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

If you are being bothered by the Regulators, call Eccleston Law, you won't regret it.

Rick R.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

December 16, 2025
Reminders for CFAs in Adhering to Compliance Standard, Client-Disclosure and Conflict Management Requirements

In 2023, the CFA Institute Board of Governors approved targeted revisions to the Standards of Professional Conduct, adding one new standard and updating two others.

December 15, 2025
FINRA Sanctions Former Merrill Broker for Unapproved Referral Payouts

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a six-month suspension and a $7,500 fine against former Merrill Lynch broker Jeremiah Householder after finding that he accepted referral commissions from an unapproved third-party lender.

December 12, 2025
SEC Charges Driver Who Posed as a Financial Professional and Lost Over $1 Million

Federal regulators charged a New York area driver with masquerading as a seasoned investment professional and causing significant losses for three investors.