[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 50 (Tuesday, April 1, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S2297]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KOHL (for himself and Mr. Vitter):
  S. 2794. A bill to protect older Americans from misleading and 
fraudulent marketing practices, with the goal of increasing retirement 
security; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, many of America's seniors are discovering 
that their life savings may not be enough to sufficiently provide for 
their retirement needs. To bridge the gap, some seniors are turning to 
investments to increase their retirement income and frequently rely on 
financial advisors to help them invest wisely. Unfortunately, we have 
learned that seniors are placing their trust in so-called ``senior 
investment advisors'' who in many cases may not deserve it. More and 
more, individuals are representing themselves as certified ``senior 
investment specialists'' when often they have limited or no education 
and experience in extremely complicated financial matters. It is 
estimated that there are hundreds of different designations for senior 
financial advisors that all sound very official, and that there are 
thousands of unscrupulous individuals marketing themselves out as such 
``senior'' specialists.
  You would be surprised to know that in order to obtain some of them, 
all it takes is a weekend and as many cracks at an open-book, multiple-
choice exam as is needed? It is almost impossible for seniors to tell 
the difference between the more legitimate titles and those with less 
rigorous standards.
  Today, Senator Vitter and I are introducing the Senior Investor 
Protection Act of 2008 to help ensure there are rules to separate 
reputable designations, like Certified Financial Planners, from less 
rigorous designations and clarifications that are meant to confuse and 
mislead seniors. This bill would encourage states to improve their own 
rules regulating the use of designations by encouraging them to adopt 
provisions outlined in the North American Securities Administrators 
Association's, NASAA, new model rule on the use of senior designations. 
It would create a grant to help States protect senior investors from 
unscrupulous individuals who use misleading designations to sell 
seniors inappropriate financial products.
  We know that an attorney must go to school for 3 years and pass a 
State bar exam. A CPA must have a college degree, an additional year of 
study and must pass a national exam. Neither can offer their 
professional services without those credentials. Seniors should be able 
to trust the people who invest their money. They should not be worried 
that the title after their advisor's name is scarcely more than a 
marketing ploy, and that it was not earned through sufficiently 
rigorous financial education or training.
  I strongly encourage my colleagues to cosponsor this measure.

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