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commentary
Another Executive Order
W
offer advice that helps you or himself?
riting in Forbes magazine,
What should you expect?
Nathan Vardi puts it this way:
If the professional is a fiduciary, he or
“A separate executive order
she must offer advice that benefits you.
seeks to halt implementation of a regula-
Your dentist should tell you how to take
tion that forces fiduciary responsibilities
good care of your oral health, not
on financial advisers, forcing
suggest treatments that improve
them to always act in the best
her bottom line. Your dentist
interests of their clients. The
should not tell you to have a root
financial services industry has
canal done on a healthy tooth,
long argued that the fiduciary
even if she needs to pay for her
rule makes no sense because it
new boat.
limits options for investors and
In American law, a salesclerk in
retirement savers.”
a clothing store has no fiduciary
New rules, set to go into effect
Louis Finkelman responsibility. The salesclerk might
in April would require financial
try to sell you whatever gets him
advisers to act as fiduciaries.
the best commission. When you
President Donald Trump issued
buy your next suit, you might be a
an executive order demanding
that the new administration find ways to
little watchful. Even so, an honest sales-
clerk might tell you that the less expensive
keep these rules from going into effect.
sweater looks better on you and should
This mysterious jargon requires a word
last just as long.
of explanation. After the word of explana-
What about a financial adviser? If you
tion, the executive order has no mystery
ask someone in the financial services
at all.
industry to help you save for retirement,
When you go to a professional for
should the adviser act more like a dishon-
advice or help, should the professional
est salesclerk or more like a professional
adviser?
The about-to-get-strangled regulations
say that a financial adviser should give you
advice that best helps you save for your
retirement. The new executive order gives
the go-ahead for financial advisers to tell
you what works best for their retirement.
Your adviser can urge you to put your
hard-earned savings in an instrument that
gives the richest return — for him.
Does making a financial adviser a
fiduciary “limit options for investors and
retirement savers?” Yes. It forces them to
consider only investments designed to
work for us, instead of giving us the free-
dom to choose investments designed to
work better for our brokers.
Jewish law has something to say about
fiduciary responsibility. According to
Jewish law, even a seller must disclose —
not conceal — defects in merchandise
(Mishnah Bava Metsiah 4:12).
Maimonides formulates the rule suc-
cinctly: “It is forbidden to deceive people
in buying and selling, or to mislead people;
whether non-Jews or Jews are equal in this
matter. If he knows of a defect in what he
sells, he must inform the buyer. Even to
mislead people verbally [without making
any transaction] is forbidden.” (Laws of
Sales 18:1).
Jewish law forbids giving anyone inap-
propriate or self-interested advice. The
Torah commandment, “do not place
a stumbling block before the blind”
(Leviticus 19:14), according to Rashi,
means “do not give inappropriate advice
to someone who is blind about a matter.”
Even if the person just asks you. Even
if the person has not hired you for your
advice.
Of course, a financial adviser should
look out for the client’s best interests. But
if this executive order is implemented,
that might not always be the case. •
Louis Finkelman, a contributing writer to the
JN, teaches literature and writing at Lawrence
Technological University in Southfield and serves
as half of the rabbinic team at Congre gation Or
Chadash in Oak Park.
letters
Where Was ADL?
Regarding “ADL Voices Concern About
Trump’s Answers On Anti-Semitism”
(Feb. 23, page 26), the Jewish News
spreading the ADL slander that President
Trump is anti-Semitic feeds the divisive-
ness.
Initially, the “shouting down of a
reporter” was immediately corrected by
the reporter himself the same day cat-
egorically saying that “Trump has done
an unprecedented amount of outreach
within the Orthodox Jewish community.
It is very unfair what’s been done to him,
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so I understand why he’s so defensive.
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raged about him being charged with this
anti-Semitism.”
The president has condemned the
overturning of headstones, saying, “The
anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish
community and community centers are
horrible and are painful and a very sad
reminder of the work that still must be
done to root out hate and prejudice and
evil.”
Did the ADL commend Mike Pence
rolling up his sleeves when he toured a
vandalized cemetery, helped repair some
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headstones and said, “We condemn this
vile act of vandalism and those who
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Did the ADL praise President Trump
for his welcome to the prime minister of
Israel?
Did the ADL praise both the president
and vice president for their very pro-
Israel speeches?
Where was the ADL when Clinton’s VP
choice endorsed and was endorsed by J
Street?
Where was the ADL whe n the Clintons
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Where is the ADL fighting the anti-
Semitism on college campuses?
Where is the ADL condemning the
DNC for even considering Keith Ellison
running for chair and then giving him
vice chair when he lost!
The ADL has decided that their dona-
tion channels will flow better from the
Trump haters because they have dried up
from the objective thinkers who embrace
America’s, Israel’s and the Jewish people’s
security.
Ed Kohl
West Bloomfield
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March 9 • 2017
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