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Will You(r Insurance Advisor) Be Ready For New Treasury Regs?
The Treasury Department is set to release early this year a so-called "blueprint" to provide a more effective regulatory structure governing "advice givers", and has been seeking commentary from relevant members of the financial services community. Fresh off its landmark victory over the Federal Government in the SEC Broker-Dealer Rule Lawsuit, the Financial Planning Association (FPA) is one of the "loudest" voices in this debate and is now calling on the Treasury for more reforms involving the standards-of-care to which "advice givers" must measure up and a clear distinction between true insurance advisors serving the needs of the clients versus insurance products salespeople serving the product manufacturer.
In a comment letter to the Department of Treasury, the FPA agreed with the agency's plans to review the current regulatory structure and find ways to improve efficiency and strengthen consumer and investor protections. In particular, the FPA noted that regulatory reform for "advice-givers is long overdue." The "FPA believes financial planners and others who hold [themselves] out as financial experts, or who provide material elements of financial planning to their clients, should be held to a fiduciary standard," the letter said. "In some sectors of the financial services industry, a financial plan is often viewed internally as a marketing product designed to get the client in the door, and then used as a handy research tool to cross-sell products."
Of course, an essential ingredient to client-centric advice is empirical research, and TheInsuranceAdvisor.com (TIA) is the leading provider of independent research for the pricing and performance of life insurance products. CPE Research Reports are the fastest and easiest way to demonstrate independent advice versus those just selling certain products. If you are already using THEInsuranceAdvisor.COM research with clients, then request our "Who's managing your life insurance portfolio...Anyone?" brochure and/or use our Policy Pricing Calculator (PPC) to position your firm to take advantage of forthcoming Treasury Regs. Either way, click here to start incorporating the Confidential Policy Evaluator (CPE) Research Reports into financial plans and recommendations to clients.
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