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One Easy Solution to the Fiduciary Problem

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With the fate of the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule up in the air, investors and brokerages are looking for a way forward. For investors worried about doing business with a broker held to the much less stringent suitability standard, the easy solution is to simply work with an investment advisor held to the higher fiduciary standard. Michael Wursthorn reports for the Wall Street Journal on the next steps brokers are taking in the face of uncertainty about the rule.

The fiduciary rule, due to take effect April 10, is unpopular with Republicans and some in the financial industry who say it would harm consumers more than help by limiting investment options, elevating costs and potentially cutting off low-balance customers from some forms of professional advice.

Some of the rule’s backers say the work firms have done to become compliant and heightened consumer awareness mean it is too late to squash the spirit of the rule. Experts handicap the scenarios surrounding the rule’s fate: delay, revision, repeal, as well as Congressional or SEC action.

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E.J. Smith

Editor-in-Chief
E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com.