DPL Financial Partners, the leading platform for commission-free annuities, applauds the Department of Labor’s Retirement Security Rule, released today. Among other things, the rule defines who is required to act as a fiduciary when making investment recommendations to retirement investors. DPL Financial Partners CEO David Lau released the following statement:

“Investment recommendations for retirement savings need to meet a fiduciary standard—this should be self-evident and inarguable. Retirement is a critical and vulnerable financial time for most Americans, and they need to be confident that their financial advisor is giving them the best advice for their circumstances.

“We applaud the Department of Labor’s Retirement Security Rule as an important step toward ensuring that retirement investment advice is delivered in a fiduciary manner. The rule adds a critical layer of definition and transparency, which will provide retirement investors with assurance they are receiving advice in their best interest and an understanding of how the person making a retirement investment recommendation is being compensated.

“We strongly believe this rule will increase the availability of fiduciary retirement advice and solutions. Oftentimes regulation can spur market innovation. Over the past several years, insurance carriers have been bringing commission-free products to market for fiduciary advisors to use with their clients at the same time as advisors increasingly embrace fee-based compensation models and fiduciary commitments; this rule will only accelerate that innovation and transition.

“Annuities are critically important financial tools for retirement savers tasked with funding retirements that can span 30 years or more. But a non-fiduciary sales approach has tarnished their reputation and limited adoption. High costs and misaligned sales incentives have led to consumer mistrust and misunderstanding of these products; commissions are at the root of these problems. The insurance industry has lagged behind the larger trend: Most of financial services has moved away from commissions to fee-based, fiduciary models and it is only a matter of time before consumers demand that insurance does the same.

“The Retirement Security Rule reflects common sense best practices. It is time for the industry to put consumers first by aligning with modern compensation models and transparent business approaches. This rule is a win for retirement investors who need advice they can trust. In the short term, it will protect investors from impacts of conflicted advice. In the long term, it will reduce consumer skepticism and engender trust, which will instill consumer confidence in these important products. DPL is committed to supporting carriers, investment professionals, and firms as they work to meet the requirements and realize the benefits of the new rule.”

About DPL Financial Partners

DPL Financial Partners is the leading insurance marketplace bringing best-in-class solutions from the nation's top carriers to registered investment advisors (RIAs), their clients and consumers. DPL's products, proprietary tools and embedded technology enable RIAs to incorporate insurance and annuities into their practices to more holistically serve their clients. Clients benefit from products that offer competitive pricing and transparent, fiduciary implementation to meet a range of needs in the financial plan. www.dplfp.com

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