SEC fiduciary rule … is not a fiduciary rule

April 20, 2018/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

SEC fiduciary rule … is not a fiduciary rule

By Kenneth Corbin – FinancialPlanning – April 20, 2018

For years, the common shorthand in describing any SEC move to set new regulations for brokers was a “uniform fiduciary standard” that would “harmonize” the rules for broker-dealers and investment advisors.

Nearly a decade after the debate began in earnest, the SEC on Wednesday issued a set of proposed rules that would neither impose a fiduciary standard on brokers nor fully align the standards for all wealth managers serving retail clients.

Instead, the SEC is backing a standard that would require brokers to put their clients’ interests ahead of their own, giving it a name that some investor advocates say is fundamentally misleading.

“I think what we see here falls well short of where we need to be to really get to a best interest standard,” says Knut Rostad, president of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard.

The SEC voted to begin consideration on what it’s calling Regulation Best Interest, which would require brokers to make disclosures about conflicts of interest, take on a client-care obligation and set policies and procedures to keep conflicts of interest in check.

The commission is accepting comments on the proposal for 90 days.

It’s in the final component of the best interest proposal concerning conflict policies and mitigation that some consumer advocates see the greatest shortfall. Though the rule would require brokers to “disclose and mitigate” conflicts, if not eliminate them altogether, it still sounds only like a slightly more muscular version of the current suitability standard that governs brokers, according to Andrew Stoltmann, an attorney and president of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association.

“Right now, this standard shades far left towards the suitability standard, and is light years away from the fiduciary standard,” Stoltmann says in an interview, adding the current proposal is “somewhat disappointing.”

RIAs are still bound by their longstanding fiduciary obligation, though Stoltmann worries that that standard could get watered down in light of the interpretive guidance for advisors that the SEC is considering as part of the proposals put forward yesterday.

“I think it’s clear that an RIA can’t recommend a proprietary product,” Stoltmann says. “The question I have is whether the SEC when it’s proposing parameters will say it’s okay for a fiduciary to do certain activities ― like recommending proprietary funds ― so long as the conflicts are disclosed.”

Others are more sympathetic to the brokerage model and take issue with a characterization that equates commissions with pernicious conflicts. When most brokers evaluate whether a product or strategy is suitable for their client, they weigh much the same information as a fiduciary advisor, including the cost of the product and a client’s risk tolerance and investment objectives, among other factors, according to Brendan McGarry, a financial-services attorney with the firm Kaufman

Dolowich & Voluck.

“The considerations are largely the same,” McGarry says in an interview. “I would argue that if you really look at the analysis that goes into determining if something is suitable or in the best interest or what goes into the fiduciary responsibility, when you break it down they’re really not all that different.”

Rostad, who says that “the immutable law is conflicts of interest are inherently harmful,” probably wouldn’t buy that.

Though Rostad grants that the SEC’s proposal was a “step forward” for improving investor protections, the best interest standard leaves much to be desired, given that the ambiguity over the term “mitigate” leaves open room for continued conflicts of interest, he says.

“Unless the best interest standard is truly is very, very akin to the fiduciary standard, then it is potentially ― probably ― misleading,” Rostad says. “There’s no such thing as three-quarters of a best-interest standard. You’ve either made it or you haven’t. This is pass-fail.”

So if the new broker standard isn’t a fiduciary standard, and it’s not as stringent as the rules governing the advisor camp, the SEC could have gone the other way, and acknowledged that brokers and advisors operate on separate tracks.

“If we’re not going to make material changes, let’s call it what it is ― and it is a broker standard,” Rostad says. “Never mind harmonization. Let’s go back to demarcation, and that is to separate them.”

Thanks in large part to the Department of Labor’s fiduciary proposal, that term ― “fiduciary” ― has gained currency among investors. But even as the SEC’s proposal seeks to elevate standards of care, by conferring on brokers a best-interest label, it could chip away at what had been a point of distinction for RIAs, according to Stoltmann.

“Under Regulation Best Interest, were seeing those lines blurred and crossed,” he says. “Think about that ― the average retail stock broker can say, ‘Well, yeah, a fiduciary has to act in your best interest, but so do I. Here’s the SEC saying it.’ And unless the client is a securities attorney, they’re going to say that sounds about right to me. So it sows the seeds of confusion.”

https://www.financial-planning.com/news/sec-proposal-leaves-big-gaps-in-broker-advisors-standards

What’s Next for the DOL Fiduciary Rule?

March 21, 2018/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

What’s Next for the DOL Fiduciary Rule?

March 16, 2018 by John Hilton

The Department of Labor fiduciary rule does not exist anymore after a late-Thursday court ruling. That court decision opens the door for the Securities and Exchange Commission and state insurance departments to take over rulemaking.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2-1 decision stunned the industry and has many asking the same question this morning: What now?

Click HERE to read the full story via INN; subscription required.

Originally Posted at InsuranceNewsNet on March 16, 2018 by John Hilton.

Gibson Dunn: No ‘Circuit Split’ on DOL Rule; Decision Applies Nationwide

March 21, 2018/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

Gibson Dunn: No ‘Circuit Split’ on DOL Rule; Decision Applies Nationwide

March 20, 2018 by Nick Thornton

Gibson Dunn, the law firm that successfully argued to vacate the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5^th Circuit, says the 2-to-1 decision in favor of industry opponents of the rule applies “nationwide.”

Citing the Administrative Procedure Act, the law that governs federal agency rule making, and Black’s Law Dictionary, attorneys for the firm said the ruling has the effect of the removing the fiduciary rule from the books.

Click HERE to read the original story via ThinkAdvisor.

“Under the APA, ‘vacatur’ is a remedy by which courts ‘set aside agency action’ that is arbitrary and capricious or otherwise outside of the agency’s statutory authority,” wrote attorneys for Gibson Dunn, including Eugene Scalia, in a client update.

The consequence of the 5^th Circuit’s decision is to delete the fiduciary rule. “Because the effect of vacatur is, in essence, to remove a regulation from the books, its effect is nationwide,” wrote Mr. Scalia and a team of Gibson Dunn attorneys.

Since the decision was released last week, some attorneys in press reports have speculated that the fiduciary rule is still in effect. Other reports have suggested the decision may only impact investment and insurance providers and distributions within states under the 5^thCircuit’s jurisdiction.

But the impact of the decision is not as ambiguous as some reports claim, according to Gibson Dunn.

By May 7, when the 5^th Circuit is scheduled to issue a final order under the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, the fiduciary rule will effectively be erased from the Federal Register, “without geographical limitation,” the attorneys say.

No circuit split

Gibson Dunn’s client update also sets out to clarify the existence of a so-called circuit split over the fiduciary rule.

Days before the 5^th Circuit released its ruling, the 10^th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a more narrow ruling upholding the fiduciary rule’s treatment of fixed indexed annuities.

But the 10^th Circuit decision did not address the larger question of the Labor Department’s authority to write the fiduciary rule as it did.

“Because the 5th Circuit vacated the rule on grounds the 10^th Circuit did not address, no ‘circuit conflict’ is presented by the two decisions,” say the Gibson Dunn team.

The question of whether a circuit conflict, or split, exists has ramifications on a potential Supreme Court review of the fiduciary rule case.

“We commented on the scope of the 10^th Circuit decision to correct apparent misperceptions about it,” said Jason Mendro, a partner at Gibson Dunn, in an email. “We had seen commentary incorrectly suggesting that it conflicts with the 5^th Circuit’s decision, so we wanted to clarify that it does not.”

The odds of a Supreme Court review of any case are “always very low,” said Mr. Mendro, who was part of the litigation team that appealed to the 5^th Circuit. According to the Supreme Court’s website, up to 8,000 petitions for review are requested each term. The High Court typically grants full review in about 1 percent of cases.

“The absence of a circuit split further reduces the likelihood of such review,” added Mr. Mendro.

NAFA expected to drop its appeal in D.C. Circuit

Last November, oral arguments before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals were delayed in a case brought by the National Association for Fixed Annuities.

NAFA was granted a delay of its hearing until after the 5^th Circuit issued its decision. The original hearing in the D.C. Circuit had been scheduled for December 8, 2017.

Now that the 5^th Circuit has vacated the fiduciary rule in its entirety, NAFA can be expected to drop its appeal, removing the potential for a split with the D.C. Circuit.

“When the (5^th Circuit) court issues the mandate, vacatur will become effective, and the appellants (NAFA) in the D.C. Circuit case will have obtained the full measure of relief they sought in their appeal,” explained Mr. Mendro. “They should, therefore, dismiss their appeal.”

Originally Posted at ThinkAdvisor on March 19, 2018 by Nick Thornton.

DOL Fiduciary Rule Struck Down by Appeals Court

March 21, 2018/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

DOL Fiduciary Rule Struck Down by Appeals Court

DOL Seeks 18-Month Delay of Fiduciary Rule

March 16, 2018 by Melanie Waddell

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit voted 2-1 Thursday to vacate the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule.

The nine plaintiffs in the 5th Circuit case included the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the Financial Services Institute.

The ruling comes one day after Labor won a case in federal court brought against its fiduciary rule by Market Synergy Group, an insurance distributor.
The appeals court struck down the entirety of the fiduciary rule.

Click HERE to read the original story via ThinkAdvisor.

Labor’s next move is to decide whether to ask the full appeals court to rehear the dispute, or take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit still has an active case. That court will not be bound by how the 5th Circuit ruled.

In a joint statement, FSI, SIFMA and Chamber said that “the court has ruled on the side of America’s retirement savers, preserving access to affordable financial advice. Our organizations have long supported the development of a best interest standard of care and the Securities and Exchange Commission should now take the lead on a clear, consistent, and workable standard that does not limit choice for investors.”

According to the 5th Circuit ruling, Labor’s “new definition dispenses with the ‘regular basis’ and ‘primary basis’ criteria used in the regulation for the past 40 years. Consequently, it encompasses virtually all financial and insurance professionals who do business with ERISA plans and IRA holders. Stockbrokers and insurance salespeople, for instance, are exposed to regulations including the prohibited transaction rules. The newcomers are thus barred, without an exemption, from being paid whatever transaction-based commissions and brokerage fees have been standard in their industry segments because those types of compensation are now deemed a conflict of interest.”

Judge Says Rule Has ‘Woke’ Financial Services
Judge Edith Jones, who wrote the decision for the majority, stated that “DOL has made no secret of its intent to transform the trillion-dollar market for IRA investments, annuities and insurance products, and to regulate in a new way the thousands of people and organizations working in that market.”

Large portions of the financial services and insurance industries, Jones wrote, “have been ‘woke’ by the Fiduciary Rule and BIC Exemption. DOL utilized two transformative devices: it reinterpreted the 40-year-old term ‘investment advice fiduciary’ and exploited an exemption provision into a comprehensive regulatory framework.”

The court wrote in the ruling that President Donald Trump has directed Labor “to re-examine the Fiduciary Rule and prepare an updated economic and legal analysis” of its provisions, noting that the effective date of some provisions has been extended to July 1, 2019.

“The case, however, is not moot,” the ruling states. The fiduciary rule, the court said, “has already spawned significant market consequences, including the withdrawal of several major companies, including MetLife, AIG and Merrill Lynch from some segments of the brokerage and retirement investor market. Companies like Edward Jones and State Farm have limited the investment products that can be sold to retirement investors.”

The ruling continued: “Confusion abounds — how, for instance, does a company wishing to comply with the BICE exemption document and prove that its salesman fostered the ‘best interests’ of the individual retirement investor client? The technological costs and difficulty of compliance compound the inherent complexity of the new regulations.”

Labor’s rule also “contradicts the text of the ‘investment advice fiduciary’ provision and contemporary understandings of its language,” the ruling states.

Dissenting Judge Says DOL Acting ‘Within Its Authority’
The judge voting in favor of Labor’s fiduciary rule, Chief Judge Carl Stewart, wrote in his dissent, that: “I conclude that the DOL acted well within the confines set by Congress in implementing the challenged regulatory package, and said package should be maintained so long as the agency’s interpretation is reasonable.”

“DOL has acted within its delegated authority to regulate financial service providers in the retirement investment industry — which it has done since ERISA was enacted — and has utilized its broad exemption authority to create conditional exemptions on new investment-advice fiduciaries,” Stewart wrote. “That the DOL has extended its regulatory reach to cover more investment-advice fiduciaries and to impose additional conditions on conflicted transactions neither requires nor lends to the panel majority’s conclusion that it has acted contrary to Congress’ directive.”

Micah Hauptman, financial services counsel for the Consumer Federation of America, told ThinkAdvisor that the “case was wrongly decided. The industry opponents went forum shopping and finally found a court that was willing to buy in to their bogus arguments. This is a sad day for retirement savers.”

The opinion, Hauptman added, “is extreme by any measure. It strikes at the essence of the DOL’s authority to protect retirement savers under ERISA. It’s not only an attack on the rule, it’s an attack on the agency.”

