Fiduciary Standards Could Restore Trust

Two financial industry leaders are calling on Congress to enact concrete fiduciary standards to help restore investors' trust in Wall Street and the capital markets.

Vanguard Group Founder John Bogle and Fiduciary360 President and CEO Blaine Aikin said the deficit of public trust is a massive, growing barrier to market recovery.

"A fiduciary standard is critical to restoring trust in capital markets and intermediaries," Aikin said Friday at a compliance summit in Washington. "Restoring that trust is the only way to truly stabilize the markets and sustain a viable and long-lasting recovery."

The two men cited a recent Harris Poll that found 71% of Americans believe people on Wall Street "would be willing to break the law if they believed they could make a lot of money and get away with it." In a similar poll, 71% of Americans gave the Securities and Exchange Commission negative ratings.

Bogle said investors need to be able to recognize the difference between a salesman and an adviser.

"Surely it should be clear to clients whether they are relying on a trained investment professional paid solely through fully disclosed fees, or a sales rep who sells the products and services of the company he represents, whether life insurance, annuities, mutual funds or anything else," he said.