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Statement of Insurance Associations Filing Legal Action to Challenge DOL's Fiduciary-Only Regulation

"[This] filing makes a convincing case that the DOL's fiduciary-only regulation suffers from the same legal defects as the DOL's failed 2016 rule. It exceeds the DOL's authority under federal law, is arbitrary and capricious, and is unconstitutional. Moreover, it ignores recently enhanced federal and state standards for financial professionals who work with retirement savers. However, the DOL's biggest failing is its inability to learn from past mistakes." [ACLI v. DOL, No. 24-0482 (N.D. Tex. complaint filed May 24, 2024)]

NAIFA Comment Letter to SEC on Duties of Brokers, Dealers and Investment Advisers (PDF)

19 pages. Excerpt: "As both licensed insurance producers and broker-dealer registered representatives, [National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA)] members are currently subject to a comprehensive regulatory regime consisting of state insurance laws, state and federal securities laws, self-regulatory organization rules and the compliance policies and procedures of their broker-dealers... As a result of these multiple regulatory layers, NAIFA members are among the most comprehensively regulated individuals in the financial services industry.... The imposition of a uniform fiduciary standard could result in registered representatives having to significantly increase the time and resour ces they devote to regulatory compliance, which would, in turn, lead to increased costs for the registered representatives and increased prices for their clients. The likely result would be a decrease in services and advice for less well-off clients, who are less able to afford higher prices for service and assistance."

Text of ACLI and NAIFA Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment in Challenge to DOL Fiduciary Rule (PDF)

45 pages. "The regulation at issue here is a misguided and unprecedented intervention in the retirement savings marketplace. It will unnecessarily restrict consumers' access to annuity products and important information about those products. Yet the rulemaking failed to examine meaningfully the effects of the Rule on the annuity marketplace.... [T]he Rule will unnecessarily drive up the costs of guaranteed lifetime income products, distort the marketplace for retirement products generally, interfere with consumers' access to truthful information about those products, and worsen, not help resolve, the profound challenges facing retirement investors." [U.S. Chamber of Commerce, et al. v. Perez, No. 16-1476 (N.D. Tex., motion filed July 18, 2016)]

NAIFA Comment Letter to DOL on Proposed Delay of Fiduciary Rule (PDF)

19 pages. "NAIFA fully supports a time-certain delay of the current January 1, 2018 applicability date until at least July 1, 2019.... [W]ithout such a delay, regulated businesses will incur undue expense. Moreover, absent a delay and substantial revisions to, or withdrawal of, the current fiduciary rule and PTEs, Main Street savers will continue to be harmed."

Industry Associations Provide Joint Statement to NAIC on Best Interest Standard of Care for Annuities and Securities Transactions

"The standard that life insurance companies and financial professionals support will enable retirement savers at all income levels to maintain access to, and information about, annuities, the only financial products in the private marketplace that can guarantee lifetime income."

DOL Repeats Past Mistakes in Latest Fiduciary-Only Regulation

"The fiduciary-only regulatory package rolled out by the [DOL] last week is nothing more than a repackaging of its failed 2016 regulation ... The Department ignored clear evidence of the harm its earlier fiduciary-only approach caused retirement savers, disregarded recent enhancements to consumer protections, and discounted a federal court ruling that vacated the earlier rule."

New Survey Results Will Help SEC Understand Fiduciary Impacts

"46 percent of registered representatives and dual-registered reps indicated that if the SEC were to implement a uniform fiduciary standard, they would most likely shift their customer mix to higher-income clients. Respondents were able to select multiple strategies they would pursue, and 39 percent said they would increase prices, while 35 percent said they would offer a more limited range of products."