Tr?id=566623520170033&ev=PageView&noscript=1

SEC Releases Final Reg BI Staff Bulletin Addressing Duty of Care

Posted on April 27th, 2023 at 1:45 PM
SEC Releases Final Reg BI Staff Bulletin Addressing Duty of Care

From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law 

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently published a final staff bulletin on Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI), this time highlighting the “duty of care”, with the goal of definitively outlining financial advisors’ ethical responsibilities. 

The guidance, which is not a new regulation, follows two previous Reg BI staff bulletins on account recommendations and managing conflicts of interest. According to the bulletin, financial advisors have a duty to fully understand the “potential risks, rewards, and costs associated with a product, investment strategy, account type or series of transactions.” Specifically, understanding an investment involves evaluating its objectives, costs, characteristics, risk, expected returns, and potential losses. Financial advisors also are required to have “a reasonable understanding of the specific retail investor’s investment profile, which generally includes the retail investor’s financial situation (including current income) and needs; investments; assets and debts; marital status; tax status; age; investment time horizon; liquidity needs; risk tolerance; and any other information the retail investor may disclose”, according to the SEC.

Finally, adhering to Reg BI’s duty of care requires financial advisors to record a list of “reasonably available alternatives” to recommended investments. While financial advisors will not be responsible for considering every conceivable option, the breadth of alternatives “will depend on the facts and circumstances, including but not limited to the nature of the firm’s business, the retail investor’s investment profile, the scope of its relationships with its customers and clients and the reasonable availability of alternative investments or investment strategies”, the SEC noted.

 

Eccleston Law LLC represents financial advisors and investors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory and disciplinary matters.

 

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next
Quotes Bigger

You are the best attorneys in the country.

CC

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

1774367895 Law
March 24, 2026
Former Morgan Stanley Advisor Convicted in $5 Million Fraud Scheme Involving NBA Players

A federal jury convicted former Morgan Stanley advisor Darryl Cohen for orchestrating a fraud scheme that targeted three professional basketball players and resulted in losses totaling approximately $5 million, according to Wealth Management.

1774288690 Law
March 23, 2026
FINRA Charges Sutter Securities and Former CEO in Excessive Trading Case Involving Elderly Client

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has filed an enforcement complaint against Sutter Securities Inc.

1774034084 Law
March 20, 2026
McKinsey Forecasts Sweeping Changes for Wealth Management Over the Next Decade

The U.S.