Fi360 Fiduciary Talk

While the direction of health care is nearly impossible to predict, the rise in health savings accounts appears to be inevitable. And under the DOL fiduciary rule, advice on these accounts will be considered a fiduciary act. In this episode, Blaine and Duane discuss HSAs and what advisors need to know when considering these accounts for their clients.

As new guaranteed income solutions crop up in the market, regulators appear to be on board with making them more accessible via 401(k) plans. In this episode, Blaine and Duane discuss the trends driving the guaranteed income market and what regulators have said in terms of making them available to participants, including as QDIAs.

When the government engages in rulemaking, as in the case of the DOL’s “fiduciary” rule, their duty is to develop policies that are in the bests interests of the public. Does that equate to a fiduciary duty akin to the one expected for investment advisors? In this episode, Blaine makes the argument that it does and discusses with Duane the sources of those fiduciary duties.

Even with a delay possibly forthcoming via the President’s executive order, the DOL’s “Fiduciary” Rule won an important victory when it was upheld in a Texas court decision. In this episode, Blaine and Duane discuss the latest developments in the ongoing battle over the DOL Conflict of Interest rule, what happens next, and what advisors should do now.

In this episode, Blaine and Duane discuss the release of a second set of FAQs from the DOL on its Conflicts of Interest Rule. The new FAQs cover a number of scenarios, with a particular focus on activities that would not be considered fiduciary recommendations under the new definition.

An overlooked aspect of the DOL’s fiduciary rule is that it introduces a “holding out” fiduciary status, where titles that imply fiduciary status will hold the advisor to that standard. Even with the uncertainty around the fiduciary rule, this trend appears likely to continue, as even opponents of the rule have demonstrated support for regulating titles that cause confusion with the investing public.

Fi360's director, J. Richard Lynch, AIF® was a guest on the 401k Study Group Radio show with Chuck Hammond discussing what the AIF® is and how advisors should be using it.

Blaine and Duane discuss the SEC’s proposed changes to public company disclosures under regulations S-K and the central role the information plays in the fiduciary process.

With the 2016 election just days away, Blaine chats with Duane about what a Clinton or Trump administration would mean for advisors, including what’s on their respective campaign platforms and turnover at the regulatory agencies. In addition, they take a look at the implications of the Congressional elections.

Ben Aikin, Vice President of Learning and Development of fi360 and Wes Stillman, Founder and President of Rightsize Solutions, discuss the vulnerabilities most advisors share and the steps any advisor can take now to better protect themselves from Cyberattacks.

As a fiduciary, should all advisors have emergency plans to deal with the unexpected? Blaine and Duane discuss recent state and SEC actions on business continuity rules and the case being made by the SEC to tie the rule to fiduciary duties.

Duane and Blaine discuss the SEC's liquidity rules for money market funds and what the rule means for advisors.

Blaine and Duane discuss how the DOL's final fiduciary rule impacts advisors who have been operating under suitability requirements associated with insurance and securities laws.

Blaine and Duane discuss the rapid growth of TDFs as QDIAs, how advisors should consider whether TDFs make sense for their client, and how to compare TDF products.

Collective Investment Trusts (CITs) have been capturing lots of attention and assets lately. CITs offer retirement plan fiduciaries an attractive, generally lower-cost, alternative to mutual funds. CITs have also caught the attention of regulators and litigators. Plan fiduciaries and investment fiduciary advisors need to be well versed in CITs and how to evaluate them. In this podcast, fi360 Executive Chairman Blaine Aikin and Chief Product & Strategy Officer John Faustino discuss how CITs work, trends relating to CITs that will be important for investment fiduciaries to follow, and how to think about them when conducting due diligence.

What is Reverse Churning? This is the opposite of excessive trading in a brokerage account. These are illegal practices that pad an unethical advisors wallet. Reverse Churning occurs when an advisor places the clients assets in an advisory account, and charges an on going management fee and they get paid for not providing enough services that justify that compensation that comes in on that fee fee basis.

Sales and advisory organizations are fundamentally different. That is the premise of the Labor Department's new conflict-of-interest rule. They have different priorities, which shape the culture and practices that exist in each. Consequently, they must be regulated differently and should be distinguishable to the public.

An interview with Sheri Fitts, President at Shoe Fitts Marketing, who was a speaker at INSIGHTS 2016. We spoke with Sheri about her conference session, Your Brand, Your Business, Your Bottomline.

An interview with Scott Reed, CEO at Hardy Reed, who was a speaker at INSIGHTS 2016. We spoke with Scott about his conference session, Devil or Angel: Is There Profit in Working with Non-Profits?

An interview with Gary Sutherland, CEO of NAPLIA, and Paul Smith, SVP of NAPLIA, who were speaker at INSIGHTS 2016. We spoke with Gary and Paul about their conference session, What You Need to Know About Cybersecurity.