The Financial Services Institute says 15 firms have come on board as members so far this year – mainly due to the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule. Also, FSI is welcoming the first super-OSJs to its ranks as full firm members, having decided to include such groups with such membership status if they are affiliated with independent broker-dealers which are not currently FSI members.
“While we continue our court challenge of the fiduciary rule, we’ve been calling for both advocacy and planning for compliance, since last year,” said FSI President and CEO Dale Brown, in a statement. “We are excited that so many firms this year have decided to take advocacy even more seriously and unite their voice with the over 100 other member firms at FSI.”
Brown says the industry group has “created a slate of tools to help [members get] ready for compliance starting in 2017.” For instance, it has a best interest contract exemption (BIC) contract template, compliance guide, sample or form negative consent letter and a template for a website for require disclosures.
The three super-OSJs joining FSI are Advantage Financial Group, Private Advisor Group (a hybrid-RIA affiliated with LPL Financial that has over $10 billion in client assets) and Integrated Financial Partners. They include a total of about 800 advisors.
(LPL is not a member of FSI, having decided to establish its own lobbying and related efforts in Washington, which it expanded this summer.)