The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other government agencies continue to do what is in their power to show that commission-based mutual fund advisers are not pursuing their customer’s best interests.

Unfortunately, no amount of rules-based compliance can force a company to follow the principles-based fiduciary standard.

From InvestmentNew’s article, “Ameriprise hit with enforcement action over expensive share classes” , Mark Schoeff Jr. writes:

Ameriprise is the latest financial firm to run afoul of the Securities and Exchange Commission for selling expensive mutual fund share classes to clients when more affordable options in the same fund were available.

The SEC announced Wednesday a settlement with Ameriprise in a case involving approximately 1,791 customers and at least 5,973 transactions from January 2010 through June 2015.

The SEC alleged that Ameriprise sold Class A shares with upfront sales loads or Class B or Class C shares with ongoing back-end charges instead of less expensive classes. The Ameriprise clients paid approximately $1.8 million in excess fees.

…The SEC order said Ameriprise voluntarily returned the $1.8 million to its customers, along with $190,797 in interest. In addition, Ameriprise agreed to a $230,000 fine. In the settlement, Ameriprise did not admit nor deny the charges.

Fees matter.

But what matters even more is finding a financial advisor who does more than just say he sits on your side of the table. You deserve a financial advisor who offers comprehensive financial planning advice and has reduced the conflicts of interest by avoiding the commission-based world entirely.

Consider what you might gain by switching advisors.

Photo by Geran de Klerk on Unsplash