Boston, July 25, 2019 – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced its new rules supporting client best interest. Competing interests of many industry incumbents are at odds. At the center of the debate is whether broker-dealers should be held to a uniform fiduciary standard in line with registered investment advisors. With many states looking to enhance investor protection, the regulation will continue to fuel an ongoing debate centered on the scope of best interest.

This report sets out to disentangle the regulation, provide additional clarity around the variables embedded in the rules, and illuminate the views of the rule’s advocates and detractors. The analysis in this report leverages SEC documents, SEC comment letters, and selected interviews with U.S. industry incumbents conducted in the second and third quarters of 2019.

This 49-page Impact Report contains five figures and five tables. Clients of Aite Group’s Wealth Management service can download this report, the corresponding charts, and the Executive Impact Deck.

This report mentions Accenture, Argos Risk, Betterment, Broadridge, Cetera Financial Group, Charles Schwab, Edward Jones, Fenergo, Finomial, Fiserv, Invesco, Morgan Stanley, NexJ, Nice Actimize, Pacific Life Insurance Company, Qumram, TD Ameritrade, and Wells Fargo.