NAIFA President Terry Headley and CEO Susan Waters explain in a Omaha World-Herald article that efforts in Washington to impose a universal fiduciary duty on all financial advisors could seriously harm middle market investors. The increased costs of a fiduciary duty could force advisors to shift to higher net-worth clients, leaving the middle market without access to professional financial advice, Headley said. Waters noted that a broadly applied fiduciary standard would affect a wide swath of consumers who are now served well by broker-dealers under the suitability standard. She also noted that a universal fiduciary standard could reduce the types of products available for middle-market clients.
Headley and Waters were in La Vista, Nebraska, to speak at the NAIFA-Nebraska annual conference.