Do you want to tell the Department of Labor you’re against its fiduciary proposal? Some words bear repeating.
In the case of SIFMA, that word is “access.” In the organization’s 264-page letter to the DOL, it uses the word 72 times.
It says the fiduciary rule would deny small investors “access” to advice.
“This change would lead to decreased access to one-on-one financial guidance.”
It “would result in fewer Americans having access to the help and guidance they need.”
It “risks reducing many investors' access.”
A related word, “choice” appears 24 times in the letter.
“If I had a nickel for every time [SIFMA General Counsel] Ira Hammerman used the word ‘choice’ in a debate with me, I’d be rich,” said rule proponent Knut Rostad, president of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard.
By contrast, if Rostad had a nickel for the number of times SIFMA used the phrase “investor protection” in its comment, he could have bought five pennies.
In Washington, where repetition is often viewed as the lifeblood of persuasion, buzzwords drone on incessantly.