Using the fourth anniversary of the passage of the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform act as a catalyst, the Financial Planning Coalition today renewed its demand for a strict fiduciary standard for broker-dealers.

The coalition issued a statement that urged the SEC and the Senate to break through the political logjam that has stymied fiduciary standard supporters for years in their quest to apply a standard to broker-dealers that is as strict as the one that applies to investment advisors.

The coalition is made up of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, the Financial Planning Association and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors.

“The Dodd-Frank act was born out of the financial crisis, and one of its central goals was to protect American consumers against the excesses of the financial services industry," the coalition stated. "Yet, four years after Dodd-Frank’s passage, the SEC has neither proposed nor adopted a uniform fiduciary standard—a fundamental and much-needed protection for American consumers who rely upon broker dealers for financial advice and information."

The coalition also asked the Senate to reject a recent budget amendment in the House that prohibits the SEC from using its funding to adopt a fiduciary standard.

“The Financial Planning Coalition urges the Senate to reject this anti-investor amendment, which guts an important part of Dodd-Frank, and renews its call for the SEC to protect investors by adopting a uniform fiduciary standard for broker-dealers that is no less stringent than the existing standard for investment advisors. Such a requirement is long overdue,” the statement concludes.

The Financial Planning Coalition says its research shows U.S. consumers want the federal government to play an active role in protecting investors, including through the adoption of a fiduciary standard.