Compliance March 8, 2011

EBSA Extends Comment Period for Fiduciary Definition Change

Those wishing to comment on a pending regulatory proposal to revamp the definition of a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) now have more time to get their input officially submitted.
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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) announced Tuesday that the deadline is being extended for 15 days after the date the official transcript of the EBSA March 1-2, 2011 public hearing on the proposal becomes available online and in the agency’s Public Disclosure room. EBSA said the release of the meeting transcript is not yet scheduled.

Comments can be submitted electronically to e-ORI@dol.gov with subject line: Public Hearing on Definition of Fiduciary or on paper to EBSA’s Office of Regulations and Interpretations, Attn: Public Hearing on Definition of Fiduciary, Room N-5655, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC, 20210.

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Comments on the proposal already submitted to the DoL can be read at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/regs/cmt-1210-AB32.html.

 

Data & Research March 8, 2011

Don’t Keep Millionaires Waiting

Forty percent of millionaires expect a call-back from their financial adviser within two hours, according to Spectrem Group's “Millionaire Investor 2010” survey.
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An even more demanding 14% of millionaires want to hear from their adviser within the hour, according to Spectrem. Altogether, 72% of investors with a net worth of $1 million to $5 million, not including primary residence (NIPR), want to hear back from their adviser within 12 hours of their initial call. Not returning calls in a timely manner was the number one reason named for changing advisers (73%), followed by not providing good ideas and advice (57%).

Similar standards apply to e-mail. More than half (56%) of millionaires want their adviser to respond to e-mails within 12 hours. Nearly one in four (24%) expect a reply within 2 hours.

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The Spectrem report “Millionaire Investor 2010” is based on a survey of 997 households with a net worth of $1 million to $5 million, not including primary residence (NIPR), conducted in November of 2010.

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