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Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Fires Back at PIABA’s Fiduciary Standard Report

Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Fires Back at PIABA’s Fiduciary Standard Report

The response was quick and quite expected. The brokerage industry trade group Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) took offense to the PIABA report on “misleading” brokerage firm advertising and its implied fiduciary duties.  The PIABA report went on to site nine firms that later denied any such duty when defending FINRA arbitration claims filed against them.  The report calls out Merrill Lynch, Fidelity Investments, Ameriprise, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Allstate Financial, UBS, Berthel Fisher, and Charles Schwab as those having a “huge disconnect” between their ad claims and arbitration tactics.

Associate General Counsel for SIFMA, Kevin Carroll, “doesn’t see a conflict at play between firms supporting the adoption of a fiduciary standard and operating under the current legal reality. “It’s curious why PIABA would see something nefarious in how brokers defend themselves in arbitration,” he said.

The experienced securities fraud attorneys at Colling Gilbert Wright are members of PIABA and have litigated hundreds of FINRA arbitration claims to successful conclusion. If you believe your broker or financial advisor has breached his fiduciary duties or was negligent in the handling of your account, please contact us for a free case evaluation.