— Mike Scarcella contributed reporting.

Originally Posted at ThinkAdvisor on March 15, 2018 by Melanie Waddell.

A.M. Best Upgrades Credit Ratings of Guaranty Income Life Insurance Company

November 2, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

November 1, 2017 by Best’s News Service

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OLDWICK – NOVEMBER 01, 2017
A.M. Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to B++ (Good) from B+ (Good) and has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “bbb+” from “bbb-” for Guaranty Income Life Insurance Company (Guaranty) (Baton Rouge, LA). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The rating upgrades reflect the strong operating improvements over the last several years, including premium growth in its key Annuicare product, improved risk-adjusted capitalization, significant distribution expansion and stable operating profile with favorable operating returns. The rating upgrades also acknowledge Guaranty’s new parent, Kuvare Holdings LP, and the explicit financial support it provides to Guaranty, along with Kuvare Holdings LP’s expertise and the potential for additional financial flexibility as Guaranty expands its business profile.

Offsetting rating factors include execution risk as Guaranty enters new annuity markets and the impact of new business strain on operating results. Additionally, Guaranty’s reserve book is heavily weighted in interest sensitive reserves with a concentrated product profile. In A.M. Best’s view, risk-adjusted capitalization is qualitatively diminished due to a high percentage of surplus notes and deferred tax assets. Finally, the investment portfolio, despite some improvement in diversification, has a high concentration of non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities that A.M Best deems as higher risk relative to traditional prime agency-backed securities.

Positive rating action could occur if Guaranty were to see a trend of profitable premium growth leading to an organic increase in risk-adjusted capital. Negative rating action could occur if the quality of Guaranty’s capital were to deteriorate or if operating performance underperforms and leads to excessive underwriting losses on core product lines. A negative rating action also could occur if there was a material decline in risk-adjusted capital.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best’s Credit Ratings and A.M. Best press releases, please view Guide for Media – Proper Use of Best’s Credit Ratings and A.M. Best Rating Action Press Releases.

A.M. Best is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source

Originally Posted at AM Best on November 1, 2017 by Best’s News Service.

A.M. Best Upgrades Credit Ratings of Atlantic Coast Life Ins. Co.; Affirms Credit Ratings of Sentinel Security Life Ins. Co.

November 1, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

October 31, 2017 by Best’s News Service

Introducing Our Newest Annuity - Safe Anchor Market Guarantee Sentinel Secuirity Life Logo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OLDWICK – OCTOBER 03, 2017
A.M. Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to B++ (Good) from B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “bbb” from “bbb-“ of Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Company (ACLI) (Charleston, SC). Additionally, A.M. Best has affirmed the FSR of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term ICR of “bbb” of Sentinel Security Life Insurance Company (Sentinel) (Salt Lake City, UT). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. Both companies are collectively referred to as A-CAP Group (A-CAP). A-CAP’s ultimate parent is Advantage Capital Holdings, LLC (ACH), which is domiciled in Delaware.

The rating upgrades of ACLI recognize the improved balance sheet and operating profile trends over the past several years, as well as the enhanced financial flexibility, operating synergies and management expertise derived as part of its affiliation with the A-CAP group. The rating affirmations of Sentinel reflect its continued balance sheet and earnings stability, and new premium growth in the annuity product segments under the new ownership of A-CAP. A-CAP markets final expense whole life, Medicare supplement, Medicare select and preneed insurance plans, along with fixed annuities, through well-established non-captive general and associate general agent distribution networks, as well as through a growing broker channel. The ratings recognize improved capitalization, significant distribution expansion and premium growth in core business lines, as well as additional capital support in the near term from ACH to support anticipated strong business growth.

These strengths are partially offset by heavy reliance on reinsurance, which is secured by collateral, to relieve statutory strain within A-CAP. Furthermore, A-CAP has purchased reinsurance from some unrated reinsurance entities that create a contingent reinsurance counterparty risk at A-CAP if there is a failure of the reinsurer that is not covered by collateral held. Additionally, although Sentinel has reduced its reliance on structured products, such as collateralized loan obligations, this type of investment may have liquidity pressure during stressed economic scenarios, and accordingly, remains a potential rating concern. The fixed income portfolio is primarily investment-grade securities and is performing well, with some exposure to below investment grade securities.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best’s Credit Ratings and A.M. Best press releases, please view Guide for Media – Proper Use of Best’s Credit Ratings and A.M. Best Rating Action Press Releases.

A.M. Best is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source.

Originally Posted at AM Best on October 3, 2017 by Best’s News Service.

Where to Turn When Bonds Aren’t the Investment They Used to Be

October 25, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

Where to Turn When Bonds Aren’t the Investment They Used to Be

October 24, 2017 by Andrew M. Costa

Bonds have long been viewed as a great alternative for people who were in search of a good—and relatively conservative—investment.

They provided a nice way to balance the portfolio, so that a steep drop in the stock market—like we experienced in 2008—wouldn’t do quite as much damage to your overall financial picture as it would if you owned nothing but stock.

But times may be changing, and bond investors could be about to discover that every investment vehicle—bonds included—has a downside.

For a long time, we’ve been in a low interest rate environment; so low, in fact, that rates really couldn’t go any lower.

Now it appears that interest rates may be headed in the opposite direction, and as they rise, bonds can lose market value. Here’s why: When you buy a bond, you are essentially lending money to a company or a government entity for a fixed term at a fixed interest rate.

That sounds simple enough. But if your bond is paying a low interest rate—say 2%—and new bonds being issued are paying higher than that, then no one may want to buy your bond if you want or need to sell it before the maturity date. And so the price of that bond can fall.

That seemingly conservative investment maybe wasn’t a conservative as so many people thought.

So that’s the bad bond news. The question then becomes: What do you do about this? Where do you go to find a reasonably (though not completely) safe place for your money that could still provide a decent return?

One possibility to explore is annuities. Of course, annuities come in various forms, but there’s a type of fixed-index annuity that can provide competitive interest credits without the interest-rate risk associated with bonds.

With one of these annuities, an investor is able to take advantage of market-linked interest credits and when in retirement, receive a steady income stream that cannot be outlived. These insurance products are tied to a specific market index that allows consumers to receive a limited level of interest credits based on market gains. And because the money is never actually invested in the market, their principal is protected from downside market risk.

Are there drawbacks? Absolutely. These products often have a cap that limits the interest earnings that you can enjoy. If the index’s return is negative, no loss is posted to your account. If the index’s return is positive, interest is credited to your account—but with a cap. It can only go so high and no higher.

As with any financial product, you should know what you’re getting. Here are some questions to ask before buying:

What is the guaranteed minimum interest rate?
Which index will determine the amount of my interest credits?
Will the interest credits be calculated annually, quarterly or for some other length of time?
What are the surrender penalties and tax implications of an early exit from the contract?
Will the insurance company have the right to lower the cap at some point in the future, and by how much?

Finally, be sure to talk with your financial professional and a tax adviser about how a fixed-index annuity might fit with your overall retirement plan, particularly with regard to taxes and inflation.

Ronnie Blair contributed to this article.

Securities offered through Madison Avenue Securities, LLC (MAS) Member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services offered through Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory (GWM) a Registered Investment Advisor. MAS and GWM are not affiliated entities.

Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protect against loss in periods of declining values. Insurance and annuity product guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

Andrew M. Costa is managing director and co-founder of Global Wealth Management in Fort Lauderdale. He co-authored the book “SuccessOnomics” with Steve Forbes and is co-host of The Global Wealth Show, a financial radio show on 610 WIOD and iheartradio.com. Costa, a recognized professional in the investment management business, also has provided financial insight in “The Wall Street Journal,” “USA Today” and “Newsweek,” and has appeared on CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox.

Originally Posted at Kiplinger on October 2017 by Andrew M. Costa.

Our Office will be CLOSED Monday and Tuesday Sept 11th and 12th due to Hurricane Irma

September 12, 2017/in Annuity News, The Life And Annuity Shop News/by Neal LaPierre

Due to Hurricane Irma, the safety of our staff and their families is our top priority. For this reason, Our office will be closed on Monday and Tuesday Sept 11th and 12th. We will re-open Wednesday September 13th albeit with a reduced staff as some of our staff is still dealing with the effects of the storm.

Thank you all for your understanding.

Our Office will be CLOSED Friday, Sept 8 due to Hurricane Irma

September 7, 2017/in Annuity News, The Life And Annuity Shop News/by Neal LaPierre

As Hurricane Irma approaches Florida, the safety of our staff and their families is our top priority. For this reason, Our office will be closed on Friday, Sept. 7. Our Disaster Response Team will continue to monitor the path of the hurricane. This may result in our office being closed on Monday September 11, 2017 as well.

Our Office will be CLOSED Friday, Sept 8 due to Hurricane Irma

OMB Approves 18-Month Fiduciary Rule Delay, With ‘Change’

August 29, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

AUGUST 29, 2017

Originally published by ThinkAdvisor.

The delay must now be finalized by Labor Department

The Office of Management and Budget approved on Monday the 18-month delay for the more onerous provisions of the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule.

The OMB approval, which usually takes 90 days, took less than a month.

The office listed its action as “Consistent with Change,” which means OMB “had to make some changes as a result of the review, but not with the length of the extension because the title is the same,” says Fred Reish, partner in Drinker Biddle & Reath’s employee benefits and executive compensation practice group in Los Angeles. OMB likely had to “make changes to the economic analysis and maybe the length of the comment period.”

The delay must now be finalized by Labor.

Steve Saxon, partner at Groom Law Group, said that with the OMB review finalized, Labor will now release a proposed rule in the Federal Register with a comment period of no longer than 30 days.

“We do expect the delay to go through,” Saxon told ThinkAdvisor on Tuesday. “We think [Labor is] going to propose the extension and do a very short comment period and then approve it.”

And firms are waiting eagerly for that approval.

“People need confirmation that the delay will go through so they can hold off on the buildout of their systems and software and the like, which is very expensive,” Saxon said. “They don’t want to do that if there are going to be changes to the rule … recordkeepers and other retirement service providers are desperate for confirming of the delay.”

Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta told a Minnesota court on Aug. 9 that Labor had filed with OMB to delay the applicability date on three of the rule’s exemptions from Jan. 1, 2018 to July 1, 2019.

Labor proposed amendments to three exemptions, which were all approved by OMB:

The best-interest contract exemption, which opponents of the rule argued is the contract that would spark a slew of class-action lawsuits;
Class exemption for principal transactions in certain assets between investment advice fiduciaries and employee benefit plans and IRAs; and
Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84-24 for certain transactions involving insurance agents and brokers, pension consultants, insurance companies, and investment company principal underwriters.

“DOL is cognizant that the industry needs certainty on whether the deferred requirements will commence on Jan. 1,” said George Michael Gerstein, a lawyer with Stradley Ronon, a law firm in Washington that helps financial firms deal with regulators, in an email. “At this point, clarity is paramount.”

DOL Seeks 18-Month Delay of Fiduciary Rule

August 11, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

DOL Seeks 18-Month Delay of Fiduciary Rule

By John Hilton – InsuranceNewsNet – August 9, 2017

The Department of Labor moved today to delay phase two of the controversial Obama-era fiduciary rule by 18 months.

Documents (ß Notice of Administrative Action)were filed today with the Office of Management and Budget to delay phase two from Jan. 1, 2018, until July 1, 2019. The OMB will review the submission for publication in the Federal Register, which, barring any complications, makes the delay official.

Phase one of the DOL rule took effect June 9. It requires advisors and agents to act as fiduciaries, make no misleading statements and accept only “reasonable” compensation.

Still, opponents are far more concerned with phase two rules that establish a class-action right to sue under the Best Interest Contract Exemption. The BICE will be required to sell fixed indexed and variable annuities beginning Jan. 1, 2018.

In addition, the DOL said the delay will apply to two other exemptions, PTE 84-24 and PTE 2016-02. The latter exemption applies to advice to individual retirement accounts and employee benefit plans.

Potential Changes

As for potential changes during the delay, Bradford Campbell said last month that the BICE is likely to be weakened. Counsel at Drinker Biddle & Reath. Campbell previously led the DOL department responsible for the fiduciary rule during the Bush administration.

The BICE requires significant disclosures, and a signed contract with the client. That contract forms the basis of litigation liability.

Removing the class-action lawsuit from the BICE is a good possibility, Campbell said, basing his opinion on statements the DOL has made so far. If the class-action right isn’t scratched, it will cause problems in the courts, he predicted.

A delay will make even more likely the DOL and the Securities and Exchange Commission end up working together on a fiduciary standard the industry can live with, Campbell added.

https://insurancenewsnet.com/innarticle/dol-seeks-18-month-delay-fiduciary-rule#.WYtSFlV96QI

Who Is Winning With the Fiduciary Rule? Wall Street

August 11, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

Who Is Winning With the Fiduciary Rule? Wall Street

For now, the rule is setting money in motion

By Lisa Beilfuss – The Wall Street Journal – August 11, 2017

The brokerage business fiercely fought the new retirement advice rule. But so far for Wall Street, it has been a gift.

