DOL Fiduciary News: May 2, 2017
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DOL Fiduciary Rule Spared Death in Spending Bill
ThinkAdvisor; May 1, 2017
The $1.07 trillion spending bill passed late Sunday night does not include a rider to block the Department of Labor from implementing its fiduciary rule.
The bill, which funds the government through September, also freezes funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission at the fiscal 2016 level of $1.605 billion.
While the spending bill omits the DOL fiduciary rule rider, members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee told Labor Secretary R. Alexander Acosta on his first day to "conduct and finalize an exhaustive review of the final fiduciary rule before any part of the rule becomes applicable," pursuant to President Donald Trump's Feb. 3 executive order.
(http://www.thinkadvisor.com)
Morgan Stanley lowers commissions on ETFs, stocks in brokerage accounts
Reuters; Mon May 1, 2017 | 7:46pm EDT
Morgan Stanley's wealth management business said on Monday it is lowering the commissions that brokers earn on stock trades, exchange-traded funds and annuities amid pressure to lower costs for clients.
Commissions for brokers are now capped at 2.5 percent of a trade, the investment news website AdvisorHub.com reported earlier Monday. It is unclear if there was previously a limit on commissions.
Morgan Stanley spokeswoman Christine Jockle said that the change, which also affects unit investment trusts, is intended to "better align client costs" with brokerage services.
(http://www.reuters.com)
Pacific Life Expands Its Suite of Fee-Based Annuity Products
NEWPORT BEACH, CA -- (Marketwired -- May 01, 2017) -- Pacific Life announces a new fee-based fixed indexed annuity – Pacific Index Advisory℠ – which enhances its suite of products designed for lifetime retirement income. Created for clients who want to protect principal as well as potentially grow contract value through market-based interest crediting, Pacific Index Advisory provides financial advisors an opportunity to offer a fee-based solution in addition to the commission-based products currently available.
"Until recently, there haven't been a lot of choices for fee-based solutions that provide guaranteed retirement income," says Christine Tucker, vice president of marketing for Pacific Life's Retirement Solutions Division. "This new fee-based fixed indexed annuity offers advisors more choice and flexibility when developing their clients' portfolios."
(http://www.marketwired.com)