Is the SEC about to pull an end run around the fiduciary standard?

Those in the know in the financial field know who Ron Rhoades is. They also know that when he speaks, people generally listen. So it’s not surprising that his blunt comments in a recent article (see “Wall Street’s Whipping Boy and a World Without a Fiduciary Standard,” FiduciaryNews.com, January 14, 2014) reverberated throughout the rather narrow walls of financial services community.

What makes the comments even more interesting is that within days of their receipt, the SEC issued its examination priorities. Due to publication time tables, it appears the SEC statement came out before Rhoades’ comments, but, trust me, as the one conducting the interview, I’m intimately familiar with the actual time table. I received Rhoades’ email well in advance of the SEC announcement.