The rule requires brokers to act in the best interests of retirement savers, rather than sell products that are merely suitable but could make brokers more money. Financial firms decried the restriction, which began to take effect in June, as limiting consumer choice while raising their compliance costs and potential liability.

But adherence is proving a positive. Firms are pushing customers toward accounts that charge an annual fee on their assets, rather than commissions which can violate the rule, and such fee-based accounts have long been more lucrative for the industry. In earnings calls, executives are citing the Department of Labor rule, known varyingly as the DOL or fiduciary rule, as a boon.

“Primarily because of DOL” and market appreciation, assets are growing in fee-based accounts, said Stifel Financial Corp. Chief Executive Ronald Kruszewski, on a call in July. In an interview, he said such accounts can be twice as costly for clients.

Morningstar Inc. has said $3 trillion in tax-advantaged retirement savings are at stake, but some firms say even more is in play, as policies and marketing filter to nonretirement accounts.

For some consumers, a fee-based account could make economic sense. Such accounts can also come with more services, and they theoretically align a broker’s interest with that of the client. Some customers are negotiating discounts on the fees they pay, and some are moving to lower-cost firms, data suggests and industry executives say.

“Whether it’s in clients’ best interest is unclear,” said Steven Chubak, an analyst at Nomura Instinet. But the fiduciary rule is ”incentivizing firms to accelerate conversions“ to fees from commissions, he said, and “certainly the amount charged on a fee-based account versus a [commission-based] brokerage account is higher.” The push is speeding up an industry trend toward fees, which offer more predictable revenue that commission-based accounts.

“They are crying crocodile tears,” said Phyllis Borzi, a former Obama administration official who was an architect of the rule, referring to complaints from financial firms on the rule. That administration had said conflicted advice was costing individuals $17 billion a year and 1% in annual returns, figures that critics dispute.

The full effect of the rule remains to be seen. It has only partially gone into effect, with the Trump administration considering significant changes, including adjustments designed to lower compliance costs. Earlier this week, the Labor Department proposed delaying the rule’s compliance deadline by 18 months, a move that experts say suggests revisions are in the offing.

Even some benefiting from it still fault it, including Mr. Kruszewski from Stifel, whose business is largely based on commissions and who has said the rule limits choice.

For now, the rule is setting money in motion.

Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch has embraced the rule, even running an ad campaign around the idea of fiduciary advice. The firm, which for years has promoted fee-based accounts, last year gave its more than 14,000 brokers more flexibility to cut fees for clients moved onto its advisory platform without a reduction in their own pay. A big investment in adviser technology several years ago has aided the process by making it easier for advisers to convert brokerage accounts to fee-generating advisory accounts.

At Bank of America’s global wealth unit, which includes Merrill Lynch, fee-based assets rose 19% from a year earlier to $991 billion in the second quarter, or to 38% of client assets. More than two-thirds of Merrill’s advisers now have at least half of their client assets under a fee-based relationship, the firm said. The firm is also moving some clients to its online, commission-based “Merrill Edge” platform.

Morgan Stanley , meanwhile, has taken a different tack. Unlike Merrill, which has largely eliminated commissions in retirement accounts, Morgan Stanley has lowered commission costs to aid compliance with the regulation’s “reasonable compensation” standard. It, too, is rolling out a new computer-driven “robo” advisory tool.

For Morgan Stanley, fee-based assets grew 17% from a year earlier to $962 billion in the quarter, representing 43% of overall money in the wealth unit. On Morgan Stanley’s earnings call in July, finance chief Jonathan Pruzan credited the rule in part for gains in fee-based assets. “The Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule has contributed to these fee-based flows,” he said, and “revenues continue to grow with fee-based assets.”

Observers also note that market performance has helped drive assets higher, regardless of account type.

Discount brokers, which traditionally have catered to investors seeking to manage their own investment accounts and pay per transaction, also may gain business.

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. said net new client assets in the latest period climbed to a record $22 billion from $13.6 billion a year ago. “The DOL fiduciary rule is driving a lot of momentum,” said Chief Executive Tim Hockey.

At Charles Schwab & Co., clients in the first half of the year brought roughly $2 to Schwab for every $1 that they moved from Schwab to a competitor, including traditional brokerage firms, the company has said. In dollar terms, that is about an 86% improvement from a year earlier. In the latest quarter, Schwab’s new retail brokerage accounts climbed 36% from a year earlier.

The fiduciary rule also is supporting the shift to lower-cost index funds that seek to match market moves instead of beat them, observers say, due to the rule’s requirement that brokers justify an investment’s costs.

Laurence Fink, chief executive of indexing giant BlackRock Inc., on the most-recent earnings call attributed “accelerated” flows partly to the fiduciary rule.

Other changes stemming from the fiduciary rule could hurt over the longer term. Aside from compliance costs and increased potential liability, products such as higher-cost mutual funds face pressure from lower-cost passively managed funds, said Devin Ryan, a JMP Securities analyst. The move away from such products could bring down the profitability of fee-based accounts over time, he said.

For now, though, the growth in these accounts have been another positive for Wall Street’s advisory businesses.

“The wealth-management business is almost like a yield stock,” James Gorman, Morgan Stanley’s chief executive, said on the firm’s latest earnings call. “So you can imagine the dividend coming out of wealth-management earnings.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/who-is-winning-with-the-fiduciary-rule-wall-street-1502443804

Best interest is in the eye of the beholder…

July 19, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

Best interest is in the eye of the beholder in debate over DOL fiduciary rule

July 18, 2017 by Mark Schoeff Jr.

The term “best interest” is subjective it seems in the debate over the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule. The phrase is used by both critics and supporters of the measure to describe what they’re trying to do for the average investor.

The latest example of the fluidity of the term was seen in a July 13 hearing of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities and Investments. Lawmakers on the panel debated draft legislation offered by Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., that would kill the DOL rule and replace it with a regulation written by the Securities and Exchange Commission that would “establish standards of conduct for brokers and dealers that are in the best interest of their retail customers,” according to the preamble of the measure.

Click HERE to read the full story via InvestmentNews; registration required.

Originally Posted at InvestmentNews on July 14, 2017 by Mark Schoeff Jr..

E&O plan with coverage for the new DOL Fiduciary rule included at no additional cost.

July 17, 2017/in Annuity News, The Life And Annuity Shop News/by Neal LaPierre

DOL_EO_LAS (2)

The Life and Annuity Shop is now providing a discounted E&O plan with coverage for the new DOL Fiduciary rule included at no additional cost.

Prepare yourself for the DOL road ahead.

The Ultimate DOL Fiduciary Technology System

July 17, 2017/in Annuity News, The Life And Annuity Shop News/by Neal LaPierre

AmeriLyzer_LAS (3)

You can count on The Life and Annuity Shop to provide one-stop shopping for making Department of Labor (DOL) Fiduciary Rule compliant sales. Regardless of the DOL’s actions, we are committed to helping Agents uncover more assets, offer more client services and make recommendations in the client’s best interest. We are your strategic partner.

We have invested heavily in developing the right resource for independent agents, agencies and other marketing firms. Our unique platform puts you in position to document your recommendations are in the best interest of the client.

Defining ‘Reasonable Comp’ Under the DOL Rule

June 14, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

Census Bureau Starts Annuity Stream

June 2, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

Census Bureau Starts Annuity Stream

By Allison Bell – ThinkAdvisor – June 2, 2017

Only 4.6% of U.S. households have annuities or trusts, but they had an average of $180,271 in annuity and trust assets each, and the median value of trust and annuity assets was $60,000 nationwide. The Census Bureau published those figures Thursday in the first batch of a major new stream of annuity, trust and cash-value life insurance data, comprised in two new columns added to the Survey of Income and Program Participation net worth table Excel spread sheets. In addition to giving information about annuity and trust assets, the newest net worth tables provide detailed information about many other types of household assets, including home equity, checking accounts, retirement accounts, educational savings accounts and cash-value life insurance.

ARTICLE based on CENSUS DATA

Acosta Declines to Extend Delay of DOL Fiduciary Rule

May 23, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

Acosta Declines to Extend Delay of DOL Fiduciary Rule

Labor Secretary finds no legal basis to delay implementation; rule to become applicable June 9

By Mark Schoeff – InvestmentNews – May 23, 2017

Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta confirmed Monday night that the agency’s fiduciary rule will become applicable on June 9.

“We have carefully considered the record in this case, and the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, and have found no principled legal basis to change the June 9 date while we seek public input,” Mr Acosta wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that was posted Monday night. “Respect for the rule of law leads us to the conclusion that this date cannot be postponed.

His decision is a victory for supporters of the rule, which requires financial advisers to act in the best interests of their clients in retirement accounts. The rule’s implementation has been delayed for 60 days — from April 10 until June 9 — while the DOL reassesses the regulation under a directive from President Donald J. Trump that could lead to its modification or repeal.

The DOL said that two provisions — one expanding the definition of who is a fiduciary and another establishing impartial conduct standards — would become applicable when the delay ends on June 9.

The agency said that it would continue its review until Jan. 1, the final implementation date for the rule.

Industry opponents pushed Mr. Acosta to extend the delay, arguing that the whole rule should be put on hold while the agency carries out Mr. Trump’s order. Supporters threatened to sue the agency if it pushed back the rule beyond June 9 in violation of rule making parameters set out in the APA.

In guidance Monday night, the agency said that it would not enforce the rule during the delay.

“During the phased implementation period ending on January 1, 2018, the Department will not pursue claims against fiduciaries who are working diligently and in good faith to comply with the fiduciary duty rule and exemptions, or treat those fiduciaries as being in violation of the fiduciary duty rule and exemptions,” the Field Assistance Bulletin states.

In addition to Mr. Acosta’s oped and bulletin, the agency released on a new set of frequently asked questions related to the transition period from June 9 to January 1, 2018.

http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20170522/FREE/170529979/acosta-declines-to-extend-delay-of-dol-fiduciary-rule

House committee approves Dodd-Frank replacement bill that includes repeal of DOL fiduciary rule

May 8, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

The Financial CHOICE Act also makes substantial changes affecting many regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission

By Hazel Bradford – InvestmentNews – May 5, 2017

A replacement for much of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was passed by the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday.

The vote was 34-26 along party lines, and came after three days of considering amendments from Democrats opposing it. The full House could vote later this week.

The Financial CHOICE Act, whose chief sponsor is committee chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, would repeal the Department of Labor’s new fiduciary rule until 60 days after the Securities and Exchange Commission issues its own standard, which is not underway. The DOL fiduciary rule would have to be “substantially similar” to the SEC’s rule.

The bill also makes substantial changes at many financial regulators, including the SEC and the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which would no longer be able to designate non-bank firms as systemically important and would have to repeal previous designations.

The Volcker Rule, which prevents government-insured banks from engaging in riskier investment activity, also would be repealed.

Other changes at the SEC include more cost-benefit analysis requirements, increased penalties for civil and administrative actions, and creation of an enforcement ombudsman and enforcement advisory committee.

For shareholders, it changes the processes for submitting corporate proposals and voting for corporate board directors, and limits their use of proxy services. Ken Bertsch, Council of Institutional Investors executive director, testified at a committee hearing April 28 that the legislation “threatens fundamental shareholder protections.”

Amy Borrus, CII deputy director, said in an emailed statement that the act “would crush shareholder proposals, which for decades have been an effective channel for investors to communicate their views to boards and management, [and] would condemn the SEC to endless, redundant busywork. That would cripple its ability to deliver on its mission of protecting investors, policing markets and fostering capital formation.”

In a letter Monday to the committee, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the Financial CHOICE Act “is an essential first step toward unlocking our capital markets and facilitating the financing of economic growth and job creation.”

Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich, who chairs the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities and Investment, said another important reform was requiring an audit of the Federal Reserve, “so policymakers and everyday Americans have a more informed understanding of how the Fed is impacting our economy.”

http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20170504/FREE/170509954/house-committee-approves-dodd-frank-replacement-bill-that-includes

Industry groups tell Acosta to make extension of DOL fiduciary rule delay his first order of business

April 28, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

Senate approves Trump’s nominee as DOL secretary, 60-38

By Mark Schoeff – InvestmentNews – Paril28, 2017

Financial industry groups wasted no time telling Alexander Acosta what his first priority should be upon winning confirmation from the Senate as secretary of Labor Thursday night: Extend the delay of the DOL fiduciary rule.

Mr. Acosta takes the helm of the agency as it reviews the regulation under a directive from President Donald J. Trump, who told the DOL to rework its cost-benefit assessment of the regulation and modify or repeal the measure if it denies retirement savers access to advice or increases litigation risk for financial firms. The DOL delayed implementation of the measure from April 10 to June 9, but the industry wants a longer time out.

