Introduction
This article discusses the Regulation Best Interest (Regulation
BI) adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the
Commission or SEC) on June 5, 2019, culminating a multi-year
consideration of commentary, reports, rulemaking, interpretations,
and guidance and changing the landscape for how retail investors
will interact with their broker dealer financial services
providers. It also adopted new guidance that aims to clarify the
applicable standards of care of investment advisers. The new rules
standardize and implement additional disclosure obligations
required of broker-dealers when dealing with retail customers.
Simultaneously, the new guidance provides a description of
investment advisers' fiduciary duties that effectively seeks to
harmonize that existing standard with the new standards for
broker-dealers set forth in Regulation BI.
