financial industry regulation

When I first decided to start my own Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) firm, my longtime peer and friend responded incredulously, “You’re going to walk away from all of your trail commissions? Are you crazy?” Maybe I was crazy, but I was about...

Rob’s Thoughts on Inflation: For my entire 30-year professional career, inflation has never been a factor. I have endured five bear markets, yet the peril of high inflation has not been a consideration for my clients ever until this year....

Only a very small percentage of Americans will ever experience financial independence. Why? Because just being successful in our professional careers is not enough. We have to know how to translate our professional success into personal...

In June, the CFP Board released proposed revisions to its Standards of Professional Conduct, for public comment. The public forums on these proposed changes just wrapped up last week. I attended the forum held in Dallas and wanted to share a...

With regard to a fiduciary standard for my industry, it’s been a long road so I won’t bore you with the historical details. From the lawsuits (see End of “Merrill Lynch” Rule Leaves BOMs in a Muddle) to the CFP Board in-fighting (see One year...

For the last week, our local news in the DFW area has been all abuzz about problems within the DPFP (Dallas Police & Fire Pension). A great MarketWatch article came out yesterday: Dallas police and fire pension plan problems caused by extraordinary...

Life insurance agents created the financial planning community, and sadly their own was damaged in the process. Can recent regulation spur a rebirth? Needs-based selling, where an agent gathered pertinent client data, created a proposal, and...

You’ve still got time. Think of the DOL’s new fiduciary rules as a shot across the bow. Heed the warning, change course, and discover how rewarding this business can be without the glaring conflicts of commission. Loaded mutual funds, variable...

It’s inevitable, from working over twenty years in an industry like mine, you tend to get a little cynical. The ink is hardly dry on the new “fiduciary” standard promulgated by the Department of Labor so it’s hard to know exactly what’s in it,...

updated April 25, 2018   If your advisor is not on the same page with you, it makes it harder to weather downturns. There are five very basic service points your advisor should be hitting, and if she is not, you should consider making a change. ...

For many years now, the Department of Labor has been steadily attacking business as usual in the retirement plan selling business. Based upon the Pension Protection Act of 2006, final regulations were put in place in 2012 to insure full...

Integrity is key. For Advisors, it’s easy to lose sight of integrity because the framework of the financial services industry creates conflicts of interest.  In many cases, there is a disconnect between the cost and the service provided. In...

by Rob Schulz, CFP® April 20, 2011   The SEC is currently looking into authorizing a universal fiduciary-duty regulation under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. If carried out this would subject large conglomerate financial services firms to...

By: Rob Schulz, CFP®November 24, 2010 You may have noticed the headlines as the Securities Exchange Commission, FBI, and federal prosecutors wrap up what they call the largest insider trading criminal investigation in history. Several Wall Street...