“We strongly urge Secretary Acosta to take immediate action to further delay implementation of the fiduciary duty rule a minimum of 180 days beyond the current June 9, 2017, applicability date,” Kenneth E. Bentsen Jr., president and CEO of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, said in a statement. “As required by President Trump’s [memo], the DOL needs to prepare an updated economic and legal analysis concerning the likely impact of the fiduciary duty rule. This review will take time, and Secretary Acosta should immediately delay the June 9 implementation date while the required review is ongoing.

The Financial Services Roundtable called for a 180-day delay in a statement following the confirmation vote.

The Financial Services Institute, which represents independent broker-dealers and financial advisers, urged Mr. Acosta to make “the fiduciary issue a top priority.”

Two provisions of the rule — an expansion of the definition of who is a fiduciary to retirement plans and impartial conduct standards — will become applicable on June 9. The DOL has said it will complete the review of the rule between then and Jan. 1, the implementation deadline for the full measure.

Financial industry opponents are upset about that timeline, asserting that the whole rule should be delayed during the review.

Supporters of the regulation — which would require financial advisers to act in the best interests of their clients in retirement accounts — say that several court victories for the rule in lawsuits filed by industry opponents demonstrate its integrity. They question the motivation behind Mr. Trump’s directive, which echoes industry arguments against the measure.

The Consumer Federation of America said that the review is politically motivated and signaled it might challenge the Trump administration in court.

“[A]lthough we still hope to be proven wrong, the weight of the evidence leads us to conclude that the department has already predetermined the outcome of this reconsideration and expects to revise or replace the rule, regardless of what the reconsideration indicates about the effectiveness and workability of the rule,” Barbara Roper, CFA director of investor protection, and Micah Hauptman, CFA financial services counsel, wrote in an April 17 comment letter. “If true, that would be a gross abuse of process and would subject the department to claims that it acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner.”

http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20170427/FREE/170429901/industry-groups-tell-acosta-to-make-extension-of-dol-fiduciary-rule

Fiduciary rule delayed by 60 days

April 5, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

Fiduciary rule delayed by 60 days

By Andrew Welsch – FinancialPlanning – April 5, 2016

The Department of Labor has delayed the implementation of the fiduciary rule by 60 days, according to filing in the Federal Register. The move comes after Labor Department in February proposed a delay after President Trump ordered a review. During the 15-day comment period on whether to delay implementation, the Labor Department received approximately 193,000 comments, the department says in its 63-page filing. In that deluge, wealth management firms and some advisers pushed for the rule to be postponed lest they have to make changes to client relationships multiple times.

https://www.financial-planning.com/news/fiduciary-rule-delayed-by-60-days-but-still-not-dead

DOL fiduciary delay final rule expected to be released Wednesday

April 4, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

DOL fiduciary delay final rule expected to be released Wednesday

Agency pushes back implementation date just before April 10 deadline

By Mark Schoeff – InvestmentNews – April 4, 2017

It looks as if the implementation delay for the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule will be approved just under the wire.

In a letter filed with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday for a lawsuit against the rule, the Department of Justice indicated that the DOL is pushing for release of the final delay rule on Wednesday. The measure is under review at the Office of Management and Budget.

“The Department [of Labor] has requested that the rule be made publicly available the morning of Wednesday, April 5, and that the rule be published in the Federal Registered no later than April 7,” Michael Shih, a DOJ lawyer, wrote in an April 3 letter to the appeals court clerk, Lyle Cayce

The delay, which would push back the fiduciary-rule implementation date from April 10 to June 9, is expected to go into effect immediately upon publication in the Federal Register.

The DOL is seeking the delay in order to reassess the rule as called for in a Feb. 3 directive from President Donald Trump, who told the agency to modify or repeal the regulation if it was projected to deny investors access to investment advice or cause an increase in litigation for firms.

Those are two of the arguments that the financial-industry plaintiffs have cited in seeking a preliminary injunction against the rule, which opponents say is too complex and costly. Their motion was denied at the district level in Dallas, and they have appealed to the Fifth Circuit. The industry plaintiffs also lost on summary judgment at the district level in Dallas and have appealed that decision.

The DOL opposes a preliminary injunction, saying it is superfluous given the pending review of the fiduciary rule.

“[T]he balance of equities weighs decisively against interrupting the agency’s administrative process to vindicate the preferences of these disappointed litigants,” the DOJ, on behalf of the DOL, wrote in response to the motion for a preliminary injunction. The plaintiffs asked the court to rule on the injunction appeal by Tuesday, April 4.

Proponents of the rule, which would require financial advisers to act in the best interests of their clients in retirement accounts, say the measure is needed to protect investors from conflicted advice that leads to the sales of inappropriate, high-fee investments that erode savings.

http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20170404/FREE/170409984/dol-fiduciary-delay-final-rule-expected-to-be-released-wednesday

DOL: We Won’t Enforce Fiduciary Rule While Delay is Undecided

March 23, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

DOL: We Won’t Enforce Fiduciary Rule While Delay is Undecided

By John Hilton – InsuranceNewsNet – March 13, 2017

The Department of Labor issued a bulletin Friday alerting the financial services industry that it will not pursue strong enforcement of its fiduciary rule in the short term.

The bulletin was issued to clear up confusing over the rapidly approaching April 10 applicability date. That date may be delayed by 60 days if a DOL rule is published in time.

“Financial services institutions have expressed concern about investor confusion and other marketplace disruption based on uncertainty about whether a final rule implementing any delay will be published before April 10, whether there may be a ‘gap’ period during which the fiduciary duty rule becomes applicable before a delay is published after April 10,” the bulletin reads.

The DOL’s “temporary enforcement policy” is as follows:

A. In the event the Department issues a final rule after April 10 implementing a delay in the applicability date of the fiduciary duty rule and related PTEs, the Department will not initiate an enforcement action because an adviser or financial institution did not satisfy conditions of the rule or the PTEs during the “gap” period.

B. In the event the Department decides not to issue a delay in the fiduciary duty rule and related PTEs, the Department will not initiate an enforcement action because an adviser or financial institution, as of the April 10 applicability date of the rule, failed to satisfy conditions of the rule or the PTEs provided that the adviser or financial institution satisfies the applicable conditions of the rule or PTEs, including sending out required disclosures or other documents to retirement investors, within a reasonable period after the publication of a decision not to delay the April 10 applicability date.

The DOL added that it will consider additional relief “as necessary,” but added that the bulletin “should not be read as expressing any view on any decision regarding a final rule on the (delay).”

President Donald J. Trump ordered the department to seek a delay in a Feb. 3 memorandum. Trump’s memo tasked the DOL with studying whether the rule will deprive Americans of retirement advice and/or add undo cost burdens.

Republicans control the White House, as well as both chambers of Congress, and are intent on killing the Obama administration regulation. The fiduciary rule requires anyone selling financial products with retirement dollars to adhere to a strict best-interest standard, or face class-action liability.

https://www.insurancenewsnet.com/innarticle/dol-wont-enforce-fiduciary-rule-delay-undecided

SEC Chief Rips Into DOL Fiduciary Rule

March 3, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

SEC Chief Rips Into DOL Fiduciary Rule

SEC Chief Rips Into DOL Fiduciary Rule

By Kenneth Corbin – OnWallStreet – March 3, 2017

ASHINGTON ― The acting SEC chair isn’t mincing words on the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule.

“I have a very nuanced view of the DoL fiduciary duty rule: I think it is a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad rule. For me that rule was never ever about investor protection,” Chairman Michael Piwowar says. “To me, that rule, it was about one thing and it was about enabling trial lawyers to increase profits.”

His comments come as the fate of the Labor Department regulation is uncertain; the department has moved to delay implemention while it reviews the rule.

Piwowar says now is the time to rethink the entire debate around a fiduciary standard because of favorable circumstances, including the freeze he put on writing new Dodd-Frank rules at the commission and the administration’s push to slow or block the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule.

“That now opens us up to have a lot of staff-driven ideas come up through the commission, maybe things that haven’t gotten on the agenda for the last six-and-a-half years because they’ve been sort of crowded out by Dodd-Frank rulemaking, but yet are things we should be doing or should be thinking about,” Piwowar said in remarks at the Investment Adviser Association’s annual regulatory and compliance conference.

For the better part of a decade, the debate over a uniform fiduciary standard has been framed by the provision in the Dodd-Frank Act that authorized (but did not require) the SEC to harmonize the rules governing different types of financial professionals who serve retail investors. In the context of the highly politicized and polarizing Wall Street reform law, participants in the fiduciary debate have tended to retreat to their “camps,” Piwowar says, and the uneven standards of care remain unchanged.

“What I’d like to do is take the opportunity to step back from that and have a more fulsome discussion,” he says.

Piwowar suggests using a 2008 RAND study that the SEC commissioned as a starting point to reorient the fiduciary discussion. That study found that while investors are generally pleased with the investment advice they receive, there is widespread confusion about the different standards of care that govern the brokerage and advisory sectors.

In part, that confusion arises from the myriad titles financial professionals confer upon themselves, with many strains of “advisers” offering their services while operating under different regulatory environments.

“The idea that if someone calls themselves a financial adviser ― that means absolutely nothing, right?” Piwowar says. “Whether they spell it ‘adviser’ with an ‘E’ or ‘advisor’ with an ‘O,’ it means absolutely nothing, but a registered investment adviser has a very specific meaning, and therein creates a lot of the confusion.”

He says that a renewed consideration of the fiduciary standard could “start a conversation with people about, ‘Gee, if you call yourself an adviser or an advisor, then you have to hold yourself out to the suitability requirement of the Investment Adviser Act and case law that’s come before that.'”

Piwowar urged the advisers and compliance professionals attending the IAA’s conference to engage with SEC staffers to advance the fiduciary discussion and help to surface other proposals that could improve the regulatory environment, such as reforms to the commission’s advertising or custody rules.

Piwowar acknowledges that there will be little movement on major rulemaking initiatives like a fiduciary standard while he is the acting chair, but he hopes to at least to begin developing the groundwork for some fresh proposals ahead of the confirmation of Jay Clayton, President Trump’s nominee for chairman, and the filling of the two additional vacant commission seats.

https://www.onwallstreet.com/news/sec-chair-rips-into-dol-fiduciary-rule

Labor Department proposes to halt fiduciary rule, in win for brokers

March 2, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

By MARIANNE LEVINE and PATRICK TEMPLE-WEST

http://www.politico.com

03/01/17 02:18 PM EST

Labor Department proposes to halt fiduciary rule, in win for brokers

The Labor Department on Wednesday took the first step toward handing financial companies a victory in their effort to eliminate a controversial conflict-of-interest rule for brokers who offer retirement investing advice to customers.

The department proposed to delay the so-called fiduciary rule, which the Obama administration finalized last year after a fierce battle with the financial industry. The rule is scheduled to begin on April 10, but the proposal would delay that until June 9.

The move stems from a memo that President Donald Trump issued on Feb. 3 asking the agency to reevaluate the rule and defer its implementation.

The fiduciary rule would require financial brokers to consider their clients’ best interest — not their own commissions — when offering retirement investing advice. Insurance companies, mutual funds and brokerages have fought the rule because it will limit their sales practices. Lobbyists for these businesses praised the proposed delay.

Though the delay was expected after Trump’s memo, the 60-day period was shorter than what many lobbyists wanted.

“It’s certainly not what a lot of people in industry asked for,” said Michael Kreps, a principal at Groom Law Group. “We’re not sure why the [Trump] administration, the Department of Labor in consultation with OMB [Office of Management and Budget], why they landed on 60 days as opposed to a longer delay.”

Despite the brief delay, financial companies can still expect the Trump administration to ultimately rescind the fiduciary rule, said Jaret Seiberg, an analyst with Cowen & Co.

“This is about protecting the delay from a legal challenge,” Seiberg said in a research note. “A shorter delay leaves less time to challenge the delay and the overall magnitude of the cost of delay is less. As a result, it is a safer option for the Labor Department.”

In early June, the Labor Department is likely to issue another delay in conjunction with a plan to rescind much of the regulation, Seiberg said.

Republicans were quick to praise the move. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who chairs the Senate HELP Committee, said the delay “is a good first step in reviewing and repealing the so-called fiduciary rule” and that “the rule should be withdrawn before it cripples low- and middle-income Tennesseans’ access to affordable retirement advice.”

Not all financial companies want the rule eliminated. Financial Engines Inc., a California-based company that offers retirement planning services, said in a Feb. 24 letter to the Labor Department that the fiduciary rule is “crucial” and “beneficial for investors.”

“The vast majority of investors are entirely unaware that these conflicts of interest even exist, and often end up with investments that have lower returns and higher fees,” Financial Engines said.

