Advisers Latest

Technical difficulties may have marred public exchanges' first year of operation, but at least providers were able to breathe a collective sigh of relief about not being inundated with a sharp increase in new or sick patients scheduling appointments.

Commentary: Administration's headline on fee disclosure speaks for itself, but meanwhile, keep an eye on two more decisions on adviser fee disclosures that are on the horizon, says EBA Advisory Board member Jerry Kalish.

The Department of Labor on Tuesday unveiled its much-anticipated rule proposal extending a fiduciary standard to thousands of brokers and advisers providing investment advice to clients on retirement accounts – but details on enforcement were still forthcoming.

The Affordable Care Act has increased the burden for benefit professionals and forced employers to alter their business practices to comply with the health care reform law, industry experts told Congress.

It’s not often a company finds itself in a market position where it has the flexibility and agility of a newcomer, along with a storied history that provides name recognition and a solid base of existing expertise. Global financial services giant AXA is in this sweet spot as it enters the U.S. employee benefit business for the first time.

Consumer expectations demand advisers establish an online presence, LIMRA research shows. Financial advisory firms are stepping up to meet the demand, and following 3 critical steps to achieve social media success.

While several reasons have been suggested for a plateau effect in public exchange enrollment, it may all come down to dollars and cents, as well as carrots and sticks.

Commentary: If you can’t articulate your marketing position clearly in two or three sentences, value-conscious prospects and clients certainly are not going to take the time to figure it out, says columnist Jack Kwicien.

Committees and plan sponsors alike have discussed ways to improve their investment menus over the last several years as a way to help drive successful retirement outcomes for employees. Regulatory changes, market instability and large numbers of investment options have led plan sponsors to devote more attention to their plans’ investment menus. What steps can committees take to help the problem that has plagued so many participants over the years? …

Even when using a TPA, plan sponsors must retain documentation for loans and hardship withdrawals, IRS says.