Those in the know in the financial field know who Ron Rhoades is. They also know that when he speaks, people generally listen. So it's not surprising that his blunt comments in a recent article (see "Wall Street's Whipping Boy and a World Without a Fiduciary Standard," FiduciaryNews.com, January 14, 2014) reverberated throughout the rather narrow walls of financial services community.
What makes the comments even more interesting is that within days of their receipt, the SEC issued its examination priorities. Due to publication time tables, it appears the SEC statement came out before Rhoades' comments, but, trust me, as the one conducting the interview, I'm intimately familiar with the actual time table. I received Rhoades' email well in advance of the SEC announcement.
Here's the quick recap: The SEC, surrounded by a bipartisan army well-greased by industry lobbyists, is trying its best to avoid proposing a uniform fiduciary standard. Why? Because the only politically palatable one requires such a watering down of the current fiduciary standard that it may not pass the Dodd-Frank "no less stringent" test. This leaves the SEC talking a good game but, in the end, merely going through the motions.
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Christopher Carosa
Chris Carosa has been writing a weekly article and monthly column for BenefitsPRO online and BenefitsPRO Magazine since 2011 and is a nationally recognized award-winning writer, researcher and speaker. He’s written seven books, including From Cradle to Retire: The Child IRA; Hey! What’s My Number? – How to Increase the Odds You Will Retire in Comfort; A Pizza The Action: Everything I Ever Learned About Business I Learned By Working in a Pizza Stand at the Erie County Fair; and the widely acclaimed 401(k) Fiduciary Solutions. Carosa is also Chief Contributing Editor of the authoritative trade journal FiduciaryNews.com and publisher of the Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, a weekly community newspaper he founded in 1989. Currently serving as President of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and with more than 1,000 articles published in various publications, he appears regularly in the national media. A “parallel” entrepreneur, he actively runs a handful of businesses, including a small boutique investment adviser, providing hands-on experience for his writing. A trained astrophysicist, he also holds an MBA and has been designated a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor. Share your thoughts and story ideas with him through Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christophercarosa/)and Twitter (https://twitter.com/ChrisCarosa).
