More On Legal & Compliance
from The Advisor's Professional Library- Using Solicitors to Attract Clients Rule 206(4)-3 under the Investment Advisors Act establishes requirements governing cash payments to solicitors. The rule permits payment of cash referral fees to individuals and companies recommending clients to an RIA, but requires four conditions are first satisfied.
- Client Commission Practices and Soft Dollars RIAs should always evaluate whether the products and services they receive from broker-dealers are appropriate. The SEC suggested that an RIA’s failure to stay within the scope of the Section 28(e) safe harbor may violate the advisor’s fiduciary duty to clients, so RIAs must evaluate their soft dollar relationships on a regular basis to ensure they are disclosed properly and that they do not negatively impact the best execution of clients’ transactions.
The New York Attorney General's office has widened its investigation of retained asset accounts (RAAs) to include several more insurers, according to our sister publications from National Underwriter.
The office has subpoenaed American International Group Inc., New York Principal Financial Group Inc. Aetna Inc., Lincoln National Corp. and CNO, formerly Conseco. They were added to a group of insurers previously subpoenaed that include MetLife Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc.
Meanwhile, two consumer advocates told insurance commissioners they would prefer to see regulation of insurance remain with the states, as opposed to a federal takeover.
Speaking before the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' (NAIC) Regulatory Modernization Task Force at the NAIC's summer meeting held here, Sonja Larkin-Thorne, an NAIC funded consumer representative, and Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders said they support a continuation of state regulation, but would like to see some changes in transparency.
Read a story about the NAIC investigation of deceased veterans' benefits from the archives of InvestmentAdvisor.com.
