The Committee for the Fiduciary Standard has submitted 23 articles to the Securities and Exchange Commission, with abstracts and references to an additional 84 articles, in response to the regulator’s request for comment on its study of investment advisor and broker-dealer regulation regarding the fiduciary standard.

“The SEC study on the application of the fiduciary standard of conduct to all who provide investment advice will likely inform public policy for a generation. At issue, among others, is whether all investors have equal access to fiduciary advice,” Knut Rostad, chairman of the committee said. “In order to assist the commissioners and SEC staff, the committee has compiled 23 of the most pertinent academic journal articles exploring the fiduciary standard of conduct, its economic underpinning and its application to investment advisory services, “ he added.

The articles reveal common themes including: how duties vary based on the disparity of knowledge between the advisor and client; that disclosures, while necessary, are not sufficient to fulfill, and not synonymous with, fiduciary duty; and that fiduciary requirements are not, as some suggest, vague, the committee maintains.  

The group was formed last year to advocate for what it calls the authentic fiduciary standard, as presently established under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940.    

Family offices leaders joined other senior financial figures in signing a Fiduciary Statement penned by the committee earlier this year.

The committee and four financial advisor organizations will jointly sponsor a forum September 24 in Washington, DC. The forum is designed to provide input into the SEC study, called for in the Dodd-Frank reform legislation.

Co-sponsors include the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Financial Planning Association, Financial Services Institute and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. Speakers will include academic and policy research experts.