DOL Fiduciary News: November 8, 2017
Please Note:
These links will take you directly to the homepage of the website that features the article.
To reach the article directly, copy and paste the article title into the search feature on the homepage of the publication website.
Retirement plan advisers, providers hit 'pause' on DOL fiduciary rule compliance
InvestmentNews; Nov 7, 2017 @ 4:52 pm
The likelihood of a delay to elements of the Department of Labor fiduciary rule has caused some retirement plan advisers and providers to re-evaluate some of the steps they'd taken or had planned to take to comply with the regulation, a panel of industry executives and legal experts said Tuesday morning.
"At this point, the transition caused us to step back and pause … Everything is up for interpretation, and it's very gray," said Todd Levy, chief investment officer at Ingham Retirement Group, an advisory firm that is also a plan record keeper and administrator.
He called the proposed delay somewhat of a relief due to some compliance aspects with the fiduciary rule, but a challenge in others ways due to a lack of direction.
…One of the parts that would be delayed includes portions of the best-interest contract exemption, the primary enforcement mechanism of the rule, which contains what many rule opponents see as the most difficult elements regarding compliance.
(http://www.investmentnews.com)
Fee-Based Annuity Sales on the Rise at Lincoln
InsuranceNewsNet; November 7, 2017
Fee-based annuity sales at Lincoln Financial totaled $79 million in the third quarter, nearly as much as the company's entire fee-based annuity sales in 2016, the company's CEO said last week.
The sales bump might be an indicator of rising acceptance of fee-based products in light of tightened regulation.
Third-quarter annuity sales dripped 1 percent to $1.9 billion compared to the year-ago quarter, Lincoln Financial said. Fee-based annuities are not separately broken out in the company's filings, but Dennis R. Glass, president and CEO of Lincoln Financial, touted their success in a conference call with analysts.
A living benefit rider – Max 6 Select – introduced late in the second quarter, added nearly $50 million to annuity sales in the third quarter, he said.
(https://insurancenewsnet.com)