Bob Clark
My friend Ron Roge, a veteran independent advisor in Bohemia, N.Y., sent an e-mail in response to my last blog on FINRA’s proposal to test RIAs. He raises an issue that’s well worth exploring. (Perhaps especially now that FSI, the independent broker-dealer organization, has officially endorsed the notion of FINRA serving as the SRO for investment advisors.) Here’s what Ron suggested:
Since we already have testing, it’s called the CFP exam, let’s not reinvent the wheel. This exam will separate the salesmen from the advisors. Those who can’t pass the CFP exam become brokers, who can only transact, not advise. They will continue to be regulated by FINRA. Those who can pass the CFP exam become advisors, who are regulated by SEC and the CFP Board of Standards.
