The government's recent civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs in a derivatives sale, and the high-profile hearings by a Senate panel on that case, gave the measure a second life. The new amendment mirrors a provision in a financial reform bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in late 2009. Both would empower the SEC to write rules to apply the fiduciary standard to brokers.
"Even though the (Goldman) question wasn't quite on point, the hearings changed the tone in Washington," says Robert Glovsky, chairman of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.
Still, Naifa isn't backing down. It wants the provision calling for more study to remain in the bill
"What's changed is the environment in which this amendment is being debated," says Barbara Roper, director of investor protection for the Consumer Federation of America. "What hasn't is the adamant opposition from the insurance industry."
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