What do Samuel Beckett and Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited have in common?
The Amtrak passenger train has been notoriously late. It has left riders waiting for hours (or, in my case, nearly a day). Is it possible Samuel Beckett was a time traveler and he recently popped in to take (or, more appropriately, wait for) the Lake Shore Limited?
Perhaps that's what inspired him to write "Waiting for Godot," an angst-inducing play of two insipid dolts painfully waiting for a fellow who goes by the name of "Godot."
Recommended For You
Had Beckett, while stranded in some forlorn railroad station, whiled away his time reading tales of the latest dance being played by the SEC, the DOL, and industry lobbyists, instead of Godot, that pair of dolts might have been set in a production called "Waiting for Fiduciary."
These days, I can't help but empathize with those dolts.
But then along comes the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard and its 11 points of fiduciary best practices. As Brian Hamburger said in a recent interview (see "Exclusive Interview: Brian Hamburger Says Private Industry Converging on Fiduciary Solution Ahead of Regulators," FiduciaryNews.com, Feb. 18, 2015), "The free market can move swiftly, nimbly, and not be influenced by any outside parties or forces."
For five years (or longer), regulators have been promising a resolution to the fiduciary mess they've created (with the willing participation of certain "too-big-to-fail" behemoths). Mom and pop advisers have patiently waited for the SEC and the DOL to come through with their version of Godot. Each time this elusive character seems to appear on the horizon, a new batch of accusations comes from the lobbyists and their political puppets.
Apparently, that patience has finally worn thin. An alliance of modestly sized private practitioners, in an effort to blunt the political clout of those in opposition to a true fiduciary standard, has decided to take their case directly to the public.
Washington is driven by elite connections greased by the largesse of concentrated political contributions. This gives the big boys on Wall Street a decided advantage. Their investment in hobnobbing with the political class has paid off handsomely. The Main Street advisers – who spend most of their scarce time working on the front lines with clients – can barely afford to watch CSPAN, let alone attend a political pow-wow.
By taking the action out of Washington and placing it into the hands of everyday investors across America, Main Street advisers instantly nullify all those political connections. The power of the people returns. In flyover country, the industry's hard-fought association with government power brokers no longer rises to an impenetrable advantage, it becomes an embarrassing liability.
Regulators, politicians, and industry lobbyists can continue to argue how many angels dance on the head of the fiduciary standard until they're blue in the face. The market has moved beyond them.
The fiduciary train has left the station.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
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).
