Fiduciary

The House Financial Services Committee recently approved a proposed amendment to the Investor Protection Act. The amendment has raised concern among many as it would provide the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ( Finra ) to broaden its regulatory reach and cover investment advisors who are currently regulated by the SEC. A primary concern is that Finra's relatively weak fiduciary standards would be applied to investment advisors who, at the moment, are subject to higher levels of...

"In-Plan" annuities refer to the use of annuities within defined contribution pension programs such as 401k plans. The concept is relatively new, but the timing should be a perfect the concept to gain traction: The financial crisis has devastated the portfolios of many retirees and near-retirees. Millions of baby boomers will add to the 70 million or so U.S. residents over the age of 55. People are starving for stable, guaranteed sources of income in light of market volatility and increasing...

Officials from the Departments of Treasury and Labor want annuities to be a default option for workers who participate in employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401ks. At a recent industry conference, Treasury senior advisor Mark Iwry spoke of creating annuity -based lifetime income options within the defined contribution 401k arena. Issues such as credit risk and portability continue to present obstacles to progress. Employer fiduciary liability with respect to in-plan annuity selection...