Fi360

Fiduciary Links: The IRA Rollover Opportunity

Posted by fi360 Team on February 03, 2014

>>>IRA rollovers represent a huge opportunity for advisors. In fact, 90% of IRA growth has come from rollovers. In his latest Fiduciary Corner column, fi360 CEO Blaine Aikin takes a look at this fast growing market, the scrutiny coming from regulators, and what advisors need to consider before recommending a client make a rollover into an IRA account. Blaine boils these considerations down into the following guidelines for advisors:

Due diligence matters
Fees and expenses matter
Conflicts of interest matter
Document, disclose, and discuss all of the above

The advisor who remains consistent with the fiduciary duties of loyalty and care and follows these general guidelines should be able to help his or her clients, stay on the good side of regulators, and capitalize on this growing market.

For more information, we also wanted to share some of the research sources we consulted in developing this topic:

GAO Report on improving the rollover process for plan participants
Finra Investor Alert
FINRA Regulatory Notice on Exam Priorities
FINRA Conflicts of Interest Report (noting rollover issues)
SEC Exam Priorities

If you're interested in learning more about fiduciary requirements related to IRA rollovers, make sure you attend fi360's INSIGHTS 2014, where ERISA attorney Fred Reish will be discussing the topic.

Now on to the rest of the week’s best links:

News and columns from the leading trade, consumer, and mainstream media: