Collins looks to create fiduciary duty in financial reform bill

“His language is very broad and appears to sweep in more people than I would like,” she said. 

Collins seeks to create a fiduciary duty for broker/dealers that sell product to green as well as sophisticated investors. 

“I think the obligation will apply to both institutional and retail investors,” she said.  

Institutional investors in her state recently encountered a financial crisis based on the advice of a broker/dealer. 

“The state of Maine made a very bad investment in the last 2 years on the advice of a Merrill Lynch,” she said. “It was clear that the state did not have the sophistication to evaluate the investment and so I don’t think you can assume that because it is an institutional investor it necessarily means that the investor is sophisticated.”