Sanders Wommack

After decades of broker/dealers ignoring their fiduciary responsibilities of serving in the best interest of the “retail” investing public, there is a simple non-controversial solution—simply acknowledge and support the fiduciary standing of the broker. The brokerage industry’s denial of the “retail investor” the same consumer protections accorded to all other investors is self defeating as “retail brokers” have everything to lose if there is no enthusiastic b/d support for fiduciary duty and the professional standing of the broker when rendering advice.

SCW Stephen Winks

Stealing the FPA show, 'rock star' Marcia Wagner sounds four-alarm fire drill on DOL's onrushing fiduciary rule -- especially one arising from a stumper of a rollover provision

Marcia Wagner: The DOL also has an alternative way in which one can be a fiduciary, and this, to me, is slightly disconcerting.

Wagner Law Group

Karen Nystrom

Marcia Wagner

Ed Gjersten

The days when RIAs were the outsiders at the 401(k) party are fast coming to a close. What's new is that the mass of 401(k) assets 
is getting critical at about $3 trillion; fiduciary advisors are getting appreciated; fat fees and questionable kickbacks are getting exposed and stepping out of line is getting dicier as the Department of Labor tightens the regulatory screws.

The old reasons why the 401(k) business is attractive are still in place: there are fresh assets pouring in every month and when employees leave jobs or retire, they produce rollovers that build up IRA accounts for financial advisors. The drawbacks of getting into the 401(k) business are still in place, too. Dealing with retirement assets is really a second line of business and it remains -- unless you overcharge with hidden fees -- a low margin business with high potential fiduciary liabilities.

Still, the outsourcers, infrastructure and accumulated knowledge for RIAs to capitalize on is growing daily and a the mega-shift of assets away from brokers is making the 401(k) business riskier and riskier -- to ignore.

401(k) Stories

This section contains news and coverage about the dozens of conferences held in the advisory industry every year. Those conferences range from annual events put on by the big custodians to small hands-on workshops hosted by law firms, consultants and tech companies, among others. RIABiz can't cover all the conferences, but this page includes our stories about those we have written about.

We hope that getting a flavor of the different gatherings helps you decide which are worthwhile attending and &mdash; if you're in the conference business yourself &mdash; what clicks with attendees and what doesn't. Have a suggestion for a conference we should cover? Email me, Brooke Southall at <a href="mailto:brooke@riabiz.com">brooke@riabiz.com</a>.

Conferences

The past two years have been some of the most momentous in the relatively short history of the RIA profession. Legislators and regulators have been gradually embracing the fiduciary standard, though whether it will fully apply to everyone calling themselves advisors remains to be seen.

The Department of Labor’s crusade to lower costs and increase transparency in retirement plans means a spate of new regulations affecting advisors and brokers in that market. Dodd-Frank Financial Reform, meanwhile, continues to unroll across the profession, with the biggest change being a shift to state oversight of RIAs with less than $100 million AUM. In this section, you’ll find continually updated RIABiz.com coverage on all these topics.

RIA Compliance

Is there more than one way to be a fiduciary? Yup. Think the rule doesn't apply to your non-401(k) practice and won't affect your fees? Think again, warned the lawyer at the FPA conference in Boston

Stealing the FPA show, 'rock star' Marcia Wagner sounds four-alarm fire drill on DOL's onrushing fiduciary rule -- especially one arising from a stumper of a rollover provision

Related Moves

August 2, 2019 at 12:48 AM

Stephen Winks

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