By now I’m sure many of you have heard about the new rule proposed by the Department of Labor (DOL) that will require advisers to put their clients’ best interests before their own, also known as the “fiduciary rule.”

Does this mean the financial professional currently handling your retirement funds didn’t always have your best interests at heart? Well, maybe. As Larry Stein explained in an AAII Journal article, “Why Your Financial Adviser Should be a Fiduciary”: “Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) firms are generally regulated by the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act) and relevant state statutes, which stipulate that investment advisers must act in the best interests of their clients. The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the Advisers Act as binding investment advisers to a fiduciary duty.” This means that there are some fiduciary standards currently in place. The issue, as Stein mentions, are the “dual registered advisers” who wear many hats, allowing them to switch between fiduciary and suitability standards.

The new regulation will only affect financial professionals offering investment advice for retirement accounts, including 401(k)s and IRAs. It is designed to ensure that brokers put retirement savers’ funds in appropriate investments. Currently, brokerage firms such as Vanguard, Fidelity and Merrill Lynch are held to the less-stringent “suitability” standard, which means that they could recommend things that were technically beneficial to the client, but not necessarily in the clients’ best interest. This loophole is important to brokers because they derive significant income from sales commissions on various financial products.

If your adviser is a certified financial planner (CFP) or has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, he or she already adheres to the fiduciary standard.

Personally, I’m wondering when they will implement such a rule for car salesman (haha).

Either way, it’s important to protect yourself. I’ve always learned that the best offense is a good defense. Stay on top of your finances: If your risk tolerance is low and your financial adviser puts your money into a risky growth stock, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Monitoring your holdings, continually learning and having a toolbox of products and services to help you along your financial journey are essential components to protecting your financial health. Which is why I’m happy to introduce two tools to help you along the way: Stock Rover and MyPlanIQ (if you haven’t heard of them already). MyPlanIQ is an excellent tool for individual investors looking for guidance with their retirement accounts, while Stock Rover is a powerful and comprehensive tool for individual investors looking to analyze, track and monitor stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

This month’s CI edition features articles on Stock Rover and MyPlanIQ, as well as Part 2 of Raymond Rondeau’s “Classic Technical Indicators: Introduction to a New Series.” This month, Ray talks about how technical indicators and processes can be used to an investor’s advantage.

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend!