Wall Street Fights Like Mad Against Putting Customers First

I think this story tells you all you need to know about the American financial services industry:

Brokers are not necessarily required to act in their customers’ best interest, even if they are advising on their retirement money. While that would seem to be a basic consumer protection, in Washington and on Wall Street it has proved to be wildly contentious.

Amid fierce pushback from the financial services industry, the Labor Department, which oversees retirement plans, recently delayed releasing a revised proposal that would require a broader group of professionals to put their clients’ interest ahead of their own when dealing with their retirement accounts. . . . .

“They have really been stymied by the financial industry, which is spending millions of dollars to fight this rule,” said Karen Friedman, executive vice president and policy director at the Pension Rights Center, a nonprofit consumer group.

And there you have it. Wall Street is opposing this rule because having to care about customers would impede their whole "get rich by screwing everyone else" business strategy.