Global Atlantic-Accelerate your earnings potential!

March 2, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

Global Atlantic-Accelerate your earnings potential!

AGENT BONUS PROGRAM FOR SELECT ANNUITIES Effective for applications received 2/21/2017 through 3/31/2017. Accelerate your earnings potential with a 1% commission bonus on sales from February 21, 2017 through March 31, 2017.

In addition to your regularly scheduled point of sale commissions, we’re providing a 1% bonus on sales of:

Choice Income fixed index annuity
Income 150+ fixed index annuity
Income 125+ fixed index annuity
Index Bonus 115 fixed index annuity
ForeSpending Select fixed index annuity

with no minimum production requirement. So, if these products are appropriate for your clients, you can now enjoy a potential reward for your overall production while fulfilling your clients’ needs.

Rev up your sales and accelerate your earning potential today!

Rules of the road Agents are eligible if they have no debit balance and have not been the subject of any customer complaint. The program and its criteria apply to individual writing agents signing applications. Prior to payout, a W-9 is required from each agent who will receive a payout. Final payments will be assessed 91 days post-close of promotion. Any cases not fully funded in 90 days become ineligible for this incentive. Global Atlantic reserves the right to terminate or change the terms of this program at any time, at its sole discretion, and will make all determinations as to eligibility.

FOR PRODUCER USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH THE PUBLIC.

Global_Atlantic_agent_commission_bonus

Choice Income fixed index annuity is issued by Forethought Life Insurance Company, 10 West Market Street, Suite 2300, Indianapolis, Indiana. Available in most states with contract FL-FIA-13 and ICC14-FL-FIA. ForeSpending Select fixed index annuity is issued by Forethought Life Insurance Company, 10 West Market Street, Suite 2300, Indianapolis, Indiana. Available in most states with Contract FA1201SPDAX-02, FA1201SPDAX-01, ICC11-FA1201SPDAX-01 and FA1201SPDAXL-02 (certificate series GA1201SPDAX-02, as applicable). Income 125+ and Index Bonus 115 fixed index annuities are issued by Forethought Life Insurance Company, 10 West Market Street, Suite 2300, Indianapolis, Indiana. Available in most states with Contract FA2001SPDAX-01 and FA2001SPDAXL-01. Income 150+, fixed index annuities are issued by Forethought Life Insurance Company, 10 West Market Street, Suite 2300, Indianapolis, Indiana. Available in most states with Contract FA1201SPDAX-01, FA1201SPDAX-02, ICC11-FA1201SPDAX-01 and FA1201SPDAXL-02. Global Atlantic Financial Group (Global Atlantic) is the marketing name for Global Atlantic Financial Group Limited and its subsidiaries, including Forethought Life Insurance Company and Accordia Life and Annuity Company. Each subsidiary is responsible for its own financial and contractual obligations.

Equitrust Commission Special!

March 2, 2017/in Annuity News/by Neal LaPierre

Equitrust Commission Special!

Earn an Additional $500 Cash On EACH $50,000-Premium Annuity Sale!

No Limit!

This year, when March rolls around…think EquiTrust!

For each annuity sale of $50,000 premium or more, you will earn an additional

$500 commission special

Madness Rules

• Applies to applications received at EquiTrust between March 1 and March 31, 2017.
• Contracts must be issued by April 28, 2017.
• Commission special will be paid in early May.
• Only one bonus will be paid for an individual client.
• For split cases, the commission special will follow the commission split.
• EquiTrust may terminate this offer at any time.

TAS_MarchMoneyMadnessFlyer

For Producer Use Only.

EquiTrust Life Insurance Company, West Des Moines, IA

Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Company Important Announcement 2/13/2017

February 14, 2017/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Company Important Announcement 2/13/2017

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Dear Producers and Marketing Partners,

2016 marked an important milestone for Atlantic Coast Life, as it was the first year we entered the fixed annuity market with the Safe Harbor and Safe Haven multi-year guarantee (MYG) annuities. With your help, first year sales exceeded $200 million and we look forward to an even bigger 2017!

As you may know, we introduced one of the first MYG annuities with a simple interest crediting strategy. For us the choice was easy; develop an annuity that allows customers to not only maximize interest by offering an innovative crediting strategy, but also give them control to choose the liquidity options, if any, that make the most sense based on their needs.

While it is our intent to continue the concept of maximizing choices, benefits and crediting rates, in today’s economy it is important for us to quickly adapt to the current investment, regulatory and competitive environment. With this thought in mind, we will be making the following changes effective March 1, 2017 to the Safe Harbor plans:

The Safe Harbor simple interest plans will no longer have the optional Preferred 10% Withdrawal (10%) or Accumulated Interest Withdrawal (AIW) liquidity riders.
In exchange, the crediting rates for the plans will increase by 5bps.

This change continues to provide your customers with choices, however, if liquidity is not important they now have an option to earn even higher interest.

For customers looking for high crediting rates and liquidity options, we will continue to offer the Safe Haven plans, which have optional liquidity riders. No changes will be made to the Safe Haven plans at this time.

Please contact your marketing representative if you have questions. We sincerely appreciate your continued support and look forward to another successful year being a leader in the MYG annuity market.

Click on the link below for a printable copy of this letter or to download the new rate sheet. The application packet and other product forms will be available to download from the forms portal shortly.

ACL Safe Harbor Announcement-2-13-17

ACL Rate Sheet – Effective 03/01/2017

With these changes, there are some important dates to keep in mind:

February 28, 2017: Date applications must be signed to be able to add the AIW and 10% rider. Applications must be signed before or on February 28, 2017 to be able to add the AIW and 10% rider on the Safe Harbor Annuity.

March 1, 2017: Date when changes take effect. Any application signed on or after March 1, 2017 will receive a 5 bps increase and will not be able to add the AIW or 10% rider on the Safe Harbor Annuity.

March 7, 2017: Date application must be received in Home Office to be able to add the AIW and 10% rider. Applications signed before or on February 28, 2017 must be received in the Home Office by March 7, 2017 to be able to add the AIW and 10% rider on the Safe Harbor Annuity. We will accept faxed or e-mailed applications on March 7, 2017.

New Business E-mail: acl.newbusiness@insadminservices.com

New Business Fax: 888-433-4795

April 17, 2017: Date 45-day rate lock ends. All transfers and exchanges for any application signed on February 28, 2017 or earlier must be completed by April 17, 2017 in order to add the AIW and 10% rider on the Safe Harbor Annuity.

Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Company“A Beacon of Integrity Since 1925”

Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Company is a premier provider of life insurance, pre-need and fixed annuity products for families.

The 3.10%* MYGA Interest Rate Special is Back!

The 3.10%* MYGA Interest Rate Special is Here!

February 7, 2017/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

The 3.10%* MYGA Interest Rate Special is Here!

The MYGA 3.10%* Interest Rate Special is Here!

The FG Guarantee-Platinum® 5 Interest Rate Special is Now Available

Get more for your clients with 3.10% for 5 years! Act now – this competitive interest rate will only be offered for a limited time with FGL’s Guarantee-Platinum® 5 single premium fixed deferred annuity. Due to recent product changes, this special is NOT available in California & New Jersey.

Please click below for details. You can also visit our MYGA Wiki or contact us directly at 888-661-1999 with any additional questions.

FIND OUT MORE

*This initial interest rate is effective for new annuities issued as of February 6, 2017 for the first five contract years only. Thereafter, the company may declare at its sole discretion a new rate which could be lower. This initial rate is also subject to change at any time in the company’s sole discretion for new contracts. There is a 30 day window at the end of each five year guarantee period where your client may withdraw all or part of the annuity value without application of surrender charges or market value adjustment. A new guarantee period and surrender charge period will begin after the end of the previous ones.

For Producer Use Only – Not For Use in Solicitation to Consumers

Form Number: FGL SPDA-MY-F-C (6-04), FGL SPDA-MY-F (07-04); ICC14-1095 (06-14) et al. Form number and availability may vary by state.

Fidelity & Guaranty Life is the marketing name for Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company issuing insurance in the United States outside of New York. Contracts issued by Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company, Des Moines, IA.

F&G MYGA Special Interest Rate to End Friday 12-16-16

December 14, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

F&G MYGA Special Interest Rate to End Friday 12-16-16

Effective Friday, December 16, the special 3.10%* interest rate on our FG Guarantee-Platinum® 5 single premium fixed deferred traditional annuity will end.

Please click below for more information. You can also visit MYGA Wiki or contact us directly at 888-661-1999 with any additional questions.

FIND OUT MORE

Guggenheim Life Annuity Rates are increasing for December

November 29, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

Guggenheim Life Annuity Rates are increasing for December

What’s New? All Preserve Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity rates are increasing for the month of December with the exception of the 3-year guaranteed period!

*Interest rates as stated are effective as of 12/1/2016 and are subject to change in the future at the discretion of the company. For more information, contact our marketing department at (888) 661-1999.

For Agent Use Only. Not Intended for Solicitation Purposes or Advertising to the Public.

Guggenheim Partners, LLC is a global investment and advisory firm. For more information, visit guggenheimpartners.com.

North American MYGA Rate Increase 12/6/2016

November 28, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

North American MYGA Rate Increase 12/6/2016

MYGA interest rate increase effective December 6, 2016

North American Guarantee Choice^SM Multi-Year Guarantee Annuity (MYGA) interest rates are increasing as follows:

Surrender Charge Period¹	New High Band Rate	Old High Band Rate	New Low Band Rate	Old Low Band Rate
3-Year	1.60%	1.30%	1.30%	1.00%
4-Year	1.80%	1.50%	1.55%	1.25%
5-Year	2.45%	2.25%	2.20%	2.00%
6-Year	2.20%	1.90%	1.95%	1.65%
7-Year	2.45%	2.15%	2.20%	1.90%
8-Year	2.60%	2.30%	2.40%	2.10%
9-Year	2.70%	2.40%	2.50%	2.20%
10-Year	2.80%	2.50%	2.60%	2.30%

Updated rate sheets will be available on website by December 6, 2016.

FOR AGENT USE ONLY. NOT TO BE USED FOR CONSUMER SOLICITATION PURPOSES. Products issued by North American Company for Life and Health Insurance^®, West Des Moines, IA. Product features and options may not be available in all states or appropriate for all clients. See product brochures, disclosures and state availability chart for further details, limitations and information on appropriate state variations. The North American Guarantee Choice^SM is issued on forms NC/NA1000A (certificate/contract) AE515A, AE516A, LR427A, LR433A, LR441A and LR441A-1 (endorsements/riders). 1. A surrender during the surrender charge period could result in a loss of premium. The surrender charge and Interest Adjustment (also known as Market Value Adjustment) reset with renewal. Surrender charge structure may vary by state.

Multi-Select Series from Oxford Life - rates up to 3.20%

Oxford Life Increased Annuity Rates effective 11-15-16

November 18, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

Oxford Life Increased Annuity Rates effective 11-15-16

11-15-16_oxford_allannuityrates

1 Rate based on $20,000 or more in premium for the initial guaranteed period. Interest rates effective 11-15-2016 and are subject to change. Call for current rates.The Oxford Life Multi-SelectTM annuity is issued by Oxford Life Insurance Company. A comprehensive description of the policy benefits, costs, exclusions, limitations and terms is available to you upon request. An investment in this contract is subject to possible loss of principal and earnings, since a surrender charge and market value adjustment may apply to withdrawals or upon surrender of the contract. Not available in all states. For more information, please refer to policy form ICC14-MYGA0814, DA520 and state-specific variations where applicable.

Earn $2500 in Holiday Cash Bonus with Atlantic Coast Life

November 17, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

Earn $2500 in Holiday Cash Bonus with Atlantic Coast Life

acl_holiday_cash_bonus_2016

The Interest Rate Special from Fidelity & Guaranty Life is Around the Corner

November 17, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

The Interest Rate Special from Fidelity & Guaranty Life is Around the Corner

The 3.10% Interest Rate Special on FG Guarantee-Platinum^® 5 Starts on November 28, 2016

For a limited time, Fidelity & Guaranty Life’s FG Guarantee-Platinum single premium fixed deferred annuity with a five-year guarantee period will increase to 3.10%* – initial guarantee period.

Due to recent state regulation requirements, this special will not be available in CA or NJ.

Please see below for details. You can also visit the MYGA Wiki or contact us directly at 888-661-1999 with any additional questions.

fgmygaratespecial_2016

*This initial interest rate is effective for new annuities issued as of November 28, 2016, for the first five contract years only. Thereafter, the company may declare at its sole discretion a new rate which could be lower. This initial rate is also subject to change at any time in the company’s sole discretion for new contracts. There is a 30 day window at the end of each five year guarantee period where your client may withdraw all or part of the annuity value without application of surrender charges or market value adjustment. A new guarantee period and surrender charge period will begin after the end of the previous ones.

