We work with the clients of the most vigilant financial professionals in the country to provide life insurance services under the rare and rigorous
fiduciary standard of care.
Most other companies have backed away from that completely to make compliance with the
new fiduciary standard easier to understand.
Meanwhile, self - styled «investor advocates» campaign for a
stricter fiduciary standard to apply even to advisors servicing smaller accounts.
A
universal fiduciary standard, combined with full and fair disclosure, will help consumers make truly informed decisions about how best to manage their retirement investments.
Tax - aware planning and investing is an area where advisors can distinguish themselves from the competition and
demonstrate fiduciary standards of expertise and putting their clients first.
Adoption of a
uniform fiduciary standard will bring substantial practical benefits and additional investor protections for consumers of all incomes.
It remains entirely unclear whether the review that will occur in this two - month window will result in the actual elimination of the
new fiduciary standard.
Then there's the current dispute regarding the Department of Labor's push
for fiduciary standards for advisors servicing smaller 401 (k) accounts.
«I try to discuss concepts that may influence the debate
on fiduciary standards and how financial planners should be regulated.
D outlines responsible and sustainable investing principles to embody Jesuit and Catholic traditions, abide
by fiduciary standards applicable to institutional funds, and integrate ESG factors.
The Department of Labor's
fiduciary standard rule for advisors who serve up retirement - plan advice is here, all right.
We are currently six months away from the new
DOL fiduciary standard taking full effect, which means many firms are looking for ways to incorporate financial planning into their existing practices.
Dodd - Frank authorizes the SEC to establish a uniform
fiduciary standard which «shall be no less stringent than the standard applicable to investment advisers,» the Institute wrote in the comment letter.
The new rule would require brokers handling retirement accounts to put the interest of their clients ahead of their own, a so -
called fiduciary standard long required of lawyers, doctors and some financial professionals like registered investment advisers.
The new Department of
Labor fiduciary standard represents «the most dramatic regulatory change in a number of decades, suffice to say,» explained Scott Curtis, head of Raymond James» independent advisor channel, in an interview on Tuesday.
Reading more of the ICI findings, it is fairly apparent why the rule seeks to over-regulate annuity advisors who are subject to the rules - based and highly regulated suitability standard while under - regulating fee - only advisors by holding them to a subjective, principles
based fiduciary standard: to pander to the employer - sponsored plan providers and keep money from rolling over.
Dale Brown, FSI's president and CEO, stated on the call that FSI, as well as the other groups joining the suit, «has supported a uniform
fiduciary standard since 2009 — before Dodd - Frank became law... but the Department of Labor's complex and unworkable rule will only harm the smaller investors it claims to protect.»
I fear that if the commissioned salesperson must [only] disclose that they're getting a commission, it will be a form of «
fiduciary standard lite» and buried in some other disclosure.
They could take the DOL's approach, and hold all those who provide advice to a true
fiduciary standard backed by real restrictions on conflicts of interest.
The current NAPFA
fiduciary standard limits adviser activity to the «purchase or sale of a financial product» rather than «any transaction.»
The Coalition also argued that «the experiences of its professionals and their clients show that a broadly
applicable fiduciary standard represents a win - win for both industry and the public,» and that «the current regulatory framework... fails to align advisors» interests with investors» by leaving open significant loopholes that allow for the sale of a financial product that may not be in the best interests of the investor.»
This is also a critical moment for those who desire a true profession for investment and financial advisors, bound together under a bona
fide fiduciary standard of conduct.
There are two potential rule makings
around fiduciary standard of care: the SEC, under Section 913 of the Dodd - Frank Act, and the Department of Labor, under ERISA.
In keeping with my call for uniform disclosure, I urge the adoption of a
single Fiduciary Standard for all FSPs (Financial Services Professionals).
Only Registered Investment Advisors (RIA), who are governed by the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, are held to a
true fiduciary standard.
SEC Chair Mary Jo White's recent statement that the SEC should proceed with rule - making on a uniform
fiduciary standard focuses attention on what such a rule may entail.
The new
fiduciary standard mandated by the Department of Labor prohibits advisors from making recommendations that will cause compensation for their services to be more than «reasonable.»
RIAs, which already operate under
similar fiduciary standards, stand to gain significant market share as many are already equipped to comply with the new rule.
Given the expectation that many established forms of compensation that are so central to the brokerage business model appear likely to be allowed under the rules, Roper questions the contention of industry groups that they really are willing to accept a best -
interest fiduciary standard for advice under ERISA.
While the SEC considers whether to extend a fiduciary duty to all advice givers, and the Department of Labor forges ahead on its revised definition of fiduciary, HighTower has moved ahead on its own, wrapping a strict
fiduciary standard into a business model that meets client needs while giving top Wall Street brokers an innovative home from which to serve those clients and grow their individual businesses.
If we can have a standard that accomplishes all of those and also accomplishes the public policy goal of having a
unified fiduciary standard, then that is a win - win.
The Department of Labor's
proposed fiduciary standard rule is likely to leave everyone at least a little unhappy, which often is the mark of a successful regulation in Washington, D.C..
Changes in the cost structure associated with providing retirement advice is widely expected to push more middle - market clients into the self - directed IRA market because the new
fiduciary standards generally do not apply to these accounts.
The vote to divest from companies such as Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co. followed a request by the TRS Board of Trustees for an evaluation of the system's investment in the firearms industry, which concluded the move to divest would be consistent with
TRS fiduciary standards and investment process.
Mr. Armstrong has served a number of times as an Expert Witness in arbitrations, mediations and Federal lawsuits
involving fiduciary standards, suitability, asset allocation, risk control, portfolio construction, sustainable withdrawal rates, and market returns.