By Clare Baldwin, Joe Giannone and Jonathan Spicer
NEW YORK, April 14 (Reuters) - U.S. financial reform legislation may not be aimed at the real causes of the financial crisis and may unintentionally hurt mainstream investors, TD Ameritrade Holding Co Chief Executive Fred Tomczyk said on Wednesday.
A proposed a tax on Wall Street trading and a debate over whether to require all financial advisers to abide by the same fiduciary standard might be missing their mark, Tomczyk told reporters at a brokerage industry conference.
Tomczyk said the proposed tax could unintentionally hurt mainstream investors.
'The person who designed it or proposed it is really targeting Wall Street. It's an anti-Wall Street bill. But the reality is the relative impact is more severe on the online brokerage and the average investor,' he said.
'That tax will be a multiple of what we charge them to trade,' Tomczyk explained. 'That's not at the root cause of the crisis, so why are you doing it?'
Two years after financial markets nearly collapsed after years of recklessness, financial reform is a key issue for the Obama administration and congressional Democrats battling Republicans over imposing tougher rules on banks and capital markets.
President Barack Obama met with Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle on Wednesday Both sides said they believed a deal could be reached but did not provide a timetable.
Tomczyk also sounded a cautionary note about proposed legislation aimed at assigning all financial advisers the same level of accountability to their clients.
Currently, financial advisers must operate under a fiduciary standard which requires them to select the best investments and products for their clients. Most brokers are required only to select investments and products that are suitable, but not necessarily the best.
'It's hard for me to comprehend that this is at the root cause of the crisis,' said Tomczyk. He said that if there is a move to a single standard it should be to the higher fiduciary standard, but it might also make sense to let broker dealers operate under different rules.
The debate is especially tricky for Ameritrade, an online brokerage with a largely self-directed clientele.
'What does it mean to be a fiduciary when all you're doing is making the products available and people are buying them? What does that mean?' he said. 'Does that mean we're responsible for their own actions?'
The new rules could reduce choice and increase costs, he said.
(Reporting by Clare Baldwin, Joe Giannone and Jonathan Spicer, editing by Matthew Lewis) Keywords: TDAMERITRADE/REGULATION (clare.baldwin@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 646 223 6189; Reuters Messaging: clare.baldwin.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
NEW YORK, April 14 (Reuters) - U.S. financial reform legislation may not be aimed at the real causes of the financial crisis and may unintentionally hurt mainstream investors, TD Ameritrade Holding Co Chief Executive Fred Tomczyk said on Wednesday.
A proposed a tax on Wall Street trading and a debate over whether to require all financial advisers to abide by the same fiduciary standard might be missing their mark, Tomczyk told reporters at a brokerage industry conference.
Tomczyk said the proposed tax could unintentionally hurt mainstream investors.
'The person who designed it or proposed it is really targeting Wall Street. It's an anti-Wall Street bill. But the reality is the relative impact is more severe on the online brokerage and the average investor,' he said.
'That tax will be a multiple of what we charge them to trade,' Tomczyk explained. 'That's not at the root cause of the crisis, so why are you doing it?'
Two years after financial markets nearly collapsed after years of recklessness, financial reform is a key issue for the Obama administration and congressional Democrats battling Republicans over imposing tougher rules on banks and capital markets.
President Barack Obama met with Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle on Wednesday Both sides said they believed a deal could be reached but did not provide a timetable.
Tomczyk also sounded a cautionary note about proposed legislation aimed at assigning all financial advisers the same level of accountability to their clients.
Currently, financial advisers must operate under a fiduciary standard which requires them to select the best investments and products for their clients. Most brokers are required only to select investments and products that are suitable, but not necessarily the best.
'It's hard for me to comprehend that this is at the root cause of the crisis,' said Tomczyk. He said that if there is a move to a single standard it should be to the higher fiduciary standard, but it might also make sense to let broker dealers operate under different rules.
The debate is especially tricky for Ameritrade, an online brokerage with a largely self-directed clientele.
'What does it mean to be a fiduciary when all you're doing is making the products available and people are buying them? What does that mean?' he said. 'Does that mean we're responsible for their own actions?'
The new rules could reduce choice and increase costs, he said.
(Reporting by Clare Baldwin, Joe Giannone and Jonathan Spicer, editing by Matthew Lewis) Keywords: TDAMERITRADE/REGULATION (clare.baldwin@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 646 223 6189; Reuters Messaging: clare.baldwin.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.