Coalition Wants Better Rules Governing Financial Advisors

A number of public interest groups have formed a coalition whose purpose is to protect the interests of retirees.

These organizations want the “U.S. Department of Labor to revise rules requiring financial advisers to act in their clients’ best interests when offering retirement investment advice,” according to a recent story by Carole Fleck on the website of the American Association of Retired Persons.

“SaveOurRetirement.com, a website created by the coalition, is urging the Labor Department to update the so-called fiduciary rule,” Fleck continued. “Without that safeguard, advisers to retirement plans could sell financial products that pay large commissions yet hurt their clients with unnecessary fees, poor returns or excessive risks, the coalition said.

“Right now, some advisers are required to put their customers’ interests first, while others are not, and it is often extremely difficult for workers and retirees to know which type of adviser they are dealing with,” the story quoted a statement from the coalition.

The groups that came together to form SaveOurRetirement.com AARP, the Consumer Federation of America, the Pension Rights Center, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, Americans for Financial Reform and Better Markets.

“If the Department gets the rule right, you won’t have to try to figure out whether your financial ‘adviser’ is really a salesman looking out for his or her own interests or a true adviser looking out for yours,” Fleck wrote. “A good rule will ensure that all financial professionals who offer retirement advice must make recommendations designed to serve your best interests by keeping your costs low, recommending sound investments, and protecting your retirement nest egg from unnecessary risks.”