Consumers Are Caught in the Crossfire Between FINRA and a Financial Planning Coalition That Champions the Fiduciary Standard of Care

The Financial Planning Coalition consists of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, the Financial Planning Association and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors; FINRA stands for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 1 /PRNewswire/ — Rick Johnson, author of the book Keep Your Assets Take My Advice, applauds the Financial Planning Coalition’s effort to establish an oversight board to regulate financial advisers. The Financial Planning Coalition, according to a recent update emailed to Certified Financial Planners, is proposing an oversight board with fiduciary standards, training and ethics requirements for financial planning advice that favors consumers. FINRA is trying to influence the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to regulate registered investment advisers, as stated in a recent speech by Richard G. Ketchum, Chairman and CEO of FINRA, before the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. The Financial Planning Coalition “wants to preclude FINRA from consideration as the oversight body … ” as stated in their April 27, 2009 email update. “This is a battle between lobbying groups with consumers caught in the crossfire,” according to Johnson.

In an April 27th FINRA News Release, FINRA has proposed closing a glaring gap in their Broker Check system that previously allowed advisers with revoked licenses to have their backgrounds dropped from the FINRA Broker Check system after two years. In his book, Keep Your Assets Take My Advice, Johnson pointed out this exact problem.

The suggestion from Johnson’s book is to close the background check loopholes. As quoted, “We need one disciplinary disclosure system for all insurance agents, FINRA-registered representatives and investment adviser representatives of registered investment advisers.”

In his book, Johnson breaks down why the fiduciary standard of care is what all consumers should demand. “You cannot do what is in the best interest of the consumer and have a sales quota. It is impossible. As long as these sales quotas remain, there is no chance at a fiduciary standard of care,” says Johnson.

Johnson educates his readers about the fiduciary standard of care, how to do annual background checks on financial advisers and he provides unique financial planning ideas typically not found in recently published financial advice books. Readers of his book will be “armed to the teeth,” according to Johnson, to navigate the “murky waters” of financial services.

For further information:

http://www.cfp.net – Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards

http://www.fpanet.org – Financial Planning Association

http://www.napfa.org – National Association of Personal Financial Advisors

http://www.finra.org – Financial Industry Regulatory Authority

http://www.sec.gov – U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Johnson’s book, Keep Your Assets Take My Advice: It is Easier to Climb Out of a Shallow Hole, is available from his web site http://www.firstcoastplanning.com, http://BarnesandNoble.com or http://Amazon.com.

    Contact:

    Rick Johnson
    Phone: (904) 262-0888

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SOURCE Rick Johnson Family Office, LLC