National Association of Insurance and Financial

• 

  Retirement Planning Groups to SEC: Stop Messing With Money-Market Funds

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  August 21, 2012

  In a joint letter to the SEC Tuesday, the ICI, FSI and others said the proposed changes would render the funds "far less desirable—if not unusable—for retirement savers."

• 

  SEC Funding Boost ‘Not Going to Happen’: SRO Bill Co-Sponsor

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  June 6, 2012

  Opponents of Rep. Spencer Bachus’ bill calling for a SRO to oversee advisors had their hopes that the SEC would receive a boost in funding in order to thwart an SRO quashed on Wednesday.

• 

  Combatants Gear Up for SRO Hearing

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  June 1, 2012

  Their collective rallying cry: an SRO isn’t needed—particularly if that SRO is FINRA. What to do instead? Fund the SEC so that it can conduct more frequent advisor exams.

• 

  GAO Criticizes FINRA, SEC on Oversight

  By Arthur D. Postal  |  June 1, 2012

  Serious questions are being raised about the effectiveness of FINRA and whether the SEC spends enough time overseeing this self-regulatory agency.

• 

  Bachus, McCarthy Introduce SRO Redraft

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  April 25, 2012

  House Financial Services Chairman Spencer Bachus reintroduced on Wednesday his draft bill calling for an SRO for advisors—one week after industry sources told AdvisorOne that an SRO bill was imminent.

• Post-Election Estate Tax Fix?

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  March 1, 2012

  Tax issues will figure prominently in the goings-on in Washington this presidential election year, with the consensus among tax specialists being that Congress is most likely to address the estate tax when it decides late this year whether to extend the Bush tax cuts.

• 

  DOL ‘Disappointed’ With Industry Input on Fiduciary IRA Request

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  February 29, 2012

  The Department of Labor’s EBSA says it is “disappointed” that industry trade groups could not provide more data by the Feb. 24 deadline, and it's "bewildered" that the data underlying the Oliver Wyman report is "not forthcoming."

• 

  Senate Bill Threatens Life of Stretch IRAs

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  February 21, 2012

  Industry trade groups are up in arms over a provision in a Senate highway bill that would reduce the value of inherited IRAs, commonly referred to as stretch IRAs, and are determined to have it removed.

• 

  DOL Deadline on Fiduciary IRA Request Set for Feb. 24

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  February 16, 2012

  The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has given industry trade groups until Feb. 24 to fulfill the department’s request regarding what impact the conflicts of interest faced by brokers who advise on IRAs have on IRA investors.

• 

  Estate Tax Limbo Likely to End This Year

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  February 1, 2012

  The consensus among tax specialists is that Congress is most likely to address the estate tax when it decides late this year whether to extend the Bush tax cuts.