A recent study on U.S. investment advisory firms is out and it is a shocker. Collectively, such firms manage nearly $50 trillion in assets. The majority of them (54%) have significant regulatory violations or conflicts of interest that should give pause to prudent investors. (“An Ethics Test Your Adviser Might Not Pass ? New research suggests most assets are managed by firms with regulatory violations or conflicts of interest,” by Charles Passy, Smartmoney.com).