Gil’s Musings
Regulators Need to Do More to Curb Egregious Annuities Sales Practices
“The Department of Labor is under pressure to release its new Retirement Security Rule, which would impose fiduciary obligations on more financial professionals working with retirement clients. But from my vantage point as a fiduciary advisor, regulators’ focus on individual retirement accounts overlooks more egregious activity in non-IRAs happening right under their noses. Particularly absent from the discussion about the rule are annuities sold by the insurance industry—often with punishing fees and commissions that slide by with little scrutiny.
These products are retirement vehicles, whether they are in an IRA or not, and are the more deserving focus of regulatory attention. When selling annuities, agents say things that are factually true but that are also apt to be misunderstood, leaving investors with very mistaken impressions and agents with very large commissions.”
Our very own Gil Baumgarten published the following piece in Barron’s. Click the link below to read the full article!
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