FPA: Defeat of Exemption Rule 'Priceless'

"Priceless," is how Financial Planning Association (FPA) Chairman Dan Moisand characterized the association's federal appeals court victory today, forcing the Securities and Exchange Commission to rescind it’s so-called “Merrill Lynch” rule.While Moisand and other FPA executives declined during their press conference to disclose the actual tab for their four-year legal bill, sources put the final costs in the $100,000 range for the 29,000 member association. “It was easily absorbed in our budget, “ says Moisand. “Even if we had lost, it would have been a victory, because it gave us a platform to talk about what responsibilities those in the professional community have to clients. A real financial planner is willing to put clients’ interests first. We don’t see it any other way.”Indeed the $100,000 may be a bargain considering how wide-ranging the impact of the FPA’s victory might be. For starters, FPA executives say, the appeals court’s decision forces the broker-dealer to stop selling fee-based accounts and advice without having to register as advisors. Brokers have sold an estimated shopping $300 billion in fee-based accounts in the past eight-plus years under the SEC-ordered exemption. Currently, broker-dealers will only have three months to “re-paper” these accounts, Moisand said.