[The] Dodd-Frank [Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act] gave the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the authority to extend the fiduciary standard of care to any financial professional who provides personalized investment advice to retail customers. The SEC is still working through the proposed implementation of the fiduciary standard, so to find out where things stand, I went to one of the standard's most outspoken proponents, Kevin Keller, CEO of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board).

The CFP Board is the organization that bestows the CFP® certification onto those financial planners who complete a rigorous course of study, pass a tough exam and maintain ongoing education and ethical requirements. I have been a CFP® [professional] since 1998. As Keller reminded me, "the CFP Board is first and foremost a nonprofit public interest organization, which is why it formerly adopted the fiduciary standard in May 2007." By doing so, all CFP® [professionals] are required to put the interests of their clients first. Read more >

CBS News
Jill Schlesinger
July 25, 2012