No one knows who will ultimately win the legal battle over the fiduciary rule. But I do know that over the past week, almost every investor has been reading about it. And they’ve all watched certain corners of the financial industry jump up and down to celebrate the decision. A decision that actually says asking advisors to act in their clients’ best interest is—wait for it—”unreasonable.”
Let that sink in. That’s literally the court’s own word; you can look it up. It’s “unreasonable” to put a client’s interests ahead of your own.
Well, not for you. It’s what you do every day. I’ve watched you and your peers work tirelessly to do what’s right for your clients, without a thought to any conflicts of interest. As a fiduciary, you’re different. Better. And you like it that way.
It’s time to let them know.
Plant your fiduciary flag while this story is still top of mind. Slap a banner on your home page calling yourself a fiduciary. Send out a short email to clients, prospects, and COIs telling them what this story means. Whip up a quick explainer you can put on your website or send to the press. Throw up a blog post.
But do it quickly. You don’t need to write a forty-page treatise or get fifty people to run a fine-tooth comb over every word you post. It’s more important to get on top of the story now, while it’s fresh, and fill in the details as people ask questions. To help you out, we’ve created a sample high-resolution Fiduciary Seal that you are free to use on your website. Yes, it can be that simple.
The territory is wide open in front of you. Claim it—today.