WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 27, 2015—The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for today’s passage of H.R. 1090, the “Retail Investor Protection Act,” by Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Missouri). The bill helps ensure that the investment marketplace will continue to be widely available and affordable to all types of investors.

 

"As currently structured, the rule being promulgated by the Department of Labor (DOL) promises to create undue compliance burdens and increased liability for the Big ‘I’s’ small business membership,” says Charles Symington, Big “I” senior vice president of external and government affairs. “This will increase costs for consumers and restrict access to quality investment advice for those most in need."
  
"Rep. Wagner's bill creates an important backstop to ensure that the DOL's actions do not impede the ability of agents and brokers to continue to provide the highest quality of investment advice to consumers," continues Symington.
            
H.R. 1090 includes a number of important provisions and due process requirements to ensure that consumers are not harmed by the proposed DOL fiduciary rule which has the strong potential to impact access to affordable investment advice. Ensuring that any changes to the regulatory oversight of the securities market is done right the first time is a priority for the association.

 

Broker-dealers already adhere to rigorous and strictly-enforced standards of care, and strong regulatory regimes with meaningful market conduct, supervisory, record-keeping and other mandates already in place. By certifying that conflicting rules are not imposed on broker-dealers, and by further studying the current investment market landscape, Rep. Wagner’s bill is a common sense solution to ensuring that affordable and accessible investment advice is available to investors. 
      
Founded in 1896, the Big “I” is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of approximately a quarter of a million agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address: www.independentagent.com.