DOL’s Unintended Consequence

As broker-dealers adjust to the new Department of Labor fiduciary rule by instituting uniform commissions on a wide swath of investments, investors could be faced with higher prices on some investment products. LPL Financial, the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer, is instituting new uniform pricing rules for alternative investments such an nontraded real estate investment trusts…

House Blocks DOL Ruling

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution of disapproval blocking the U.S. Department of Labor’s controversial fiduciary rule. The DOL released its final rule last month. The rule, sometimes referred to as the conflicts of interest rule, mandates financial professionals who service individual retirement accounts, including IRAs and 401(k) plans, to serve…

DOL Fiduciary Ruling

Insurance Agency Marketing Services has been following the Department of Labor fiduciary ruling very closely. We are monitoring how it will affect fixed annuities and other retirement strategies. The Department of Labor dealt a bit of a surprise blow to fixed indexed annuities in the final iteration of its rule, issued Wednesday, by lumping the…

You Need a CRM!

What can a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system do for your company? Several recent surveys of small business owners in the U.S. revealed that their top priorities for 2015 were to increase revenue; implement systems to drive profits, and to expand their customer base. Following closely as second their business goals were: to improve promotional…

Best Annuities for 2016

Thirty years of experience providing product intelligence to the best producers in our industry has taught us that you want the best solution for each client. While we go the extra mile to make sure you have a custom fit, we have also learned that you like to have some idea of product leaders in…

Social Media Marketing

The annuity and life industry revolves around building relationships and sharing experiences. Social media revolves around these same networking concepts and should not be viewed as advertising. Building relationships with clients is the best place to start when growing your agency and social media can help. The Nielson Company indicated that “Nine in every ten…

AIG Rate Changes

AIG, the #1 provider of fixed-rate deferred annuities, have updated their rates on the IAMS proprietary suite of products. AIG has a strategy focused on enhancing the value and competitive position of their annuity products and continues to earn their A rating from AM Best. Call us today at (800) 255-5055 to learn why top…