FiPath Launches Client Acquisition Tool for Advisers
FiPath for Advisors introduced ReferMyAdvisor,
which generates prospective clients through an automated e-mail marketing
platform that contacts an adviser’s existing clients.
Advisers can leverage a good
client relationship to ask for referrals from the client’s friends and family.
Clients to approach for referrals can be added singly or uploaded from an Excel
spreadsheet. Once data on prospects, clients or referrals is in the system, it
is managed on the platform or can be exported back to the adviser’s own
database.
Introductory e-mail templates can be customized
with the adviser’s own text. When a client enters
information for a referral, the system generates an e-mail to the prospect, introduces
the adviser and invites the referral to make an appointment. Prospects are also
invited to take a quiz on financial preparedness. The system notifies the
adviser by e-mail, giving the contact information of the referral.
More information on ReferMyAdvisor is available here.
ASPPA Submits Recommendations for Lifetime Income Proposals
The American Society of Pension Professionals &
Actuaries (ASPPA) applauded efforts by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to
help ensure lifetime income for Americans.
The IRS proposed relief from the
minimum distribution rules to provide exceptions for premiums to purchase
qualified longevity annuity contracts (QLACs). (See “U.S.
Treasury Proposal to Reduce Regulatory Burdens for Retirees.”) ASPPA believes increasing the percentage limitation would
provide greater flexibility and encouragement for participants to utilize
longevity annuity options.
“As proposed, only participants with
account balances of $400,000 or larger would be able to pay premiums up to the
full dollar limit for a QLAC. The result may be that those participants with
smaller account balances, who may be the people most in need of income security
in later years, will not have the ability to secure a significant income stream
through a QLAC and may not take advantage of this opportunity,” ASPPA wrote in a
comment letter sent Tuesday to the IRS.
The ASPPA recommended that the
percentage limitation be increased to 35% or 40% to allow greater flexibility
for participants, and that the dollar limitation be increased to $150,000 or
$200,000 to allow greater flexibility for participants.
ASPPA also recommended that final
regulations clarify that premiums paid under a contract that fails or ceases to
be a QLAC not be counted against the dollar limitation or percentage limitation.
(Cont...)
In its comment letter, ASPPA
recommended that the IRS consider future guidance to extend and improve the
current proposal and to provide greater flexibility.
“While we believe that the proposed
regulations are a good first step, ASPPA encourages the IRS to continue to look
at lifetime income issues and to consider allowing greater flexibility in using
longevity annuity contracts in the future,” the Society said in its letter. “ASPPA
believes that demand for longevity annuity contracts and use of these products
may be limited due to the narrow scope of the current proposal and the
restrictions on contracts that will qualify. For example, participants may
be reluctant to purchase QLACs with fixed interest rates, which will lock in
the current low rates. Future guidance might provide for limited use of
variable rate contracts.
“There are also practical concerns
with the percentage limit. A participant’s account balance may fluctuate
between the date an application for an annuity contract is submitted and the
date of actual purchase. If the balance goes down and the participant is
relying on the 25% limitation, the amount ultimately needed to purchase the
contract may exceed 25% of the participant’s account balance. The result would
be harsh—the entire contract would not be treated as a QLAC if the premium
exceeds 25% of the participant’s account balance. This problem could be
addressed in future guidance by either providing that the percentage is
determined at the time an application for an annuity contract is submitted, or
by creating a de minimis rule that would treat the amount not exceeding 25% as
a QLAC.”