NAIFA knocks SEC annuities proposal

The group will oppose the SEC's proposal to regulate certain indexed annuities as securities.
AUG 25, 2008
The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors said that it will oppose the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposal to regulate certain indexed annuities as securities. “In our view, these [indexed-annuity] products do not meet the test for determining whether a product is a security,” Jeffrey J. Taggart, president of Falls Church, Va.-based NAIFA, said in a statement. “Unlike the case with investment products such as mutual funds and individual stocks, with an indexed annuity, the investment risk of a downturn in the related index rests with the issuer of the product, not the consumer.” The SEC’s proposal, made June 25, would create Rule 151A, which would change the treatment of annuities under the insurance products exemption in the Securities Act of 1933. If the rule is adopted, indexed annuities would fall under the regulatory domain of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. of New York and Washington and the SEC. The rule is on hold during a comment period, which ends Sept. 10.

Latest News

Why fixed income still belongs in your clients' portfolios
Why fixed income still belongs in your clients' portfolios

In an era of AI euphoria and market FOMO, getting back to basics with fixed income may be the most contrarian and most important move advisors can make.

Voya expands advisor managed accounts to add private market assets
Voya expands advisor managed accounts to add private market assets

Voya Financial adds private equity, credit and real estate options to its AMA program, building on support for looser federal investment rules in retirement accounts.

With executives leaving, Osaic’s Reid now in the spotlight
With executives leaving, Osaic’s Reid now in the spotlight

Shannon Reid, president of Osaic and the network’s number two executive, has plenty of challenges, industry executives said.

Investors sue crypto fund and platform, alleging $1.5 million never returned
Investors sue crypto fund and platform, alleging $1.5 million never returned

Auditors flagged the commingling. The COO allegedly knew. Investors kept getting the pitch

Wells Fargo nabs $1.7B RBC advisor team, loses two teams to LPL
Wells Fargo nabs $1.7B RBC advisor team, loses two teams to LPL

The advisors on the move include two brothers leading a family practice in Connecticut, and a husband-and-wife tandem working with business owners in the West Coast.

SPONSORED Who builds the income when the pension disappears?

Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income

SPONSORED Why direct indexing stopped being optional

Direct indexing is on pace to outgrow ETFs and mutual funds. Northern Trust's Ken Lassner explains why the advisors who get it wish they had started sooner.