I am not referring to the obstructive DOL ruling from the Obama administration crafted and supported by Tom Perez and Elizabeth Warren. That ruling is designed to depict all of us as commission grubbing, non-caring financial services professionals. And, basically one of 3 things will happen with this ruling.
We will have another delay (still possible at the time of this writing), it could be modified (maybe get rid of the BICE) or it could be "thrown out.” My guess is that a delay is possible, and modification a real possibility too. But, I don't see it going away. There has been too much discussion and our legislators would fall into the Perez, Warren and Obama trap and make the Members of Congress and Senators look uncaring.
We've been doing our bit... and I hope you have as well. Calling our representatives, writing letters and supporting Political Action Committees that share our views. But, you know what? It's going to be what it's going to be. Yes, we will continue fighting for our cause...and the cause of the American retiree and cooler heads will prevail. But, let's get back to the title of this article. This is not new. Let's look:
First off, most financial services professionals have always placed their clients' best interests before their own. Isn't this pretty simple. Don't most of us follow the "Golden Rule" and do unto others what we have others do unto us? Of course we do. Now, on this legislation that we are facing, the side backing the authors of this bill are using this as another reason to make us out as the bandits. I think they fall into the camp of... "What you're not up on, you're down on." ( I still get a little confused as terms have changed. I used to say... I'm up for that. Now, I think I am supposed to say... I'm down for that? I don't know. But, let's get back to the point.
This fiduciary best interest rule is part of theSociety of Financial Services Professionals (SFSP) code. It’s also there for the CFP's, the members of MDRT - and it is just the way things should be done. So, what is different now? Simple, you need to be able to prove it. You need Assessment vehicles (an example is AssessBEST supported by The Ohlson Group). And, as it stands now, in January 2018, you will need to do the assessment, then have a financial institution sign off on your recommendation as being a "best interest recommendation” and then store it in the cloud for 6 years.
You see, it's all the legalese talk that is making this tough. We just need to operate from an ethical point of view. Isn't that simple? I agree that we have some bad actors in our business. But, isn't that the situation with most professions? I think we could also include elected officials in that category.
(SCROLL DOWN TO CONTINUE READING)
We will have another delay (still possible at the time of this writing), it could be modified (maybe get rid of the BICE) or it could be "thrown out.” My guess is that a delay is possible, and modification a real possibility too. But, I don't see it going away. There has been too much discussion and our legislators would fall into the Perez, Warren and Obama trap and make the Members of Congress and Senators look uncaring.
We've been doing our bit... and I hope you have as well. Calling our representatives, writing letters and supporting Political Action Committees that share our views. But, you know what? It's going to be what it's going to be. Yes, we will continue fighting for our cause...and the cause of the American retiree and cooler heads will prevail. But, let's get back to the title of this article. This is not new. Let's look:
First off, most financial services professionals have always placed their clients' best interests before their own. Isn't this pretty simple. Don't most of us follow the "Golden Rule" and do unto others what we have others do unto us? Of course we do. Now, on this legislation that we are facing, the side backing the authors of this bill are using this as another reason to make us out as the bandits. I think they fall into the camp of... "What you're not up on, you're down on." ( I still get a little confused as terms have changed. I used to say... I'm up for that. Now, I think I am supposed to say... I'm down for that? I don't know. But, let's get back to the point.
This fiduciary best interest rule is part of theSociety of Financial Services Professionals (SFSP) code. It’s also there for the CFP's, the members of MDRT - and it is just the way things should be done. So, what is different now? Simple, you need to be able to prove it. You need Assessment vehicles (an example is AssessBEST supported by The Ohlson Group). And, as it stands now, in January 2018, you will need to do the assessment, then have a financial institution sign off on your recommendation as being a "best interest recommendation” and then store it in the cloud for 6 years.
You see, it's all the legalese talk that is making this tough. We just need to operate from an ethical point of view. Isn't that simple? I agree that we have some bad actors in our business. But, isn't that the situation with most professions? I think we could also include elected officials in that category.
(SCROLL DOWN TO CONTINUE READING)
 | HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FIDUCIARY RULE? READ KIM O'BRIEN'S DOL FAQ SHEET So, we are getting pretty close to June 9th which is kick-off time for the new rule. Most advisors still have questions. So, we have the answers. Take a few moments, read the "FAQ's" and then give The Ohlson Group a call and see how this will affect your practice. |
In closing, it's not going to do any good bellyaching about this. Our lives will change. Even with a potential repeal, the public knows of the "Fiduciary Rule" and you will have to act accordingly. At The Ohlson group, we have embraced this situation as we have the assessment tool that will lead to better sales, bigger sales, cross-selling sales and more referrals. This isn't the first challenge to our business and it will not be the last. The only "road kill" will be those financial professionals that choose to either try to circumvent the rule, or quit the business because it just seems so daunting. I felt the same way with our first office fax machine in the office that needed a separate office. Come on, let's get to work. Lots of people need our help and our ethical approach.
Until next time... good selling!
Until next time... good selling!
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