DOL Fiduciary News: June 10, 2016
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Lincoln Financial CEO: Evolving Regulatory Environment Requires Companies to Respond
Best's News Service via Bestwire -- June 09, 2016 02:32 PM
NEW YORK -- Challenges in the past 18 months kept Lincoln Financial Group focused on the future even as “the ground was moving a little below our feet,” the company’s chief executive officer said. One step the company made was to take a leadership role in influencing the regulatory environment, with the U.S. Department of Labor’s final fiduciary rule an important target.
State and federal regulations are among the recent challenges faced by Lincoln and the industry, Dennis Glass, president and CEO, said during the company’s Conference for Analysts, Investors and Bankers in New York.
(http://www.ambest.com)
Two more industry groups file lawsuits against the DOL fiduciary rule
InvestmentNews; June 9, 2016 @ 11:28 am
The list of lawsuits against the Labor Department got longer Thursday, as two more industry groups joined three others in taking aim at the fiduciary rule in court. The rule requires advisers to retirement accounts to act in the best interests of their clients.
The Indexed Annuity Leadership Council (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lawsuit-filed-to-challenge-new-department-of-labor-rule-that-restricts-americans-retirement-choices-300282372.html), Life Insurance Company of the Southwest, American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company, Midland National Life Insurance Company and North American Company for Life and Health Insurance filed a claim in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas — the third group to file in this particular court, which has ruled against other DOL regulations over the last year.
(http://www.investmentnews.com)
Taking a Hard Look at a Campaign Critical of a Fiduciary Rule
The New York Times DealBook, June 9, 2016
By Daniel Dudis, director of Public Citizen’s Chamber Watch; and Bartlett Naylor, financial policy advocate for Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division
Last week, the United States Chamber of Commerce was among a number of groups that sued Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez to block a new fiduciary rule.
The fiduciary rule requires money managers who advise tax-advantaged plans like 401(k)’s to put client interests ahead of their own financial interests when recommending investment products. The White House Council of Economic Advisers estimates that as a result of this conflict of interest, workers saving for retirement lose $17 billion a year, much of which flows directly into Wall Street’s coffers.
(http://www.nytimes.com)
Broker-dealers face rising compliance costs from DOL rule, pricing competition from robo-advisers
InvestmentNews; June 8, 2016 @ 1:36 pm
At the same time they are facing increased costs to comply with the Department of Labor fiduciary rule, brokers-dealers are facing increased pressure on their fees from robo-advisers, according to executives at clearing and custody firm Pershing.
“I believe that the Department of Labor's conflict of interest rule will absolutely create an internal expense for our (client) firms to have to try to comply with,” Lori Hardwick, Pershing's chief operating officer, said during an interview at the firm's INSITE conference in Orlando, Fla., on Tuesday.
(http://www.investmentnews.com)
Already sizzling market for advisory firms could be stoked by DOL fiduciary rule
InvestmentNews; June 9, 2016 @ 1:35 pm
The market for financial advice firms continues to run hot, with the number of deals and sophistication of transactions growing every year, acquisition experts said.
Advisory firm sales have ramped up the last few years as demand for personal financial services has climbed and the number of advisers has fallen. Advisers also are using inorganic growth to create larger firms that can better handle increasing compliance and technology costs, said experts at the Pershing INSITE conference in Orlando, Fla., on Wednesday.
(http://www.investmentnews.com)