Investment advisers who have been around awhile know that the SEC, both independently and through case law,[1] has defined and redefined what it means for an adviser to be a “fiduciary.” Kerry Zinn and Tanya Lambrechts discuss the SEC’s latest clarification on the term.
In an April 18, 2018 release, the SEC again provided a lengthy definition of an adviser’s fiduciary duty, but this time, seemingly compiled all its resources and prior guidance in one place to “reaffirm” and “clarify” certain aspects of an adviser’s fiduciary duty.
Why is there a need for continual clarification?
There has been some industry confusion between the SEC’s proposed “best interest” rule for broker-dealers (“Regulation Best Interest”)[2] and the SEC’s existing fiduciary duty rule for investment advisers under Section 206 of The Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Adviser’s Act”).
Over a year later and after hundreds of individuals, organizations and firms large and small submitted comments to the SEC, the industry is still left waiting for clarity and is concerned about how Regulation Best Interest and the SEC’s more fulsome definition of fiduciary duty will be implemented.
Many of these commenters provided feedback that the terms “best interest” and “fiduciary duty” create “blurred…
