NAPFA Applauds President Obama for Proposing a Fiduciary Standard

President's regulatory reform proposals met with guarded optimism by Fee-Only financial advisor association

Arlington Heights, IL (June 18, 2009) - The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), the country's leading professional association of Fee-Only, fiduciary financial advisors, is pleased to release the following statement from NAPFA National Chair Diahann W. Lassus, CFP®, CPA/PFS regarding President Obama's 21st Century Regulatory Reform proposals.

"For 26 years NAPFA has been promoting the need for financial advisors of all varieties to adhere to a strict fiduciary standard of conduct. The industry has done consumers a great disservice over the years by blurring the lines that distinguish truly independent advisors who operate only with the client's interests at heart and those advisors adhering to a lower standard of conduct. President Obama's call for a fiduciary standard for all financial intermediaries who provide investment advice is a wake-up call for an industry that has fallen asleep at the wheel."

Ms. Lassus adds, "With the President pointing the regulatory reform debate clearly in the direction of a fiduciary standard now comes the time to determine how regulation of the industry will change. NAPFA encourages members of Congress to avoid the trap of looking to bodies that have been focused on guiding the brokerage side of the industry. We believe only a body such as the SEC, which has roots in a fiduciary standard in regulating Registered Investment Advisors, is qualified to enforce this higher standard."

To arrange an interview with Ms. Lassus, please contact Benjamin Lewis of Perception, Inc. at 301-963-7555 or Benjamin.lewis@perceptiononline.com.

About NAPFA

Since 1983, The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) has provided Fee-Only financial planners across the country with some of the strictest guidelines possible for professional competency, comprehensive financial planning, and Fee-Only compensation. With more than 2,100 members across the country, NAPFA has become the leading professional association in the United States dedicated to the advancement of Fee-Only financial planning.

For more information on NAPFA, please visit www.napfa.org.

5 Fiduciary Principles

Your financial advisor is fiduciary if they:

- Put the client's best interest first

- Act with due care and utmost good faith

- Do not mislead clients; provide clear and conspicuous, full and fair disclosure of all material facts

- Avoid conflicts of interest

- Disclose and fairly manage any remaining material conflicts in the client's favor

What is a Fiduciary and Why Should You Care?

Questions to ask yourself. . .

- How important is it that your financial advisor have a fiduciary responsibility to put your interests first?

- Is the "advice" I'm receiving incidental to the purchase or sale of a security?

- Are you looking for financial advice or just a recommendation on what investment to buy right now?

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