11. All Investment Advisors Are the Same
Currently, registered investment advisors are held to a fiduciary standard, which means that they must act in their clients’ best interests. On the other hand, stock brokers are held to a lower standard, the suitability standard. This requires only that the investments recommended must be reasonable for their clients.
A rule proposed under the Obama administration would have extended that standard to any and all investors giving retirement advice, but a recent Fifth Circuit Court decision struck it down prior to the rule taking effect.
