Not surprising– the annual FINRA conference in Baltimore last week was packed with financial advisors all wanting to know what was coming down the pipeline and what would happen next.
The conference was literally sold out, a result of the concern over the new fiduciary standard and financial regulatory reform bill just passed by Congress.
As the attendees attended open sessions and mingled in clusters, key terminology like accountability, due diligence, compliance, and regulation was bounced back and forth.
Realizing this is the most sweeping reform in generations, there is some anxiousness out there. Some of it comes from the concern that the fiduciary standard will hurt little firms worse than the big ones due to the cost, time and lack of resources needed to oversee the regulation.
But it doesn’t end here; large or small, firms are worried that the reform will not stop here and that the current administration will continue to “tighten the screws.”
Bottom line, no one really knows how it will affect their firm or their business and there is not much one can do but watch and see how it plays out…