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In an editorial published in The Hill , SIFMA CEO and President Kenneth E. Bentsen argued that the DOL's "best-interest proposal" for financial advisers could limit American citizens' investment choices and prevent them from accessing the advice they need in order to save for retirement. S ee: Mr. Bentsen's Statement. Related news: ACLI Criticizes DOL's Proposed Fiduciary Rule (June 30, 2015); U.S. Department of Labor Issues Proposed Rule Regarding Fiduciary Definition (April 14, 2015).

The American Council of Life Insurers ("ACLI") submitted a statement to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee criticizing the Department of Labor's proposed fiduciary duty rule. The ACLI statement was submitted at a Subcommittee hearing titled "Restricting Access to Financial Advice: Evaluating the Costs and Consequences for Working Families and Retirees." According to ACLI, the Department of Labor's proposed fiduciary rule will "restrict activities that encourage low-to-moderate-income Americans to save, stifle the formation of small business workplace benefit plans, and

The House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions held a hearing titled "Restricting Access to Financial Advice: Evaluating the Costs and Consequences for Working Families and Retirees." The hearing examined the proposal by the Department of Labor ("DOL") to expand the definition of "fiduciary," and discussed how the proposed rule would impact workers, small businesses and retirees. The following witnesses testified: Panel 1: The Honorable Thomas E. Perez, Secretary of the Department of Labor (written testimony) Panel 2: Mr. Jack Haley, Executive VP

SIFMA President and CEO Kenneth Bentsen announced a proposed best-interests standard for broker-dealers who serve retail clients. According to Bentsen, SIFMA's proposed best-interests standard is a feasible regulatory response to the DOL's proposed rule relating to the definition of fiduciary under ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code. SIFMA stated that for over six years, it has strongly supported FINRA and the SEC's efforts to establish a uniform best-interests standard. According to SIFMA, whenever the DOL considers the adoption of a best-interests standard, that standard should be consistent

At SIFMA's 2015 Leaders and Experts Forum, industry leaders provided their perspective on the rest of the year's regulatory and enforcement initiatives for compliance and legal professionals. SIFMA Executive Vice President and General Counsel Ira Hammerman delivered the opening remarks, which highlighted recent and upcoming regulatory and enforcement initiatives. Mr. Hammerman commented on the reproposal by the Department of Labor ("DOL") of its "conflicts of interest" rule. If "done improperly," he said, the rule could hurt investors saving for retirement and "make the process that much more