The new Department of Labor fiduciary standard represents "the most dramatic regulatory change in a number of decades, suffice to say," explained Scott Curtis, head of Raymond James' independent advisor channel, in an interview on Tuesday.
Speaking after his speech before some 1,700 advisors and 1,400 other guests at the firm's yearly conference in Nashville, Curtis underlined comments made recently by CEO Paul Reilly.
"We know there will be increased costs of doing business, but we do not know [yet] what they will be and how they will be allocated," Curtis explained.
"We tell [our advisors] today that we will not change anything until we [first] give them some level of guidance about what we will change," he stated. "Give us time and stay engaged in the dialog. We will keep you up to date."
As part of complying with the rule before April 2017, the firm may consider a robo option, the executive says. (Rival independent broker-dealer LPL Financial announced its robo-partnership with BlackRock's FutureAdvisor two weeks ago.)
"We do not have a robo plan today," Curtis said. But the firm is looking at any and all options when it comes to complying with DOL. Thus, it is "something we have talked about and certainly would explore," if a robo plan would support compliance with the new rule.
