ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Government Agencies and the Fiduciary Rule
Putting You First
Last year, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced its fiduciary rule which applies primarily to retirement investment advisors; the rule requires your advisor to put your interests first when it comes to certain retirement savings recommendations. Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it will unveil its own version of the fiduciary rule for investment advisor conduct later this year. Any SEC rule would have a broader reach to more types of investment advice from registered brokers and advisors. The SEC and DOL seem prepared to work together to protect consumers and clarify the responsibilities of investment advisors across the board.
Simply put, a fiduciary rule requires financial advisors to put your interests first. The Alameda County and California securities fraud and financial elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent clients who have suffered losses as the result of investment advisors and brokers who fail to live up to the duty of care owed clients, especially seniors. If you or a loved one has been a victim of a breach of fiduciary duty, securities fraud or financial elder abuse, or find yourself headed toward a FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) arbitration with your advisor or broker, contact the Alameda County and California securities and financial elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm today at (415) 441-8669 and we can help.
What This Means
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act gave the SEC the authority to promulgate a fiduciary rule. But the Commission has been unable to come up with one because the commissioners could not agree on a uniform approach to raising investment advice standards. While the SEC dragged its feet, the DOL came forward and established its own fiduciary rule that required retirement advisors to put your interests first when advising on retirement savings. Hopefully, the SEC will now follow suit for all investment advisors. That doesn’t sound like much to ask, does it? But the reality is that until now most advisors have only been required to suggest “suitable” investments which frankly may be better suited to generate fees and commissions for the advisor than long-term retirement savings or appropriate investments for you.
California consumer protection laws and the courts here have fortunately been ahead of federal agencies on this front for years. California law especially protects seniors through advisor/agent disclosure requirements and additional prohibitions meant to anticipate and prohibit advisors from taking unfair advantage of the elderly. The Alameda County and California securities fraud and financial elder abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. believe agents and advisors should be held to the highest legal and ethical standards in their dealings with seniors. If you or a loved one is a senior in California who has suffered a loss because of financial advisor or agent/broker misconduct, contact us today. Be assured we will work to hold your advisor to the highest standard of conduct towards you that the laws provide.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one has been a victim of a breach of fiduciary duty, annuity or securities fraud or financial elder abuse in Alameda County or anywhere in California or are headed to FINRA Arbitration, contact California securities fraud and financial elder abuse attorney Ingrid Evans and the other Evans Law Firm securities and financial elder abuse attorneys at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our attorneys have experience with complex securities cases, arbitrations, and mediations; and complicated financial contracts and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or FINRA Arbitration if required, and toward an equitable settlement. We also handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, other types of qui tam and whistleblower cases, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
