Broker-Dealer Law Blog

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Articles by Broker-Dealer Law Blog:


Recent State Fiduciary Duty Developments: Alabama and Rhode Island Issue Regulations

Alabama and Rhode Island are the most recent states to issue regulations setting forth a best interest standard for annuity producers in recommending an annuity to their customers. Both regulations follow the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC’s) model regulation by requiring producers to act in the consumer’s best interest and not place the producer’s financial interest ahead of the consumer’s. Prior to recommending an annuity, producers are required to disclose the scope and terms of their relationship with the consumer, how the producer is being compensated and any material conflicts of interest. Like the NAIC model regulation, the Alabama and Rhode Island regulations do not create a fiduciary obligation or relationship with the consumer and producers are not subject to civil liability for breaching any fiduciary standard of conduct.

The Alabama regulation is still in its proposed form, with comments due December 7, 2020. If finalized without delay, the regulation would take effect on January 1, 2021. The Rhode Island regulation has been finalized and takes effect on April 1, 2021. A copy of the updated state chart can be found here.

Recent State Fiduciary Duty Developments

September 1 marked the deadline for enforcement of the Massachusetts regulation on the fiduciary standard for securities recommendations. The regulation went into effect in March 2020. It is widely anticipated that enforcement steps will begin in the near future and that the Massachusetts Securities Division will be aggressive in seeking compliance with the new requirement.

View a copy of the updated state chart.

Recent State Fiduciary Duty Developments: Arizona Enacts Best Interest Standard

Arizona has become the second state after Iowa to enact a best interest standard for the sale of annuities. Like the Iowa law, both of which become effective January 1, 2021, Arizona’s law is modeled after the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) model regulation. The new law requires insurance producers to “act in the best interest of the consumer under the circumstances known at the time the recommendation is made, without placing the producer’s or the insurer’s financial interest ahead of the consumer’s interest.”

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Recent State Fiduciary Duty Developments

The Iowa Insurance Division has adopted the insurance producer portion of the rule for its proposed best interest standard for annuity sales, effective January 1, 2020. In response to comments, the Division elected to postpone the rule’s application to securities professionals, indicating that it intends to publish new rulemaking for the securities industry later this summer.

See the updated state chart.

Recent State Fiduciary Duty Developments

The Iowa Insurance Division has proposed a “best interest” standard for the sale of annuities in that state. The press release for the proposal indicates that it “follows efforts by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to develop a model Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation” and stated that the proposal is designed to be “harmonized“ with the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest. The comment period expires on April 28, 2020, though it seems this could be extended in light of the coronavirus crisis.

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State Fiduciary Duty Developments: Massachusetts Moves Ahead with Fiduciary Standard

The Massachusetts Securities Division has issued an amended version of its proposed fiduciary standard for financial advisors. The original proposal was released in mid-June.

The amendment adds definition to the standard by including a detailed list of requirements as described in Faegre Drinker’s updated state law chart. The absence of this type of description has been a major criticism of other attempts at adopting a fiduciary standard for financial advisors.

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The Final Reg BI Package: What to Know and What’s Next

To nobody’s great surprise, on June 5, the SEC approved the “Reg BI Package,” which includes a series of new standards governing the fiduciary responsibilities of broker-dealers and investment advisers. The approved items consisted of the Regulation Best Interest – Standard of Conduct for Broker-Dealers; Form CRS Relationship Summary; Standard of Conduct for Investment Advisers; and Interpretation of “Solely Incidental,” all of which seem likely to have considerable impact on the industry going forward.

Drinker Biddle’s Best Interest Compliance Team issued an alert summarizing the June 5th meeting, certain statements made by the commissioners, and examining the potential effects of the new standards.

Read the full client alert.

Recent State Fiduciary Duty Developments

We have updated our State Fiduciary and Best Interest Developments chart to reflect regulatory changes in New Jersey. The New Jersey Bureau of Securities has proposed a rule that will establish a fiduciary standard for broker-dealers and clarify the standard applicable to investment advisors. The comment period on the proposal ends on June 14; we anticipate that the regulation will become effective later in 2019. (Details of the proposal may be found in the chart.) The proposal is part of New Jersey governor Murphy’s aim to provide strong consumer protections. That objective also led Gov. Murphy in the last few days to veto legislation that would have eliminated a fiduciary standard for insurance producers.

We are also delighted to announce the expansion of the Drinker Biddle Best Interest Compliance Team by the addition of a team of attorneys with experience in litigation involving retirement and health benefits, especially in defending class action lawsuits. The new members of the Team are: Kimberly A. Jones, James F. Jorden, Glenn Merten, Gregory Ossi, Waldemar J. Pflepsen, Jr. and Michael A. Valerio.

Please contact us if you have questions about state developments or other issues that affect your business.

The Robare Ruling Regarding “May” Disclosures and “Willfulness”

The SEC continues to intensify its focus on investment advisers’ disclosures on Form ADV, including issues such as revenue sharing arrangements. A recent D.C. Court of Appeals decision finding that the use of the word “may” in such a disclosure violated the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 could have significant ramifications for investment advisers and the SEC’s Division of Enforcement going forward.

Read the full blog post.