President Obama speaking in the Rose Garden on Aug. 2, following the Senate's passing of the debt ceiling bill. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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from The Advisor's Professional Library- Client Commission Practices and Soft Dollars RIAs should always evaluate whether the products and services they receive from broker-dealers are appropriate. The SEC suggested that an RIA’s failure to stay within the scope of the Section 28(e) safe harbor may violate the advisor’s fiduciary duty to clients, so RIAs must evaluate their soft dollar relationships on a regular basis to ensure they are disclosed properly and that they do not negatively impact the best execution of clients’ transactions.
- Scope of the Fiduciary Duty Owed by Investment Advisors A fiduciary obligation goes beyond the suitability standard typically owed by registered representatives of broker-dealer firms to clients. The relationship is built on the premise that the advisor will always do the right thing for the person or entity receiving advice.
MapLight, which tracks donations to politicians, released on Friday an analysis of campaign contributions to the 12 members of Congress appointed to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. The list of contributors includes such heavy hitters as J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs.
The members of the so-called “Super Committee” are Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), and Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Reps. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Dave Camp (R-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), and Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.).
The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, which was part of the debt ceiling deal reached by President Barack Obama and Republican leaders, is charged with developing legislation that provides $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction by Thanksgiving. The bipartisan, bicameral committee comprises 12 members—six from each Chamber and equally divided between Democrats and Republicans.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who was first out of the gate in announcing his picks for the committee, said that the committee had been given “broad leeway” to examine all areas for deficit reduction, and that the committee’s legislation would be given “expedited consideration, with a guaranteed up-or-down vote in the Senate before Christmas.”
MapLight's site provides users with the ability to click on each member of the Joint Select Committee to see where each member's donations have come from.
Here is the composite donations list ("Securities and Investment" firms include brokerage firms of all kinds, investment banking firms, VC firms, and so on)
Top 10 Industry Contributors to Super Committee Members
|
Industry |
Totals |
|
Lawyers/Law Firms |
$31,529,149 |
|
Securities & Investment |
$11,221,416 |
|
Democratic/Liberal |
$9,647,264 |
|
Health Professionals |
$9,321,588 |
|
Real Estate |
$8,793,350 |
|
Education |
$8,568,460 |
|
Misc. Business |
$7,902,021 |
|
Business Services |
$6,563,524 |
|
Women's Issues |
$6,396,728 |
|
Insurance |
$5,693,595 |
Top 10 Organization Contributors (PACs and Employees) to Super Committee Members
|
Organizations |
Totals |
|
Club for Growth |
$1,008,884 |
|
Microsoft Corp. |
$810,100 |
|
University of California |
$629,495 |
|
Goldman Sachs |
$592,684 |
|
EMILY's List |
$594,883 |
|
Citigroup Inc. |
$561,081 |
|
JPMorgan Chase & Co. |
$494,316 |
|
Bank of America |
$349,566 |
|
Skadden, Arps |
$347,356 |
|
General Electric |
$340,935 |
Methodology: MapLight analysis of campaign contributions from Jan. 1, 2001 - Dec. 31, 2010 to the 12 members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. Campaign contributions and industry classifications established by the Center for Responsive Politics (OpenSecrets.org).
