News & Events

Variable Annuities (“VAs”) are attractive to many investors that would traditionally invest in mutual funds because they offer three distinct features unavailable in mutual funds: tax-deferred treatment of earnings; a death benefit; and annuity payout options that can provide guaranteed income for the life of the investor.

Bates Group is honored to be nominated again in four 2016 NYLJ Reader Ranking Awards categories. We appreciate your vote at https://oy105.infusionsoft.com/app/linkClick/7144/149419c9a3f9b6e5/365778/a2b7d0ed542ead6f

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Last week we discussed the background and recent history of the SEC’s Rules of Practice (“Rules”). This week’s blog is Part 2 of this topic, which will focus on the reforms to the Rules and their impact on defendants. 

In Part 1, we will review the background and recent critiques of the Rules of Practice that govern Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") administrative proceedings. In part 2, we will then look at the reforms, newly approved by the SEC, to these proceedings and discuss their impact.

Historically, when a financial advisor or “broker” left a firm, they had to decide between leaving their clients behind or taking them to the new firm and risking a lawsuit from their former employer. 

We had originally planned to continue our discussion on the dangers of employee theft of trade secrets in part two of last week's blog. However, due to the unprecedented and largely unexpected result of the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union, we have decided to push back part two until next week and instead focus on this historic event.

As a fraud and forensic expert, I am often confronted with the challenges companies face with employee theft. Preventing the theft of trade secrets often requires the implementation of systems that will restrict and/or deter employees from even trying to take information with them when they leave. But how are financial services companies managing this process in a highly mobile workforce?

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) plans to issue its long-anticipated fiduciary rule by April 2017, according to a proposed rule posted on the Office of Management and Budget website on May 18th of this year.

On June 8th - the same day that President Barack Obama vetoed legislation that would have vacated the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule - the American Council for Life Insurers (ACLI), the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) and six NAIFA chapters from Texas filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Crowdfunding is the practice of raising funds from a large number of people, often in small amounts. Historically, it is best known as a way for political candidates to raise funds from their supporters. Recently, crowdfunding has been associated with companies using internet portals such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo to raise funds or accept donations in order to launch a new product or support an idea.

Bates Group has been highlighting several important aspects of the new DOL Fiduciary rule that will help financial service providers continue to deliver effective, high-quality service to their retirement investors. The importance of understanding and adapting to the ins and outs of the rule cannot be overstated. Changes brought about by the new rule are expected to impact the more than $3 trillion of IRA investments. 

Last week, we discussed various estimates of the financial impact of elder investor abuses and began examining what is being done to address this significant problem. We will pick up today at that same point.

Last Monday, in a speech delivered during the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) Public Policy conference in Washington, D.C., U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, urged securities regulators to contact Congress and ask them to pass the Senior$afe Act of 2015, which would allow financial professionals to report suspected financial exploitation of seniors.

As we have discussed previously, the Department of Labor (DOL) released a new rule requiring anyone providing investment advice to retirement plans and accounts do so under the DOL’s new fiduciary standards.  These new standards are centered on protecting consumers from receiving investment advice that may be tainted by a conflict of interest on the part of the financial advisor (FA).

On May 5, 2016, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a new rule which would prohibit mandatory arbitration clauses that prevent consumers from filing class-action lawsuits against financial institutions.

On April 6, 2016, the Department of Labor (DOL) finalized its new rule and related exemptions requiring all who provide retirement investment advice to retirement plans and IRAs, extending to IRA rollovers, to abide by a "fiduciary" standard. The effective date of the rule is April 2017 with certain provisions phasing in through January 2018.