With all of the current chaos being created in Washington DC by the Trump regime it is of special note that one of the casualties of his onslaught is the severe reduction and possible elimination of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Apart from all the other actions that we can affect the structure and therefore the strength of our federal government this particular agency has far reaching impact over the vast majority of our population. All banks, all savings institutions, all other investor groups are monitored and regulated through the CFPB. This situation should be alarming to everyone because under the changes brought on by Trump no one is currently monitoring the people who invest your life savings. This means that unscrupulous individuals may find ways to take your life savings and work those dollars to their advantage. At the very least it means that investments can be used as weapons or in the hands of greedy individuals can be used to enhance the already rich (think “Trump’s billionaires friends”) in this country. Another slightly overlooked rule is what’s called “the fiduciary rule”. Under this rule, promulgated by the Biden administration, investor advisors must recommend investments to to their clients that will benefit them exclusively. In other words, an advisor under this rule could not recommend an investment that would earn the advisor commissions instead of the proper investment for the individual he or she is working with. The fiduciary rule requires advisors to put their clients first. Trump has revoked the fiduciary rule–meaning that advisors are under no obligation now to advise you in a fashion that puts your interests first. They can sell you annuities for example that generate 20% commissions for them without any regard for the fact that annuities are not your best choice of an investment. The loss of the CFPB and the fiduciary rule engineered by a real estate developer who survives on deficit spending should be incredibly scary to all of us. The gates are open now to any form of abuse without any legal recourse by any individual. As employee pension benefit programs evolve to savings plans as the norm, putting all these funds in an exposed position with no recourse for thievery among investment advisors becomes totally irrational. If you have savings we advise you to monitor those savings very very closely. Be sure your advisor has your best interest as their priority. If you suspect problems, investigate. Make sure you are not being scammed. The Trump regime is opening the door to all forms of fraud.
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