Raleigh, NC, June 02, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
RegEd, a leading provider of Compliance Education and Product Training solutions for the financial services industry, has announced that it will add to its extensive library of courses for licensed insurance agents, registered representatives and financial advisors in the wake of the recently released Department of Labor (DOL) Fiduciary Rule. The series of new courses will enable firms in the insurance and securities industries to effectively train employees on the new and changed standards that have been the product of the rulemaking.
The DOL Fiduciary Rule expands the definition of “fiduciary” to include individuals who provide retirement investment advice to investors in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and other investment accounts not covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”). The rule requires that investment advice be offered solely based on the best interest of the client, independent of the financial interest of the advisor, a standard that previously only applied to retirement investment accounts subject to ERISA, such as 401(k) accounts. The rule will impact the retirement advice industry and change the manner in which advisors provide retirement recommendations to their clients and get paid for such advice. Significant compliance implications are expected in, among other areas, conflicts of interest disclosures, fee- vs. commission-based models, variable annuities and IRA sales, as well as potential customer account repapering requirements based on business decisions made by the firm.
“The Fiduciary Rule is the latest example of the dynamic regulatory environment in which financial services firms today operate,” commented Brandi Brown, Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs Group, RegEd. “Compliance and education professionals in the industry must have their finger on the pulse of changes to the regulatory landscape to ensure that their organization is equipped to deal with shifts in their business model.”
As the leading enterprise compliance education and product training provider to the financial services industry, RegEd delivers more than 1,250,000 CE courses and insurance certificates annually. Firms rely on RegEd’s regulatory, compliance and education experts for their deep domain expertise and ability to consistently generate timely educational content that enables organizations to effectively prepare their employees to adapt to changing requirements.
“The new DOL Rule is a game changer for firms who do business in the retirement space,” commented Wendy Snyder, Chief Securities Editor at RegEd and former securities industry regulator and compliance officer. “Even though the final rule made some concessions to industry concerns, it still represents a significant set of requirements, particularly with regard to IRAs. The new courses will provide guidance to representatives on issues such as identifying when an individual is considered a ‘fiduciary’ under the rule, what constitutes investment advice, the Best Interest Contract exemption and its requirements, and other key elements of the rule.
“Firms should also be prepared to adopt policies and procedures in order to comply with the Rule. RegEd education and training solutions enable firms to incorporate policies and procedures, as they are established, into off-the-shelf course offerings for further enhanced training,” Snyder noted.
For more details on RegEd’s Compliance Education and Product Training offerings, please visit www.reged.com.
About RegEd
RegEd is a leading provider of compliance technology solutions with relationships with more than 400 enterprise clients, including 80% of the top 25 broker-dealers and top 25 insurance companies. Established in 1994 by former regulators, the company is a recognized industry authority and has created the standard of excellence for rule-based and content-driven compliance automation for insurance companies, investment advisors and broker-dealers. RegEd solutions drive new levels of operational efficiency and enable firms to cost-effectively comply with regulations and mitigate risk. For more information, please visit www.reged.com.