Regulations/Legal
The DOL said 'No' to the question: Can advisors rely on the 'streamlined' version of the Best Interest Contract Exemption if the products they recommend to IRA owners...
Eleven firms, and their new DOL-related policies
A quick review of changes at LPL, Great American Life, Edward Jones, Nationwide, State Farm, Jackson National Life, Merrill Lynch, Commonwealth Financial, Morgan Stanley and Ameriprise in response to...
Envestnet’s new tools to aid compliance with DOL rule
Envestnet, the Chicago-based technology firm, is seizing the opportunity to help broker-dealers prepare for compliance with the DOL fiduciary rule, which becomes effective next April.
Could You Be Sued Under the New DOL Rule?
'If you’re trying to get things right, our aim is to help you, and that will be true for some time after December 2017,' said attorney Tim Hauser of...
Labor Department acts on state-sponsored workplace IRAs
So far, eight states have passed legislation requiring private-sector employers that don’t offer retirement plans to auto-enroll their workers in state-administered, payroll-deduction IRAs.
AXA wins excessive fee litigation suit
U.S. Judge Peter G. Sheridan ruled that the plaintiffs failed to prove that AXA Equitable’s Fund Management Group had charged “exorbitant fees” while delegating “all of the services” to...
Advisors in limbo regarding DOL rule
More than four in ten advisors (43%) said they may plan to expand services offered to more holistic planning and 26% may plan to focus on non-qualified accounts, according...
Most plan providers expect DOL rule to help asset retention: LIMRA
'Nearly three quarters of plan providers anticipate their call center staff will need training to be able to distinguish education from advice,' said Matthew Drinkwater, Ph.D., assistant vice president,...
Now accessible on all platforms: DOL fiduciary training from LIMRA
'DOL Fiduciary Basics for Employees' is presented in 13 multimedia vignettes, each several minutes long. The vignettes are accessible through mobile devices, tablets, or personal computers.
MassMutual settles suit over its own retirement plan for $30.9 million
The terms of the settlement include a provision that MassMutual will not charge its plan participants more than $35 each for standard recordkeeping services for the next four years,...
At IRI Legal Conference, Lawyers Parse the “Fiduciary Rule”
The Department of Labor decided not to send an invited panelist the Insured Retirement Institute's Government, Legal and Regulatory Conference on Monday--perhaps because the IRI is party to a...
Here’s your copy of NAFA’s suit against the DOL
The National Association of Fixed Annuities' suit asks the federal court in the District of Columbia to vacate the DOL’s new fiduciary or conflict-of-interest rule, which could make it...
Marcia Wagner Explains the DOL Rule
'It will be hard to design a compensation program that eliminates all incentives to provide improper advice,' said Boston-based ERISA attorney Marcia Wagner during a webinar this week on...
Despite DOL rule, A.M. Best raises outlook for indexed annuity issuer
'Positive rating actions could occur if diversifies its product offerings into more creditworthy product lines, resulting in sales growth in products other than fixed indexed annuities,' A.M. Best...
FINRA fines MetLife $20 million for VA replacement misconduct
‘MSI represented to customers that their existing VA was more expensive than the recommended VA, when in fact, the existing VA was less expensive,’ FINRA said.
An Overview of the Fiduciary Rule
The ERISA attorney at the firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath believes that 'broker-dealers will be affected the most by new DOL rule. Insurance companies will also need to...
Surprise: DOL Rule Targets Indexed Annuities
The DOL may have put a crimp in the sales of the hot-selling but controversial annuity product when, without specific warning, it raised the regulatory bar for the sale...
Fiduciary rule may be long-run “negative” for life insurers: Fitch
The new regulations could have a "negative impact on the sale of certain annuity products, drive changes in product offerings, distribution strategies and compensation structures and lead to increased...
MetLife isn’t a SIFI, federal judge rules
Judge Rosemary Collyer's opinion was sealed, but parts may be made public next month.
LPL announces adaptations to impending DOL fiduciary rule
We are 'making changes to our platform and capabilities that we believe will help advisors grow their practices and support more investors in need of financial advice," said LPL's...