DOL Fiduciary News: August 18, 2016

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Allianz FMO Proposes FINRA-Style Oversight of Insurance Agents

InsuranceNewsNet; August 17, 2016

InForce Solutions, a field marketing organization for the largest seller of fixed indexed annuities in the U.S., is proposing a similar structure used by broker-dealers as a way to supervise independent agents.

Broker-dealers are registered with and supervised by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, a self-regulatory organization. The supervisory structure would allow InForce, an FMO for Allianz Life Insurance North America in Minneapolis, to review sales material and processes used by InForce agents.

InForce is one of six marketing organizations that applied to the Department of Labor to become a “financial institution,” which would allow for the sale of commission-based fixed indexed annuities by independent agents.
(http://insurancenewsnet.com)

Edward Jones Shakes Up Retirement Offerings Ahead of Fiduciary Rule 

The Wall Street Journal; Aug. 17, 2016 5:34 p.m. ET

Edward Jones unveiled how it will serve retirement savers in light of new federal rules governing brokers, showing it will curtail mutual-fund access for retirement savers in accounts that charge commissions and slash investment minimums on others.

The maneuvers are aimed at complying with new rules adopted by the Obama administration, requiring that brokers put the interests of retirement savers ahead of their own. Previous rules required that broker’s advice merely had to be “suitable” for a retirement investor, which some critics call a “weaker standard.”
(http://www.wsj.com)