For Producer Use Only – Not For Use in Solicitation to Consumers

Form Number: FGL SPDA-MY-F-C (6-04), FGL SPDA-MY-F (07-04); ICC14-1095 (06-14) et al. Form number and availability may vary by state.

Fidelity & Guaranty Life is the marketing name for Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company issuing insurance in the United States outside of New York. Contracts issued by Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company, Des Moines, IA.

The DOL Issues Fiduciary Rule FAQ

October 28, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

The DOL Issues Fiduciary Rule FAQ

The DOL Issues Fiduciary Rule FAQ

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the DOL issued its first set up FAQs today.

The Department of Labor published an wide-ranging FAQ, based on input received from the financial services industry and others with questions about the new, stricter fiduciary standard to be applied starting next year. The 21-page FAQ addresses general questions and more exacting questions about complex circumstances annuity agents may face.

They address questions like:

How will the Labor Department approach implementation of the new rule and exemptions during the period when financial institutions and advisers are coming into compliance?
The full Best Interest Contract Exemption provides that financial institutions cannot “use or rely upon quotas, appraisals, performance or personnel actions, bonuses, contests, special awards, differential compensation or other actions or incentives that are intended or would reasonably be expected to cause Advisers to make recommendations that are not in the Best Interest of the Retirement Investor.” Does this provision categorically preclude financial institutions from paying higher commission rates to advisers based on volume (that is, by using an escalating grid under which the percentage commission paid to the adviser increases at certain thresholds)?
When do firms and their advisers have to comply with the conditions of the new Best Interest Contract Exemption and Principal Transactions Exemption?

You can read them here…

Sentinel Security Life Annuity Rate Increase Effective 10/24/2016

October 24, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

Sentinel Security Life Annuity Rate Increase Effective 10/24/2016

We are excited to announce that the 5-year and 10-year MYGA crediting rates will be increasing by 10bps effective immediately! To view the updated rates, please download a copy of the current Rate Sheet below.

These new rates will be applied to all contracts issued on or after 10/24/2016 regardless of the date the application was received.

sentinel-interest-rates-rev_10-24-16

As we approach the last half of the 4th Quarter, 2016 is going to be another successful year for MYGA production and Sentinel would like to thank you for your continued support and the business that you place with us. It is our intent that this increase will help end the year strong for all of us!

Sentinel Security Life Annuity Rate Increase Effective 10/24/2016

Atlantic Coast Life Annuity Rate Increase Effective 10/24/2016

October 24, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

Atlantic Coast Life Annuity Rate Increase Effective 10/24/2016

MYGA Annuity crediting rates are increasing effective October 24, 2016! To view updated rates, please download a copy of the Annuity Rate Sheet below.

These new rates will be applied to all contracts issued on or after 10/24/16 regardless of the date the application was received.

acl-rates-10-24-16

Administrative Office Addresses

New business applications can be sent to Atlantic Coast’s Administrative Office by postal or overnight mail using the following addresses:

Mailing Address (USPS)

Administrative Office

PO Box 27248

Salt Lake City, UT 84127-0248

Overnight / Express Address* (UPS, FedEx)

Administrative Office

1405 W 2200 S

Salt Lake City, UT 84119

*Please note, their mail center is not open to accept overnight or express mail before 8 AM, MDT.

4 versions of the Best Interest Contract Exemption

October 21, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

4 versions of the Best Interest Contract Exemption

Alternative forms of the DOL fiduciary rule’s BIC exemption that apply to advisory, brokerage and insurance firms

By Nick Thornton – LifeHealthPro – October 21, 2016

During a comprehensive presentation on the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule, attorney Marcia Wagner called the regulation “the most significant and groundbreaking rulemaking to ever emerge” from the DOL.

The advisors and stakeholders endeavoring to adapt to the massive rule are likely in agreement with Wagner, founder of Boston-based The Wagner Law Group, a firm specializing in consulting and litigating matters under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

During an hour-long webinar hosted by the Retirement Income Industry Association, Wagner interpreted the roughly 1,000-page edict in clean bullet points, accompanied by her elaboration of the rule’s impact on industry.

Her analysis of the Best Interest Contract Exemption, which DOL designed to enforce its expanded definition of fiduciary under ERISA, likely caught the attention of participating stakeholders.

That’s because, in reality, there is not one Best Interest Contract Exemption, but four, according to Wagner’s interpretation of the rule.

Wagner defined alternative forms of the exemption that apply to advisory, brokerage and insurance firms depending on the type of client being advised and existing compensation agreements.

Here are the four BIC Exemption alternatives. Wagner cautioned attendees that she coined the definitions of each, and not the DOL, but that industry is beginning to adopt her language, a feather in Wagner’s cap that she said is “pretty cool.”

1. “Full Blown” BIC: For IRAs and Non-ERISA plans

The DOL rule allows brokers and advisors to receive variable — or commission-based — compensation, but only in compliance with the “Full Blown” BIC Exemption, which Wagner called the most extensive and complicated of the contract’s alternatives.

The agreement, signed by both the fiduciary and the individual client receiving rollover advice, or being advised on the management of IRA assets, must reflect the “full best interest standard” established in the fiduciary rule, said Wagner.

The advisor’s compensation must be disclosed, and fees and compensation on specific investments must be provided upon the client’s request.

The contract must disclose all conflicts of interest and explain a firm’s compliance policies for mitigating potential conflicts.

Fees on transactions of investments must also be disclosed. Firms will also be required to have business model and potential conflicts explained via a website.

The Full Blown exemption also must allow for arbitration over client disputes within a “reasonable venue,” and cannot limit class action rights, according to Wagner’s presentation.

2. “Disclosure” BIC: ERISA plans

This “slightly” easier contract, the “Disclosure” BIC exemption, does mirror much of the Full Blown BIC, but differs in that no written contract is required, according to Wagner’s presentation.

Advisors must give a written statement of fiduciary status and give “general” disclosure on compensation and conflicts of interest.

Specific compensation figures must be made available upon request. Like the Full Blown BIC, contracts must define a firm’s compliance policies and provide transaction disclosures on investments, and firms must provide a webpage “focusing on business model and conflicts.”

3. “Streamlined” BIC: Level-fee fiduciary

Existing RIA fiduciaries compensated on fees are not off the hook when it comes to the BIC exemption.

They will need to issue a “streamlined” contract when offering IRA rollover advice to plan participants of an existing sponsor client, when that advice results in higher fees. Thus, the “Streamlined” BIC exemption.

It will also affect level-fee fiduciaries when they give rollover advice to “off the street” clients — those they do not have a previous relationship to via a plan sponsor client.

Also, when level-fee fiduciaries move a client from a commission to a fee-based account, they will have to operate under a Streamlined BIC exemption.

That contract is less onerous, explained Wagner. It must include written statements declaring the fiduciary status of the advisor, and it requires the advisory firm to internally document the reason why the rollover recommendation is in the client’s best interest.

The Streamlined BIC does not require disclosure of compliance policies.

4. “Transition” BIC: For all IRA and plan clients

This optional alternative to the Full Blown BIC, the “Transition BIC,” may be of use to firms that are not ready to fully comply with the rule come April 10, 2017, the deadline for the first round of compliance.

The most onerous of the rule’s requirements will not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2018. The Transition BIC exemption gives those firms not fully ready to operate under the Full Blown, Disclosure, or Streamlined BIC by April 10 the chance to buy a bit more time.

With this alternative, advisors will have to provide a written statement acknowledging their fiduciary status, as well as conflict disclosures, which can be provided via email.

The name of the compliance officer who is monitoring complete implementation of the contract in the interim period will also have to be disclosed.

Wagner said there will be no need for compliance policies or other disclosures when issuing the Transition contract.

http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2016/10/20/4-versions-of-the-best-interest-contract-exemption?ref=hp-top-stories&page_all=1

The $65 Million Question: What License is Needed to Sell under DOL Rule?

October 5, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

The $65 Million Question: What License is Needed to Sell under DOL Rule?

By Kim O’Brien – InsuranceNewsNet – October 5, 2016

Since Americans for Annuity Protection launched its AskAAP program in August (available as a free benefit to AAP members), we’ve received hundreds of questions about the DOL Rule, its impact on annuity advisors and what it means to act as a fiduciary under the rule.

This week we highlight the most frequently asked question: Do I need a Series 65 to sell a qualified annuity IRA?

The short answer is NO. We will explain why in a bit, but first let’s understand what licenses are available to annuity advisors and what they authorize the licensee to do. We’ve compiled information from the FINRA, SEC and

Investopedia websites. There are three categories of regulators who oversee the licensing: State Insurance Departments, FINRA and the NASAA.

Of course, all annuity advisors must hold an insurance license from the state in which they sell annuities. It is usual for the licensing state to be determined based on the address of the annuity buyer. So, if the annuity buyer lives in Arizona you must hold a valid life insurance license issued by the state of Arizona.

As an advisor and/or agency holding a valid state insurance license, you are authorized to sell fixed annuities only; including fixed indexed annuities.

FINRA – Financial Services Regulatory Authority Licensing Breakdown

FINRA offers several different types of licenses needed by both representatives and supervisors. Each license corresponds to a specific type of business or investment. While there are several licenses which focus on specific types of securities, there are three general licenses that the majority of representatives and advisors usually obtain:

Series 6: The Series 6 license is known as the limited-investment securities license. It allows its holders to sell “packaged” investment products such as mutual funds, variable annuities and unit investment trusts (UITs). Principals who supervise representatives holding a Series 6 license must obtain the Series 26 license in addition to having already obtained the Series 6.

Series 7: The Series 7 license is known as the general securities representative (GS) license. It authorizes licensees to sell virtually any type of individual security. This includes common and preferred stocks; call and put options; bonds and other individual fixed income investments; as well as all forms of packaged products (except for those that also require a life insurance license to sell).

The only major types of securities or investments that Series 7 licensees are not authorized to sell are commodities futures, real estate and life insurance.

Those who carry this license are officially listed as “registered representatives” by FINRA, but they are generally referred to as stockbrokers. Many insurance agents and other types of financial planners and advisors also carry the Series 7 license to facilitate certain types of transactions inherent in their businesses. Principals of general representatives holding a Series 7 must also obtain the Series 24 license.

Series 3: The Series 3 license authorizes representatives to sell commodity futures contracts, which are generally considered the riskiest publicly traded investments available.

Representatives that carry the Series 3 license tend to specialize in commodities and often do little or no other business of any type.

NASAA – North American Securities Administrators Association Licensing Breakdown

Not all securities licenses are administered by FINRA. The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) oversees the licensing requirements of three key licenses:

Series 63: The Series 63 license, known as the Uniform Securities Agent license, is required by each state and authorizes licensees to transact business within the state. All Series 6 and Series 7 licensees must carry this license as well.

Series 65: The Series 65 license is required by anyone intending to provide any kind of financial advice or service on a non-commission basis. Financial planners and advisors that provide investment advice for an hourly fee or a flat fee percentage of assets fall into this category, as do stockbrokers or other registered representatives that deal with managed-money accounts.

Series 66: This Series 66 is the newest exam offered by NASAA. It combines the Series 63 and 65 exams into one 150-minute exam.

Broker-Dealer Sponsorship versus RIA Requirements

Licensees must register their securities licenses with an approved broker-dealer. Those who intend to hold themselves out to the public as Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) must register with the state they do business in if their assets under management are less than $25 million, or with the SEC if the assets exceed $25 million. RIAs do not need to associate themselves with a broker-dealer.

So what license MUST YOU HAVE to sell compliantly under the DOL’s Fiduciary Rule? That depends on the products and services you offer.

If you offer ongoing financial planning and charge a flat fee for your planning services, you will need a 65. If you want to sell variable annuities or mutual funds, you will need a Series 6 and 63.

If you simply want to offer fixed annuities and life insurance products for guaranteed income or asset protection needs, you will only need a life insurance license in the states you intend to do business.

However, if you want to give specific, individualized and tailored advice regarding the securities, mutual funds or variable annuities your client owns, you will need the appropriate additional license to do that.

On the other hand, if you limit your advice to general information about diversification, various investment markets, market risk and recent or historic economic activities, your state insurance license authorizes you to have those general conversations and you do not need additional FINRA or NASAA licenses to do so.

Of course, the insurance-only advisor must and should discuss client’s objectives, needs, risk tolerance, liquidity and time horizon as required by suitability and, if applicable, fiduciary compliance.

You may ask why is AAP so sure that you DON’T need a Series 65 to continue selling annuities in a DOL fiduciary world? Because the DOL states just that in the rule:

The Department published proposed new and amended exemptions from ERISA’s and the Code’s prohibited transaction rules designed to allow certain broker-dealers, insurance agents and others that act as investment advice fiduciaries to nevertheless continue to receive common forms of compensation that would otherwise be prohibited, subject to appropriate safeguards.

