Several of the nation’s most influential consumer and labor groups have started an online petition demanding a fiduciary obligation on financial advisors consulting with pension plans and their participants.
The petition is at SaveOurRetirement.org, which the ad-hoc coalition said it created to inform the public about why a fiduciary rule is needed. It will be presented to President Obama, Congress and the Department of Labor.
Joining in the effort are the AARP, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Americans for Financial Reform, the AFL-CIO, Better Markets, the Pension Rights Center and the Consumer Federation of America.
“All of our groups have been meeting together with the Labor Department and the public. What has been missing is active involvement by consumers. They have no idea this issue in play,” said Barbara Roper, the Consumer Federation’s director of investor protection.