401(k) FIDUCIARY FILE Workers Want Fiduciary Advisors, Don't Know What They Are WHILE THE FATE OF the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule wreaks 401(k) industry havoc, workers want it (or at least its intent)-badly. A new survey from Financial Engines, the mega RIA robo provider founded by Nobel laureate Bill Sharpe, finds a whopping 93 percent of Americans think financial advisors who provide retirement advice should be legally required to put their clients' best interest first. However, more than half of respondents (53 percent) mistakenly believe that all financial advisors are already legally required to put the best interests of their clients first. Compared to a similar survey last year, Americans have a slightly better understanding of the difference between a financial advisor who is a " fiduciary " and one who is not (21 percent understand the difference today, compared to 18 percent a year ago). However, many Americans still don't know how to tell if an advisor is a fiduciary. Only 50 percent of investors who work with a financial advisor are certain that their advisor is a fiduciary, while 38 percent don't know if their advisor is a fiduciary or not. Talk About a Snow Job BROKER-DEALER BIGWIG Raymond James Financial will pay $150 million to investors in New England ski resort Jay Peak in order to settle class action claims that it failed in its fiduciary duty. The case focused on a former Raymond James registered rep accused of aiding in a Ponzi scheme relating to an alleged fraudulent EB-5 investment program created in 2007. EB-5 is a U.S. government visa program through which foreign investors and their immediate families can obtain permanent residency green cards by making a capital investment in a U.S. business. Raymond James notes that it did not act as placement agent or in any other capacity for the program and none of the investors in the program purchased their investments through Raymond James. The Raymond James financial advisor is no longer employed by the firm. 10 ISSUE 2 2017 | 401kSpecialist.com ONLINE EXTRAhttp://www.401kSpecialist.com