Our Nation is facing a savings crisis. Many young workers are unable to save at all; half of America's retirees have saved less than $65,000 and face the terrifying prospect of running out of money in retirement.[1] Every time those Americans seek help from financial professionals, they're asked to trust someone whose interests can be contrary to their own. And when that conflict leads to bad advice, investors suffer costs that American savers simply cannot afford.
I believe that the SEC's most crucial task is to protect investors from the dangers this basic economic reality presents. Since I've been on the Commission, I have fought to do just that. So my hope was that the rules we announced today would significantly raise the standard for investment advice in this country. I hoped to join my colleagues in announcing that the Nation's investor protection agency has left no doubt that, in America, investors come first.
Sadly, I cannot say that. Rather than requiring Wall Street to put investors first, today's rules retain a muddled standard that exposes millions of Americans to the costs of conflicted advice. Even worse, contrary to what Americans have heard for a generation, the Commission today concludes that investment advisers are not true fiduciaries. Today's actions fail to arm Americans with the tools they need to survive the Nation's retirement crisis. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.
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