While a recommendation to move (or not move) qualified money to an annuity triggers the fiduciary duty, that does not mean you must now be Series 65 licensed. Don’t be lured by misleading marketing or opportunistic recruiters.

Get the license(s) you need to help the clients you choose with the products and services you offer.

Yes, as an insurance-only agent you may be leaving assets on the table because of insurance company suitability guidelines or licensing restrictions. And, yes, if you want to provide ongoing financial planning services, you will need to be licensed to do so.

But, if you choose to be an insurance specialist assessing your client’s insurance needs and you want to provide knowledgeable and competent analysis on what insurance solutions will best fulfill those needs, be an insurance-only advisor. Your services and skills are sorely needed in our overblown world of market risk and investment product idolatry. ________________________________________

Kim O’Brien is the vice chairman and CEO of Americans for Annuity Protection. She has 35 years of experience in the insurance industry. O’Brien served The National Association for Fixed Annuities (NAFA) for almost 12 years and led the organization to defeat he SEC’s Rule 151A.

http://insuranenewsnet.com/innarticle/1040908

FGL FIAs Now Available in MN, OR, PA and WA

October 4, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

FGL FIAs Now Available in MN, OR, PA and WA

FGL’s Performance Pro and Safe Income Plus Fixed Indexed Annuities Are Now Available in MN, OR, PA and WA

Both FIAs are ten-year products that offer vesting premium bonuses if the optional Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit (GMWB) rider is elected.* The vesting premium bonus is applied to all first year premiums. Training must be completed prior to selling FGL’s FIAs in these states – please visit SalesLink for details.

Please click below to download the dedicated flier below or contact us directly at 888-661-1999 with any additional questions.

performanceprosipinmnorpawapostlaunch

For Producer Use Only – Not For Use With the General Public

Product form numbers: API-1018 (06-11), ACI-1018 (06-11), ARI-1054 (02-13), ARI-1065 (11-13); et al.

*GMWB rider available at an additional cost. Performance Pro 0.95%, Safe Income Plus 1.05% deducted from the account value of each contract anniversary.

“FGL” when used herein refers to Fidelity & Guaranty Life, the marketing name for Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company issuing insurance in the United States outside of New York. Annuity contracts issued by Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company, Des Moines, IA.

DOL Fiduciary Rule Update

September 27, 2016/in Annuity News, The Life And Annuity Shop News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

DOL Fiduciary Rule Update

The Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule’s implementation date is rapidly approaching with portions of the rule going into effect April 10, 2017; with the full implementation of the rule being effective January 1, 2018. While many advisors already act in their client’s best interest, this Rule makes it their legal obligation.

We would like to take a moment to update you on many of the actions we have taken so that we can continue to assist you in growing your business.

Under the DOL Fiduciary rule, when the sale of a fixed indexed annuity using qualified funds is made, a “Best Interest Contract” must be signed by the client and a qualifying Financial Institution. In order to comply with the rule AmeriLife (our parent company) has applied to qualify as a Financial Institution with the Department of Labor.

Read more on this from InsuranceNewsNet.com AmeriLife Files for FI Status Under DOL Fiduciary Rule

This will allow AmeriLife (our parent company) to act as your Financial Institution when you conduct a fixed indexed annuity sale.

In addition to applying for Financial Institution status as an IMO, we are in the process of forming our own Registered Investment Advisory Firm.

We are affiliating with strategic and well known partners in the RIA world to offer a robust portfolio offering, full bodied technology platforms and practical training programs.

It is our intention to provide the necessary tools, systems and compliance oversight to allow insurance-only agents and registered representatives to continue to serve your clients through our qualifying Financial Institutions.

In order to help you transition to changes that will be needed to comply with the DOL Rule, we are attentively creating an extensive and well-defined training program. Our training program will not only assist you in working in a compliant manner but also support you in growing your business to new levels with the innovative technology and sales tools. It is our expectation that these tools and systems provide you with minimal disruption to your business so that you can focus on your growth.

We are committed to providing solutions both for registered representatives and insurance only agents. Be assured that we are here to help you grow your business and we look forward to continuing to provide you with a broad annuity products access in conjunction with new sales and operational systems to comply with the new standards that our industry will need to follow.

FGL Top Selling FIAs Coming Soon in MN, OR, PA and WA

September 26, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

FGL Top Selling FIAs Coming Soon in MN, OR, PA and WA

Breaking News! FGL Top Selling FIAs Coming Soon in MN, OR, PA and WA

Both FIAs are ten-year products that offer vesting premium bonuses if the Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit (GMWB) rider is elected.* The vesting premium bonus is applied to all first year premiums.

Please click below to download dedicated flier below.

gmwb_rider_-mn_or_pa_wa_marketer_version

For Producer Use Only – Not For Use in Solicitation to Consumers

Form numbers: API-1018 (06-11), ACI-1018 (06-11), ARI-1054 (02-13), ARI-1065 (11-13); et al. Form number and availability may vary by state.

*GMWB rider available at an additional cost. Performance Pro 0.95%, Safe Income Plus 1.05% deducted from the account value each contract anniversary.

“FGL” when used herein refers to Fidelity & Guaranty Life, the marketing name for Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company issuing insurance in the United States outside of New York. Annuity contracts issued by Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company, Des Moines, IA.

16-771

FGL FIAs in Florida Now Offer the EGMWB Rider

September 26, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

FGL FIAs in Florida Now Offer the EGMWB Rider

Fixed Indexed Annuities in Florida Now Offer the EGMWB* Rider

Effective with the October 8, 2016 buy date, the following FIAs sold in Florida will offer the optional EGMWB* rider (not the GMWB Rider):

Performance Pro®
Safe Income Plus ®
FG Retirement Pro®

Please click below to download dedicated flier below.

florida_egmwb_update_launch

For Producer Use Only – Not For Use in Solicitation to Consumers

Form numbers: API-1018 (06-11), ACI-1018 (06-11); et al. Form number and availability may vary by state.

*There is an explicit charge for this rider.

Fidelity & Guaranty Life is the marketing name for Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company issuing insurance in the United States outside of New York. Annuity contracts issued by Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company, Des Moines, IA.

16-715

Atlantic Coast Life Annuity Rate Decrease Effective 09/15/2016

September 8, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

Atlantic Coast Life Annuity Rate Decrease Effective 09/15/2016

Atlantic Coast Life Annuity Rate Decrease Effective 09/15/2016

Based on current market conditions we are lowering our MYGA credit rates. Effective September 15, 2016, the rates for our Safe Harbor 5-year annuity will decrease by 10 bps, the 6-year annuity will decrease by 5 bps and the 10-year annuity will decrease by 15 bps. There will be no change to the 7-year annuity rate.

Additionally, effective September 15, 2016 we will also decrease the rates for our Safe Haven 5 and 10-year annuity by 5 bps. There will be no change to the 6 or 7-year annuity rates.

To download an updated Annuity Rate Sheet, please see below.

Important Dates to Remember

September 14, 2016: Date applications must be signed to receive current rates.

Applications must be signed before or on September 14, 2016 to receive the current crediting rates.

September 15, 2016: Date when new crediting rates take effect.

Any application signed on or after September 15, 2016 will receive the new crediting rates.

September 21, 2016: Date application must be received in Home Office to receive current rates.

Applications signed before or on September 14, 2016 must be received in the Home Office by September 21, 2016 to receive the current crediting rates. We will accept faxed or e-mailed applications on September 21, 2016.

New Business E-mail: acl.newbusiness@insadminservices.com

New Business Fax: 1-888-433-4795

October 31, 2016: Date 45-rate lock ends.

All transfer and exchanges for any application signed on September 14, 2016 or earlier must be completed by October 31, 2016 in order to receive the current crediting rates.

ACL-Rates-9-15-16

Sentinel Security Life Annuity Rate Adjustment – Effective 09/15/2016

September 8, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

Sentinel Security Life Annuity Rate Adjustment – Effective 09/15/2016

Sentinel Security Life Annuity Rate Adjustment – Effective 09/15/2016

Effective September 15, 2016, the rates for the MYGA 5-year annuity will decrease by 10 basis points. No change for the 7-year. Additionally, our MYGA 10-year annuity rates will decrease by 5 basis points. To download an updated Annuity Rate Sheet, please see below.

Important Dates to Remember

September 14, 2016: Date applications must be signed to receive current rates. Applications must be signed before or on September 14, 2016 to receive the current crediting rates.
September 15, 2016: Date when new crediting rates take effect. Any application signed on or after September 15, 2016 will receive the new crediting rates.
September 21, 2016: Date application must be received in Home Office to receive current rates. Applications signed before or on September 14, 2016 must be received in the Home Office by September 21, 2016 to receive the current crediting rates. We will accept faxed or e-mailed applications on September 21, 2016.
October 31, 2016: Date 45-day rate lock ends. All transfers and exchanges for any application signed on September 14, 2016 or earlier must be completed by October 31, 2016 in order to receive the current crediting rates.

New Business E-mail: newbusiness@insadminservices.com

New Business Fax: 1-888-433-4795

Sentinel Interest Rates rev_9-15-16

Office closure due to inclement weather

September 1, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

Our office are closing today September 1, 2016 at 4:00pm Eastern due to inclement weather due to Hermine hurricane.

Office Closing in Observance of Labor Day

September 1, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

The Life and Annuity Shop wishes you and your family a Happy Labor Day!

In observance of Labor Day, our office will be closed on Monday, September 5th, 2016. We will reopen with normal business hours on Tuesday, September 6th, 2016 at 8:15 a.m. EST.

Sincerely,

The Life and Annuity Shop

Athene MYG Commissions Schedule Updates

August 30, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

August 29, 2016

Athene adjusted commissions on their Athene MYG products. The new commission schedule will apply to issued Athene MYG business with applications dated on or after September 3, 2016. To obtain an updated copy of your commission schedule, please contact us.

Commissions are being reduced by 50 bps on the MYG 5 and 7.

Thank you for your business. For product and sales support, please contact the best Sales Desk in the business at 888‑661-1999.

Athene MYG fixed annuity [MYG (09/15) or state variation] are issued by Athene Annuity and Life Company, West Des Moines, IA. Product features, limitations and availability may vary by state; see Certificate of Disclosure for full details. Products not available in all states.

Athene Interest Rate Update

August 29, 2016/in Annuity News/by The Life and Annuity Shop

August 25, 2016

Athene Interest Rate Update

We’re adjusting rates on our Athene MYG^SM , Athene Ascent^SM Pro , Athene Performance Elite^® and Athene Benefit 10^SM products as follows:

Athene MYG

Interest rates to increase effective August 26, 2016.

Multi-Year Fixed Strategy: Initial Premium 1-Year Fixed Strategy: Additional Premium
	MVA (Not available in AK, CA, HI, MN, MO, NJ, NY, PA & WA)		Non-MVA (Not available in NY)
	Current	New	Current	New
3-Year	1.60%	No change	1.50%	No change
5-Year	2.30%	2.40%	2.05%	2.15%
7-Year	2.40%	2.50%	2.20%	2.30%
While we cannot reissue policies, any pending Athene MYG business will receive the new rates if received after 4 pm CT on July 18, 2016 and the contract issue date is on or after August 26, 2016.

Athene Ascent Pro

Effective September 3, 2016.

Athene Ascent Pro	Ascent Pro 5		Ascent Pro 7
	Current	New	Current	New
2-Year No Cap PTP¹ – BNP (Par Rate)	95%	85%	100%	95%
2-Year No Cap PTP¹ – Morningstar^® (Par Rate)	70%	65%	75%	70%
1-Year No Cap PTP¹ – S&P 500^® (Volatility Control) (Par Rate)	65%	60%	70%	65%
1-Year PTP – S&P 500^® (Cap)	4.00%	3.50%	4.25%	4.00%
Bailout Cap Rate	3.00%	No Change	3.00%	No Change
1-Year Monthly Cap – S&P 500^® (Cap)	1.75%	1.65%	1.85%	1.75%
Fixed	1.50%	1.35%	1.65%	1.50%

Athene Performance Elite

Effective September 3, 2016.

Athene Performance Elite (PE)	PE 10 PE 10 Select PE 10 Pro		PE 15
	Current	New	Current	New
2-Year No Cap PTP¹ – BNP (Par Rate)	100%	80%	130%	110%
2-Year No Cap PTP¹ – Morningstar^® (Par Rate)	75%	65%	85%	75%
2-Year No Cap PTP¹ – S&P 500^®(Volatility Control) (Annual Spread)	2.75%	3.75%	1.75%	2.75%
1-Year No Cap PTP¹ – S&P 500^® (Volatility Control) (Par Rate)	45%	35%	55%	45%
1-Year PTP – S&P 500^® (Cap)	4.25%	3.25%	5.00%	3.75%
1-Year Monthly Cap – S&P 500^® (Cap)	1.85%	1.45%	2.00%	1.60%
Fixed	1.40%	1.00%	1.80%	1.40%

Athene Benefit 10

Effective September 3, 2016.

