Top Stories RSS Get our newsletter

Former White House National Economic Council Director, Larry Kudlow, is joining The Bahnsen Group, a $2.6 billion national wealth management firm with offices in New York City and Newport Beach, Calif., as an economic advisor.

The DOL rule took effect Tuesday, but the department and the Internal Revenue Service are both deferring compliance with the new rules until Dec. 20 as long as the “impartial conduct standards” are met. That means the recommendation is made to a best interest standard, it has no materially misleading statements and reasonable compensation.

A 130-year-old industry association is looking ahead to the next five years by looking at ways to increase its diversity, foster the growth of the next generation of advisors and raising awareness of financial services as an appealing career among students.

Fourth-quarter gross annuity sales of $1.8 billion doubled from the year-ago quarter. The company’s positive annuity report was driven by increased gross sales at Eagle Life (up 630%) and American Equity Life (up 103%).

Given the current constraints of COVID-19, face-to-face meetings are logistically impossible, and the market is increasingly unpredictable. So how do registered investment advisors learn to navigate the current virtual M&A market?

American International Group is open to taking on a minority partner for its Life & Retirement business, but the insurer is moving ahead with selling the 19.9% stake through a public offering. The company announced plans to sell the Life & Retirement stake in October.

“My sense is that the regulation has evolved to such an extent that many people think it should be part of the portfolio,” says Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of global fixed income at BlackRock.

Consumer priorities have changed significantly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with nearly half (45%) of consumers surveyed planning to save more and those most impacted financially seeking to mitigate future financial uncertainty.

The outlook for the year ahead is on the upswing. With the Federal Reserve continuing to maintain short-term interest rates near zero and vaccinations increasing in number and availability, the prospect for reopening the economy and returning to normalized growth seems likely.

There are still plenty of options on the table for the Biden administration to reshape the rule — a holdover from the Trump administration. The investment advice rule itself was a replacement for the unpopular fiduciary rule published by the Obama administration.

Digitalizing processes should not be seen as a replacement for the existing agency model. On the contrary: Digital technology should help insurers to automate standard processes and enable the agent as they advise the client to add an extra layer of personalized services.

As of Dec. 27, 2021, federal law will require health insurance agents and brokers to disclose all commissions to current clients as well as prospects.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, the federal budget act passed by Congress and signed by then-President Donald Trump on Jan. 3, contains a section aimed at commission transparency in health insurance. The law requires health insurance agents and brokers to detail their services as well as their direct and indirect commissions to current and potential clients.

The Department of Labor announced today that its investment advice rule — a holdover from the Trump administration — will take effect as scheduled Feb. 16. There had been speculation that President Joe Biden would withdraw the rule in favor of a rule that closer mirrored the fiduciary rule put forth by the Obama administration.