This article investigates to which extent Belgian law protects the private investor in situations where the multifunctional financial institution is confronted with a conflict of interest. Both contract law and the relevant financial regulation are examined. As a conclusion, the author suggests that the present regulatory approach does not provide an effective, nor an efficient answer. As the essence of the problem is the absence of effective market forces controlling the arbitrage between conflicting interests within the financial institution, a solution should be designed to increase transparency, allowing effective competition to minimize problems.