Athene Benefit 10 Athene Benefit 10 Select Athene Benefit 10 Pro Lifetime Income Withdrawal Percentages:	Level (Current & Guaranteed)		Increasing*		Inflation*
Attained Age:	Current	New	Current	New	Current	New
50-54	3.00%	2.75%	1.50%	1.25%	2.00%	1.75%
55-59	3.25%	3.00%	1.75%	1.50%	2.25%	2.00%
60-64	3.75%	3.50%	2.25%	2.00%	2.75%	2.50%
65-69	4.25%	4.00%	2.75%	2.50%	3.25%	3.00%
70-74	4.75%	4.50%	3.25%	3.00%	3.75%	3.50%
75-79	5.00%	4.75%	3.50%	3.25%	4.00%	3.75%
80-84	5.50%	5.25%	4.00%	3.75%	4.50%	4.25%
85-89	5.75%	5.50%	4.25%	4.00%	4.75%	4.50%
90+	6.00%	5.75%	4.25%	4.00%	4.75%	4.50%
* Guaranteed Percentages for these options will remain unchanged.

Benefit Base Guaranteed Simple Interest Rate:	Year 1-10		Year 10+
Athene Benefit 10 Athene Benefit 10 Select Athene Benefit 10 Pro	Current	New	Current	New
	8.00%	7.00%	5.00%	No change

Application deadlines Athene Ascent Pro, Benefit 10 and Performance Elite)

Applications with cash received in good order by Athene no later than 4 pm CT on September 2, 2016 will be issued as applied for.
Non-cash applications (e.g. 1035 exchanges, IRA rollovers) received in good order by Athene no later than 4 pm CT on September 2, 2016 will be issued as applied for if funds are received no later than 4 pm CT on October 28, 2016.
Applications received after 4 pm CT on September 2, 2016 will be issued with the new rates.

Applications may be submitted electronically using the Document Upload Tool. They can also be submitted by overnight mail to the following address:

Athene Annuity and Life Company 7700 Mills Civic Parkway West Des Moines, IA 50266-3862

Want to learn more?

Visit Athene Connect for product information and to run an illustration.

Download updated rate cards and state approval maps for all products.

View New Rates

Rates are subject to change at any time.

1 Because the index applies a volatility control mechanism, the range of both the positive and negative performance of the index is limited. The index is managed to create stabilized performance and avoid very high positive returns and very low negative returns.

The BNP Paribas Multi Asset Diversified 5 Index (the “BNPP MAD 5 Index”) is the exclusive property of BNP Paribas or one of its affiliates (BNP Paribas and its affiliates collectively, are hereinafter called “BNPP”) and is determined, composed and calculated by BNPP. “BNP”, “BNPP”, “BNP Paribas”, “BNPP MAD 5 Index” and “BNP Paribas Multi Asset Diversified 5 Index” (collectively, the “BNPP Marks”) are trademarks or service marks of BNPP and have been licensed by Athene Annuity and Life Company (“Company”) for use in a fixed indexed annuity offered by the Company (the “fixed indexed annuity”). The fixed indexed annuity is not, in whole or in part, sponsored, structured, priced, endorsed, offered, sold, issued or promoted by BNPP or any of its affiliates, or by Standard and Poor’s or any of its affiliates (collectively, “S&P”) or by any third party licensor of information to BNPP (the “Third Party Licensors”). BNPP’s only relationship to the Company is the licensing of the BNPP MAD 5 Index and BNPP Marks for certain purposes. S&P®, S&P 500® and S&P GSCI® are trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC and have been licensed for use by BNPP. None of S&P, BNPP or any Third Party Licensors has any obligation to take into consideration any of the needs of the Company or any of the owners, annuitants or beneficiaries of the fixed index annuity.

Poor’s Financial Services LLC and have been licensed for use by BNPP. None of S&P, BNPP or any Third Party Licensors has any obligation to take into consideration any of the needs of the Company or any of the owners, annuitants or beneficiaries of the fixed index annuity.

BNPP, S&P OR ANY THIRD PARTY LICENSOR DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS OR AVAILABILITY OF THE BNPP MAD 5 INDEX OR ANY COMPONENT THEREOF OR DATA INCLUDED THEREIN, OR THAT NO ERROR, OMISSION, DELAY OR INTERRUPTION WILL EXIST THEREIN. NONE OF BNPP, S&P OR ANY THIRD PARTY LICENSOR MAKES ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, AND EACH OF BNPP, S&P AND THE THIRD PARTY LICENSORS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE BNPP MAD 5 INDEX, ANY BNPP MARK, AN S&P INDEX, TRADEMARK (INCLUDING S&P 500® OR THE S&P GSCI®) OR SERVICE MARK OF S&P (COLLECTIVELY, THE “S&P MARKS”) OR THE FIXED INDEXED ANNUITY, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE REGARDING (I) MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE, OR (II) THE ADVISABILITY OF ANY PERSON INVESTING IN THE FIXED INDEXED ANNUITY.

BNPP, S&P or any Third Party Licensor does not have any liability with respect to the fixed indexed annuity in which an interest crediting option is based on the BNPP MAD 5 Index is included, and is not liable for any loss relating to the fixed indexed annuity, whether arising directly or indirectly from the use of the BNPP MAD 5 Index, its methodology, any BNPP Mark or S&P Mark or otherwise.

No purchaser, seller or holder of the fixed indexed annuity, or any other person or entity, should use or refer to any BNPP Mark or other BNPP trade name to sponsor, endorse, market or promote the fixed indexed annuity without first contacting BNPP. Under no circumstances may any person or entity claim any affiliation with BNPP without the prior written permission of BNPP.

In calculating the performance of the BNPP MAD 5 Index, BNPP deducts a servicing cost of 0.50% per annum, calculated on a daily basis. In addition, the BNPP MAD 5 Index methodology embeds certain costs which cover among other things, rebalancing and replication costs. Such costs may vary over time with market conditions. These costs reduce the potential positive change in the BNPP MAD 5 Index and thus the amount of interest that will be credited to the fixed indexed annuity that includes the BNPP MAD 5 Index.

The volatility control applied by BNPP may reduce the potential positive or negative change in the BNPP MAD 5 Index and thus the amount of interest that will be credited to the fixed indexed annuity that includes the BNPP MAD 5 Index.

Athene Annuity and Life Company’s Products are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Morningstar. Morningstar makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Athene Annuity and Life Company’s Products or any member of the public regarding the advisability of buying annuities generally or purchasing the Athene Annuity and Life Company’s Products in particular or the ability of the Athene Annuity and Life Company’s Products to track general stock market performance. Morningstar’s only relationship to Athene Annuity and Life Company is the licensing of: (i) certain service marks and service names of Morningstar; and (ii) the relevant Morningstar index (“Index”) which is determined, composed and calculated by Morningstar without regard to Athene Annuity and Life Company or the Athene Annuity and Life Company’s Products. Morningstar has no obligation to take the needs of Athene Annuity and Life Company or the owners of the Athene Annuity and Life Company’s Products into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Index. Morningstar is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the prices and amount of the Athene Annuity and Life Company’s Products or the timing of the issuance or sale of the Athene Annuity and Life Company’s Products or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Athene Annuity and Life Company’s Products are converted into cash. Morningstar has no obligation or liability in connection with the purchase, administration, marketing or crediting of interest for the Athene Annuity and Life Company’s Products.

Morningstar does not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of the Index or any data included therein and Morningstar shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein. Morningstar makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by Athene Annuity and Life Company, owners or users of the Athene Annuity and Life Company’s Products, or any other person or entity from the use of the Index or any data included therein. Morningstar makes no express or implied warranties, and expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to the Index or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall Morningstar have any liability for any special, punitive, indirect, or consequential damages (including lost profits), even if notified of the possibility of such damages.

The S&P 500® (the “Index”) is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates (“SPDJI”), and has been licensed for use by Athene Annuity and Life Company. Standard & Poor’s® and S&P 500® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”); Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”); and these trademarks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by Athene Annuity and Life Company.

Athene Annuity and Life Company’s Products are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, any of their respective affiliates (collectively, “S&P Dow Jones Indices”). S&P Dow Jones Indices makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Athene Annuity and Life Company’s Products particularly or the ability of the S&P 500® to track general market performance. S&P Dow Jones Indices’ only relationship to Athene Annuity and Life Company with respect to the S&P 500® is the licensing of the S&P 500® and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices and/or its licensors. The S&P 500® is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices without regard to Athene Annuity and Life Company or the Athene Annuity and Life Company’s Products. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation to take the needs of Athene Annuity and Life Company or the owners of Athene annuity and Life Company’s Products into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the S&P 500®. S&P Dow Jones Indices are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of Athene Annuity and Life Company’s products or the timing of the issuance or sale of Athene Annuity and Life Company’s Products or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which Athene Annuity and Life Company’s products are to be converted into cash, surrendered or redeemed, as the case may be. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of Athene Annuity and Life Company’s Products. There is no assurance that investment products based on the S&P 500® will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is not an investment advisor. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.

S&P DOW JONES INDICES DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO. S&P DOW JONES INDICES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. S&P DOW JONES INDICES MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OR MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY ATHENE ANNUITY AND LIFE COMPANY, OWNERS OF THE ATHENE ANNUITY AND LIFE COMPANY’S PRODUCTS, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND ATHENE ANNUITY AND LIFE COMPANY, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.

Athene Ascent Pro [GEN (09/15) NB, ICC15 GEN (09/15) NB], Athene Ascent 10 Bonus 2.0 [GEN10 (04/14), GEN10 (07/14), GEN10 (09/15), GEN10 (12/15)], Athene Ascent Pro 10 Bonus Select [TBS10 (09/12) SR, TBS10 (04/14) SR, GEN10 (07/14) SR, ICC16 GEN10 (09/15) SR], Athene Ascent Pro 10 Bonus [TBS10 (09/12)] or state variations; Athene Benefit 10 with Enhanced Benefit Rider [GEN10 (04/14),TBS10 (09/12) SR, TBS10 (04/14) SR, TBS10 (09/12) NB, EBR (04/14)]; Athene MYG fixed annuity [MYG (09/15) or state variation]; Athene Performance Elite [GEN10 (04/14), GEN10 (04/14) G, GEN10 (07/14), GEN10 (09/14), ICC14 GEN10 (04/14), TBS10 (9/12), TBS10 (09/12) SR, TBS10 (09/12) SR G, ICC14 TBS10(04/14) SR, GEN10 (07/14) SR, TBS10 (04/14) SR, TBS15 (09/12), TBS15 (09/12) G, TBS15 (09/14), GEN15 (11/14), MVA (07/14), PEPR (11/14), PEPR (11/14) G, ICC15 PEPR (11/14), ICC15 PEPR NMV (11/14)]; TargetHorizon 5 Annuity TBS5 (09/12); TargetHorizon 10 Annuity TBS10 (09/12), TargetHorizon 10 Select Annuity TBS10 (09/12) NB, TargetHorizon 15 Annuity TBS15 (09/12), or state variations; Athene SPIA Single Premium Immediate Annuity [SPIA (06/87)] or state variations are issued by Athene Annuity and Life Company, West Des Moines, IA. Product features, limitations and availability may vary by state; see Certificate of Disclosure for full details. Products not available in all states.

What’s Next for the DOL Fiduciary Rule?

March 16, 2018 by John Hilton

Originally Posted at InsuranceNewsNet on March 16, 2018 by John Hilton.

Gibson Dunn: No ‘Circuit Split’ on DOL Rule; Decision Applies Nationwide

March 20, 2018 by Nick Thornton

No circuit split

NAFA expected to drop its appeal in D.C. Circuit

Originally Posted at ThinkAdvisor on March 19, 2018 by Nick Thornton.

DOL Fiduciary Rule Struck Down by Appeals Court

March 16, 2018 by Melanie Waddell

Originally Posted at ThinkAdvisor on March 15, 2018 by Melanie Waddell.

November 1, 2017 by Best’s News Service

Originally Posted at AM Best on November 1, 2017 by Best’s News Service.

October 31, 2017 by Best’s News Service

Originally Posted at AM Best on October 3, 2017 by Best’s News Service.

Originally Posted at Kiplinger on October 2017 by Andrew M. Costa.

The delay must now be finalized by Labor Department

Best interest is in the eye of the beholder in debate over DOL fiduciary rule

July 18, 2017 by Mark Schoeff Jr.

Originally Posted at InvestmentNews on July 14, 2017 by Mark Schoeff Jr..

August 29, 2016

August 25, 2016

Athene MYG

Athene Ascent Pro

Athene Performance Elite

Athene Benefit 10

Application deadlines Athene Ascent Pro, Benefit 10 and Performance Elite)

Want to learn more?

Disclaimer

Latest Product & Annuity News

The Life and Annuity Shop