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Friday, November 20, 2009
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Other Voices
The financial services industry is experiencing a period of unprecedented regulatory reform.
After a decade of pushing fee-based services, Wall Street is slashing and burning the infrastructure that has supported the business.
As Congress prepares to debate financial services reform, one critical issue pits Wall Street against Main Street, and the outcome could affect clients' wallets.
The financial services industry has spent most of this year anticipating regulatory changes in response to the recent global economic crisis.
In global comparisons of how well mutual funds serve their investors, U.S. funds come through with flying colors.
Most asset managers have been battered by the global financial crisis and ensuing recession.
The U.S. stock market and economy are in much the same place now as they were in 1930.
Companies, distributors, regulators and consumers — we're all trying to keep pace with the changes in the marketplace, particularly when it comes to annuities.
The majority of those working in the financial services industry are aware of the report last year by the Securities and Exchange Commission that found that 76% of Main Street investors surveyed did not know the difference between a representative of a broker-dealer and a registered investment adviser.
Stop the presses. For the 20-year period ended July 31, stocks outperformed bonds by an annualized margin of 0.77%. Unfortunately, this was not headline news.
The weakness of banking systems in Western Europe, the United States, Japan, the Baltic states, Iceland and much of Eastern Europe has caused economic growth in these areas to slow dramatically.
President Obama has a unique opportunity to deliver on his election promise to bring change we can all believe in.
Certainly, by now, everyone has read that the government is seriously considering a central regulatory body for registered investment advisers.
History is rife with examples of adverse, unintended consequences resulting from well-intentioned lawmaking acting in the face of a crisis.
Establishing a fiduciary duty for broker-dealers that offer investment advice and harmonizing the regulation of investment advisers and broker-dealers is now a goal of the Obama administration.
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