May 20, 2010 
I enjoyed reading Jason Zweig's most recent column, "Holding Brokers To a Higher Standard,” in The Wall Street Journal, and I think you will too.
Under current regulations, Registered Investment Advisor firms like Posey Capital are subject to the fiduciary standard, which means we must put clients' highest interests before our own, and we must tell you about any conflicts of interest we may have. In contrast, most brokers and insurance agents are only subject to the suitability standard. If two equally "suitable" products are available and one earns the broker a higher commission (read: may cost you more), he or she can recommend the costlier product ... and then keep mum about the conflict of interest. Really.
Currently under hot discussion in Congress is whether all financial intermediaries -- advisors, brokers and agents alike -- should be subject to the same standards. However the debate is resolved, Posey Capital will continue to consider our clients' highest interests first. We intentionally accept no commissions for any solutions we recommend -- that's $0.00. I think it's a lot easier to simply not have any conflicts of interest than to worry about disclosing them. It's my legal obligation, but it also just makes good sense. As one individual commenting on the WSJ article observed, "It really is too simple to be this complicated."
