The Effect of Regulatory Regimes on the Provision of Retail Investment Advice

Abstract

Broker-dealers and investment advisers are two separate types of financial intermediaries subject to different regulatory regimes that can provide personalized investment advice about securities to investors. In this paper, I investigate whether differences between the broker-dealer regulatory regime and the investment adviser regulatory regime may be significant to retail investment advice by examining the principal transactions of investment grade municipal bonds. The results in this paper indicate that the advice retail investors receive may be dependent on the legal framework governing its provision. In particular, I find evidence of a potential relationship between the standards under which broker-dealers and investment advisers provide advice and the sale of investment grade municipal bonds to retail investors.

Keywords: Retail Investors, Broker-Dealers, Investment Advisers, Fiduciary Standard