Program for 2018 Frankel Fiduciary Prize Honoree, Harold Evensky

Program Background and Summary

On April 18, 2018 the Securities & Exchange Commission proposed two rules regarding conduct standards for brokers and advisers and an interpretation of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The Form CRS proposed rule requires disclosures for investment advisers and broker-dealers to, according to SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, clear up the confusion of Main Street investors on the "Key differences between broker-dealers and investment advisers." Regulation Best Interest (RBI), the second proposed rule, seeks to have broker-dealers "Act in the best interest of the retail customer at the time the recommendation is made." RBI, and its 408 page, 125,000 word release, is widely viewed as the more important of the proposals.

Today's topic addresses the meaning and importance of RBI. The first panel is from the perspective of financial planners. The second panel offers the perspective from law professors who are experts in fiduciary law. Together they will offer a robust view of the SEC's "best interest" proposal for brokers.

Program Speakers

Mercer Bullard, The University of Mississippi School of Law
Deborah DeMott, Duke University School of Law
Vickie Hampton, Texas Tech University
Patricia Houlihan, Houlihan Financial Resource Group
Arthur Laby, Rutgers Law School
Knut A Rostad, Institute for the Fiduciary Standard
Skip Schweiss, TD Ameritrade Institutional
Bob Veres, Inside Information

Program Outline

9:15-9:30 Registration
9:30-9:40 Vickie Hampton, Welcome
9:40-9:55 Knut Rostad, Program Introduction
10:00-10:50 Advisor Panel: Skip Schweiss (Moderator), Patricia Houlihan, Bob Veres (Remote)
10:55-11:55 Law Professor Panel: Deborah DeMott, Mercer Bullard (Remote), Arthur Laby (Remote)
12:05-1:00: Award Presentation and Lunch

 

Program Videos

Welcome and Introductions

 

Advisory Panel

 

Law Panel

 

Award Presentation

  

Speaker Biographies

Mercer Bullard is the Butler Snow Lecturer and Professor of Law at University of Mississippi School of Law, where he teaches courses on securities, banking, corporations, corporate finance, accounting, and capital structure and valuation. Over the last 15 years, Bullard has established himself as one of the most prolific and influential academics in the corporate/securities field, writing hundreds of pages of testimony on SEC enforcement practices, investor protection, mutual fund regulation, 529 plans, and pension plans.

Deborah DeMott is the David F. Cavers Professor of Law at Duke University where she focuses her scholarship and teaching on the law of agency, business organizations, fiduciary obligation, and art law. She has served as sole Reporter for the American Law Institute's Restatement (Third) of Agency, published in 2006, and has authored numerous articles in addition to a treatise on shareholder derivative actions and a casebook on Fiduciary Obligation, Agency and Partnership. Additionally, DeMott has taught at numerous institutions including LSE, University of Sydney, and others.

Vickie Hampton is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Personal Financial Planning at Texas Tech University. She has authored numerous articles on career development and related issues in the financial planning profession, determinants of success on the CFP® Certification Examination, and financial planning benchmarks for measuring financial well-being of families. She has served on the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Board of Governors, the CFP Board of Examiners and the Council on Education, the Board of Trustees for the American College, the NEFE Academic Advisory Council, the Academy of Financial Services Board, and the Louisiana State University CFP Advisory Board.

Patricia Houlihan is President and Owner of Houlihan Financial Resource Group, Ltd. She has been recognized by Investment News as a major contributor to the future of the financial service industry. Houlihan served on CFP Board of Governors from 1997 through 2001 and formerly served as 2000-2001 chair of CFP Board and 2001-2002 chair of the International CFP Council and 1997 chair of CFP Board of Practice Standards. Additionally, Houlihan is a past member of the advisory board for the Journal of Retirement Planning and the editorial board for Asia Financial Planning Journal.

Arthur Laby is Co-Director of the Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance, and a expert in securities law, the regulation of investment management, and the fiduciary relationship. His research focuses on investment management regulation, the duties of market participants, and the fiduciary obligation. Previously he served as Assistant General Counsel for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and worked in private practice. Laby teaches courses in business organizations securities regulation, the regulation of investment management, and fiduciary obligation. He is a magna cum laude graduate of BU's School of Law where he was an editor on the Law Review.

Knut A. Rostad is the President and Founder of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard. Rostad formerly served as a regulatory and compliance officer at Rembert Pendleton Jackson, an RIA in northern Virginia. He has authored dozens of articles, papers, and regulatory comment letters, is regularly cited in media national and industry outlets, and speaks frequently at industry conferences on fiduciary and compliance issues. Rostad has also edited The Man in the Arena: Vanguard Founder John C. Bogle and His Lifelong Battle to Serve Investors First.

Skip Schweiss is the President of the TD Ameritrade Trust Company and the Managing Director of Advisor Advocacy & Industry Affairs. He is responsible for the Retirement Plan Services platform of TD Ameritrade Institutional. Schweiss is a prominent voice in the financial services industry, identifying key issues of importance to advisors and their clients. Furthermore, he is widely recognized as a leading advocate supporting the fiduciary standard and the RIA model. He holds Series 7 and 24 securities licenses and is a member of the FPA.

Bob Veres has been a commentator, author, and consultant in the financial services industry for more than 20 years. He is the editor and publisher of Insider Information, an interactive subscription-based information service for financial planning professionals. Over his 20-year career in the financial services world, Veres has worked as editor of Financial Planning magazine, and as a contributing editor to the Journal of Financial Planning. He has been named one of the most influential people in the financial planning profession by Investor Advisor magazine and Financial Planning Magazine