The abuse of the elderly is of growing concern in the national consciousness due to the unprecedented number of retirees society is now absorbing. As as result, new rules are being proposed that will require investment firms to put in place protections to prevent fraud and other abuse of older clients. However, many in the industry are skeptical of the changes citing privacy concerns as many of the proposed regulations require client records to be handed over to government entities. As of now, the new rules are purely prospective in nature but due to the growing problem of elder financial abuse it is likely action will be taken by federal and state governments. What form any new regulation will take only the future will tell for sure.
See Dan Jamieson, Elder Abuse Rules In The Works For Investment Industry, Financial Advisor, November 12, 2015.
Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.
