We would love to hear from you. Click on the ‘Contact Us’ link to the right and choose your favorite way to reach-out!

wscdsdc

media/speaking contact

Jamie Johnson

business contact

Victoria Peterson

Contact Us

855.ask.wink

Close [x]
pattern

Industry News

Categories

  • Industry Articles (21,155)
  • Industry Conferences (2)
  • Industry Job Openings (35)
  • Moore on the Market (414)
  • Negative Media (144)
  • Positive Media (73)
  • Sheryl's Articles (800)
  • Wink's Articles (353)
  • Wink's Inside Story (274)
  • Wink's Press Releases (123)
  • Blog Archives

  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • August 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • November 2008
  • September 2008
  • May 2008
  • February 2008
  • August 2006
  • Betterment CEO to Trump: DOL fiduciary rule worth your time

    December 7, 2016 by Nick Thornton

     

    New York-based Betterment, the country’s largest independent roboadvisory that now oversees more than $6 billion in assets, placed full-page ads in Sunday’s New York Times and Monday’s Wall Street Journal imploring readers, investors, and President-elect Donald Trump to get behind the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule.

    The Time’s ad, featured in the paper’s business section, was in the form of a letter from Betterment’s CEO and founder, Jon Stein, to Mr. Trump.

    “You said in June that under a Trump presidency, the American people will finally have a president that will fight for them and protect them,” wrote Stein in the ad. “Now’s the time,” he added

    Bernstein analysts opened multiple accounts at two prominent European-based robo-advisors. Here’s what they concluded about this disruptive force in the…

    The Labor Department’s fiduciary rule, which requires advisors to IRAs and 401(k) to provide investment advice in the best interest of retirement savers, “is under attack,” Stein tells Trump.

    “This rule is worth your time and attention, and worth your support,” said Stein. “We hope that you will stand on the side of America’s 75 million retirement savers, not the firms with deep pockets who are lobbying you to protect their bottom line, instead of their customers’ interests.”

    Joe Ziemer, vice president of communications for Betterment for Business, the record-keeping arm of the firm that administers 401(k) plans for 300 plan sponsors, said the purpose of this week’s ad initiative was twofold.

    “In light of the recent election there’s been increased chatter on how the rule will be impacted,” said Ziemer in an interview. “We wanted to make sure our vocal stance on the rule was known to the public, and we want to use the opportunity to raise awareness of what we do.”

    The ad in the Journal, which is not a letter to Mr. Trump, implores readers to ask if their existing investment advisors are giving non-conflicted advice.

    Betterment did not the need the DOL’s rule to establish its conflict-free business model—it has done so since the company’s inception in 2012, the ad says.

    “Do you want your money with a company that has always put its customers’ interests first? Or a firm that had to be forced to do it?” the ad rhetorically asks.

    Fiduciary rule good for robos

    Betterment and other independent providers of automated investment platforms, the so-called robo-advisors, have been vocal supporters of the fiduciary rule.

    Robo-advisors deliver various levels of customized investment strategies. On Betterment’s retail platform, assets are invested in low-cost, non-proprietary exchange traded funds, and routinely and automatically rebalanced via algorithms to comport with individual investment goals.

    Many industry analysts speculate automated platforms will benefit from the fiduciary rule, which will increase traditional firms’ fee disclosure requirements. That, in turn, could bring attention to the value proposition of low-cost automated platforms.

    Critics of the rule charge that its allegedly onerous compliance requirements will price small investors out of the retirement advice market.

    In testimony before Congress prior to the rule’s finalization, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez argued that technology and online investment tools could deliver non-conflicted advice to smaller investors at fees lower than existing industry standards.

    Betterment, other robos won’t need BIC Exemption

    The Labor Department gave a further endorsement for automated investment providers in a recently issued frequently asked questions memorandum.

    In the FAQ, regulators specified that providers like Betterment will be able to continue to operate without using the fiduciary rule’s Best Interest Contract Exemption.

    The BIC Exemption includes an extensive set of disclosure requirements advisors will have to use when selling commission-based investments. Level-fee fiduciary advisors will also have to use a form of the BIC Exemption when recommending investors roll over 401(k) assets to an IRA, and when transitioning investors from commission-based to fee-based accounts.

    According to the FAQ, the DOL doesn’t think investors will need the protections of the BIC Exemption when using automated platforms, because the market for robo-advice is “evolving in ways that appear to avoid conflicts of interest.”

    That means a company like Betterment will not have to invest in new compliance, education and communication initiatives.

    It also means a provider like Betterment will not be exposed to the provision of the BIC Exemption that allows investors to bring class-action lawsuits for breach of contract.

    Where does Trump stand?

    During the inaugural leg of Donald Trump’s thank-you tour in Cincinnati last week, the President-elect alluded to several of his administration’s policy initiatives.

    Rolling back the fiduciary rule was not one of them, though he did tell the raucous crowd that “regulations” are “totally out of control.”

    Congressional Republicans—not the least of which is House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-WI—have almost universally voted their disapproval for the fiduciary rule in the past year.

    Should they take action against the rule and decide not to fund its implementation, they will have to do so quickly. The rule’s first implementation date is April 10, 2017. Congress will be wrestling with key Trump administration initiatives in the early days of the 115th Congress, including repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and nominating a justice to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court.

    The incoming administration’s reticence on the fiduciary rule may be good news for fiduciary proponents, says Seth Rosenbloom, associate general counsel for Betterment for Business.

    “The fact that there hasn’t been a statement from the Trump team gives us hope,” said Rosenbloom. “For one, we think that means we will have an opportunity to be a part of the discussion. As April 10 draws closer, it’s an open question whether or not the administration or Congress can stop the rule. Even if there are powerful industry forces pushing against the rule, Congress has a lot to get done. It all comes down to what the Trump administration’s priorities are.”

    While Betterment will continue to lobby that the rule be enforced as it is written, Rosenbloom doesn’t fear all will be lost if that is not the case.

    “Part of what we are doing with these ads is encouraging people to ask the questions that should be asked of all providers,” he said. “Hopefully this long process will have succeeded in focusing investors on the differences between providers, regardless of what happens to the rule.”

    Originally Posted at Benefits Pro on December 6, 2016 by Nick Thornton.

    Categories: Industry Articles
    currency