North American Securities Administrators Association Supports Fiduciary Standards

Investment Executive today reported that the North American Securities Administrators Association recently unveiled its U.S. legislative agenda, which was highlighed by a call to impose a fiduciary duty on everyone providing investment advice.

The NASAA called upon the U.S. Congress to support implementation of regulatory reform, strengthen state-federal collaboration, and impose a fiduciary duty on all financial professionals when providing investment advice about securities, among other things.

Following completion of a study of the fiduciary duty issue by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, NASAA recommends that the SEC use its authority to establish rules to address the standards of care for broker-dealers and investment advisors. “Applying the fiduciary standard to broker-dealers is necessary to protect investors from abuses fostered by current fragmented industry standards,” it says. “The time has come to end this confusion and close the longstanding gaps in industry standards. The SEC must act without delay.”

This is an issue that has been debated in Canada over the past few years and featured on The Wealth Steward. To view such articles, please click here.

At HighView Financial Group, we believe that with the growing affluence of our society, combined with the rising complexity of wealth management issues and the trusted role that wealth management advisors perform in client’s financial lives, that it’s time for regulators to re-examine the application of fiduciary standards to various wealth management roles.