Plexus Financial Services engages lawmakers on proposed fiduciary rule change
Karie O’Connor and Keith Hamann of Plexus Financial Services were among a group of about 200 investment advisors for corporate retirement plans to gather in Washington D.C. this week to discuss a proposed Department of Labor regulation regarding fiduciary advice.
O’Connor and Hamann had a chance to weigh in on the regulation with local lawmakers Wednesday, with O’Connor meeting with the office of Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and Hamann meeting with the staff of Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Illinois).
“(We) advocated on behalf on plan participants and plan sponsors, our clients,” said O’Connor, the senior vice president of client relationship management for PFS.
O’Connor and Hamann traveled to Capitol Hill as part of the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) D.C. Fly-In Forum. NAPA is the preeminent advocacy group for corporate retirement plan advisors.
The proposed Department of Labor rule would subject investment advisors for corporate retirement plans to new compliance measures on IRA rollovers from employer-sponsored plans, among other regulations.
These proposed rules changes, O’Connor and Hamann said, could leave plan advisors to decide whether to work with individuals on rollovers because of the increased time and cost that could be associated with compliance.
“(It) reduces choice basically among plan participants — where they want to get their advice from, or which advisor they want to work on their account,” said Hamann, a vice president of relationship management for PFS. “So any time that you reduce choices to employees or to plan participants, it’s usually detrimental to them for a number of reasons, cost being one. Comfort level in who your advisor is or whoever that may be is another.
“Any time you reduce choices, it usually ends up being bad for the consumer.”
To be part of the NAPA Fly-In event, advisors had to have at least five years of experience, manage at least $10 million in plan assets and be NAPA members, among other criteria.
ABOUT PLEXUS FINANCIAL SERVICES
A subsidiary of The Plexus Groupe LLC, Plexus Financial Services is an independent, objective firm dedicated to provide consulting expertise and advisory services to plan sponsors of corporate retirement programs. For more information on Plexus Financial Services, visit PlexusFs.com or contact the firm at 847-307-6222.
