Dear NAIFA Member,

President Obama said in a recent speech that some financial professionals are “selling snake oil” and bilking their retirement clients out of billions of dollars per year. By implication, he zeroed in on advisors who receive commissions as compensation. He said the financial services industry is not well regulated and that many of you and your colleagues are “like the gunslingers of the Wild West.” We at NAIFA know this is patently untrue.

Even more concerning is that beyond the rhetoric, the President has made imposing new layers of regulations on financial professionals a high priority, and your business could be in the crosshairs. Both the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission may soon propose regulations that would create new fiduciary obligations for many advisors.

The SEC and DOL regulations could fundamentally alter your business model and make it more expensive and burdensome for you to serve clients. Visit the NAIFA web site for detailed information on the fiduciary drive at the SEC and at the DOL.

We Need Your Help!

NAIFA has met with every member of the SEC, and is working with members of Congress to ensure that new regulations do not harm advisors or their clients. But our real strength comes from our individual members like you.

This coming May 19-20, the SEC and DOL proposals will be high on the Congressional Conference agenda, along with tax reform. This is NAIFA’s premier grassroots event, during which hundreds of advisors from all 50 states will come to Washington and meet with their senators and representatives.

I appreciate your support of NAIFA. It shows dedication to your profession, your colleagues and your clients. NAIFA’s membership gives us the clout to influence decision makers in Washington and around the country. But given the seriousness of the current regulatory threat, I have two additional favors to ask of NAIFA members.

1. If you have not already done so, please register for the Congressional Conference and join us May 19-20 to advocate on your behalf.
2. Share this message with at least three of your colleagues who are not NAIFA members. Make sure that they are informed about the increasing regulatory threat to their businesses. Encourage them to join NAIFA – our strength is in our numbers and everyone counts. Even if they are reluctant to join right now, encourage them to register for the NAIFA Congressional Conference. Non-members may attend the conference and get a first-hand view of how NAIFA’s grassroots efforts are working for them.

Our efforts are important for the future of your business and our industry. Together we will ensure that unnecessary regulations do not make it more difficult for you to serve your clients.

Thank you,

NAIFA President Juli Y. McNeely, LUTCF, CFP. CLU