President Dean Cameron, for example, said its measure was «bipartisan» and a «significant advancement» for retirees. And proponents of the SEC rule call it a monumental leap forward, the culmination of a Dodd-Frank Act directive in 2010 for the regulator to study more stringent rules for brokers.
In addition, many financial industry players who fought the Obama-era advice rule thought it would have negative effects for consumers.
«I think we're in a much better place with the receipt of investment advice for investors,» said Lisa Bleier, associate general counsel at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), a trade group that represents brokerage firms.
Meanwhile, many legal experts acknowledge that there has been positive change for consumers, despite the debate over how quickly reforms have happened and a granular
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