Close Close
Sign In
Newsletters
Popular Financial Topics Discover relevant content from across the suite of ALM legal publications From the Industry More content from ThinkAdvisor and select sponsors Investment Advisor Issue Gallery Read digital editions of Investment Advisor Magazine Tax Facts Get clear, current, and reliable answers to pressing tax questions
Luminaries Awards
Podcast Center Video Center Webcasts Resource Center Events
About ThinkAdvisor Contact Us Advertise With Us Asset & Logo Licensing Sitemap Terms of Service Privacy Policy Copyright © 2024 ALM Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
ThinkAdvisor

Life Health > Annuities > Variable Annuities

NASD Releases New Draft Of Proposed VA Sales Rules

By Staff Writer

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

The National Association of Securities Dealers has come out with a third attempt to set sales practice standards and supervisory requirements for transactions involving deferred variable annuities.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the agency that must approve efforts by the NASD, Washington, to implement the rule, has published the new draft in the Federal Register.

The new draft, “Amendment Number 2″ to an original proposed rule released in December 2004, would create NASD Rule 2821, which would require deferred VA sellers to make sure that the products sold are suitable for the buyers, that the buyers understand the products and that a company principal review the suitability of all sales.

The third version incorporates NASD responses to public comments on the original draft and a second draft that was exposed for public comment in July 2005.

The proposed rule has attracted about 1,500 comments, although the SEC notes that 1,300 of the comments are “virtually identical.”

Many commenters have questioned the need for any new VA sales regulations, but “a recent joint review with the [SEC], NASD examinations and NASD enforcement actions indicate NASD’s prior efforts have not been sufficiently effective at curbing problems in this area,” SEC officials write in a discussion of the NASD proposed rule.

The proposed rule excludes immediate variable annuities. One commenter said the NASD ought to apply the proposed rule to immediate VA products as well as deferred VA products.

But “NASD stated that the majority of variable annuity transactions are in deferred variable annuities and that most of the problems NASD has uncovered have been associated with the purchase or exchange of deferred variable annuities,” SEC officials write. “However, NASD also stated that it will continue to monitor sales practices relating to immediate variable annuities.”

A copy of the third draft of the proposed VA sales rule is on the Web at Document Link.

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.