WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The following is a statement from CFP Board commending the public release of the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) proposed rule to protect Americans from conflicts of interest when financial professionals provide retirement investment advice:
“CFP Board welcomes the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed retirement security rule intended to protect Americans from the harmful effects of conflicts of interest when financial professionals provide retirement investment advice.
It’s time to update the nearly 50-year-old regulatory framework under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to prevent advisors from avoiding a fiduciary responsibility even when they are functioning as, and clients are relying on them as, trusted advisors. We celebrate the work of the advisors who seek to do what is best for their customers. However, the outdated law does not prevent advisors from taking advantage of gaps in the regulations to steer their clients into high-cost, substandard investments that pay the advisor well but eat away at retirement investors’ nest eggs over time.
This proposed rule is an important step forward toward improving the retirement security of all Americans. CFP Board will carefully review the details of the proposed rule and assess its effectiveness so that all financial professionals who provide retirement investment advice are required to put the best interests of their clients first. Americans investing their hard-earned money for a financially secure retirement deserve no less.”
ABOUT CFP BOARD
CFP Board is the professional body for personal financial planners in the U.S. CFP Board consists of two affiliated organizations focused on advancing the financial planning profession for the public’s benefit. CFP Board of Standards sets and upholds standards for financial planning and administers the prestigious CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification — widely recognized by the public, advisors and firms as the standard for financial planners — so that the public has access to the benefits of competent and ethical financial planning. CFP® certification is held by nearly 100,000 people in the U.S. CFP Board Center for Financial Planning addresses diversity and workforce development challenges and conducts and publishes research that adds to the financial planning profession’s body of knowledge.
SOURCE CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER BOARD OF STANDARDS, INC