After hearing arguments from both sides this week, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is mulling over whether the state secretary has the power to enforce fiduciary duties on broker-dealers, including plaintiff Robinhood Financial.
Under the Massachusetts Uniform Securities Act, G. L. c. 110A, the secretary of the commonwealth can provide statutory protections to consumers and investors that are not available to them at common law. As such, the Massachusetts securities regulator, William Galvin, implemented a regulation known as the “fiduciary duty rule,” under which a broker-dealer or its agents would assume certain fiduciary duties, including when providing recommendations and advice to retail investors.
