Jun. 20, 2018
Jun 20, 2018 Securities and Exchange Commission To the and Exchange Commission, Please strengthen the proposed rules requiring brokers and other financial advisers to put their customers' investment interests ahead of their own. Wall Street lawyers, as the Commission well knows, can find loopholes galore, so it would be great to restore something like the private right of action that was in the DOL fiduciary rule. I am not a lawyer, so my self-interest doesn't lie there, but I am of retirement age and familiar with the many high-commission products, trails and share classes that tempt advisors. I'm counting on you to make a stronger best-interest rule. Americans who've worked hard to save for retirement deserve peace of mind about their financial security. I'm also outraged that the securities industry disingenuously argued that the DOL fiduciary rule would force them to cut off middle-class and lower-class retirement savers who wouldn't be able to afford the fees on managed, non-transactional accounts. Firms like Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS don't pay brokers on low-level household accounts because they know the money lies in servicing wealthy investors, and rogue firms offer those people high-risk, high-commission, complex products like privately traded REITs. Please restore some of the fiduciary language, and use your lawyerly skills to define the standards without creating loopholes. Thank you. Sincerely, Mr. Jed Horowitz