As a local independent registered investment advisory firm - we're the good guys - my firm resides in a world dominated by Big Box Insurance and Big Box Brokerage firms.That's good because they are weak competitors. Though they have a bigger megaphone, their quality and value of services are very low compared to RIA firms like ours. That's why I started my firm - I saw the people getting poor service and saw that I could start a firm that on "day one" is near the top in services, trustworthiness, etc. Not many industries where you can be on top immediately!And my RIA firm is arguably stronger than most other RIA firms. Recently an industry looking at my firm as a potential acquisition concluded, "You're over-serving your clients." Yes, sir, guilty as charged. Yes, we do over-serve and we are very proud of that.So, it's nice to see the rest of the world - and even our own U.S. government - exposing the questionable (at best) and should be illegal (at worst) practices of the Big Box firms.This article, 12b-1 Fees/Revenue Sharing Come Under Increased Scrutiny, click here, is focusing on 401(k) retirement plans. However, the exact same issues exist in the world of individual/family investing. So when you read this article, know that a nearly identical set of issues is present for individuals and families deal with the Big Box Insurance/Brokerages.