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Merrill Lynch

Major Move by Merrill Lynch to Comply with Fiduciary Rule

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By Mack Bekeza

In order to comply with the upcoming Fiduciary Rule, Merrill Lynch decided to discontinue offering commission based IRA accounts to investors starting April 10th of 2017. Specifically, they want to remove a major conflict of interest between them and their clients by only offering fee-based advisory, robo-advisory, and self-directed services for IRA accounts. Merrill Lynch’s decision is expected to have a major ripple effect for not only their clients, but for their advisers and their respective competitors.

So, how does Merrill Lynch’s decision affect their advisers and their competitors?

  1. As of April 10th of 2017, the firm’s 14,000 plus advisers will no longer be able to open new commission based IRA accounts, which is a notable source of their compensation. On top of that, advisors will now have to further prove their value to their clients when their primary form of compensation will be under a fee based model.
  2. Since Merrill Lynch is one the first major wirehouse firms to make this move, it is expected that other wirehouse firms will also follow suit in order to remain competitive in the upcoming Fiduciary focused marketplace.
  3. Merrill Lynch as well as other wirehouse firms will more than likely face other regulatory issues such as having fee-based variable compensation, which will be prohibited under the Fiduciary Rule.
  4. This might lead to certain broker dealers to no longer service IRA accounts due to additional costs of complying.

Although we believe this is an excellent move by Merrill Lynch, we believe that wirehouse firms such as Merrill will still face regulatory issues as they may have to forgo recommending certain investments to clients as well as having to develop a truly uniform method of compensation from their IRA accounts.

©2016 Castle Rock Investment Company. All rights reserved. Please share your insights and comments with us at Mack@Castlerockinvesting.com

Save Up to Break Stuff: Retirement Saving Should Not be Taken Lightly

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By: Katherine Brown, Research Associate, Castle Rock Investment Company

My grandmother loved to drive. After they took away her license, she enthusiastically offered the use of her 1989 Crown Victoria to anyone who was visiting her, whether they had a car of their own or not. She also purchased a motorized scooter to get around her elegant, eerily silent retirement home. Often, the only sound was the elevator music playing through the halls and the whirring of the small motor on her scooter.

My grandmother loved to drive fast. Gran’s scooter was notorious for knocking down other nursing home residents, potted living and plastic plants, and the occasional painting from a wall. Ever the charmer, she would convince the staff not to take away her precious wheels. And she always paid for the damage that she caused because her husband and children set up a generous retirement fund for her.

This chart is intended for hypothetical illustration only, and is not intended to be representative of the past or future performance of any particular investment. It assumes a 7% average annual total return with no withdrawals or distributions, and reinvesting of all dividends and capital gains. Actual rates of returns cannot be predicted and will fluctuate. It does not reflect an actual investment, nor does it account for the effects of taxes, any investment expenses or withdrawals. Returns are not guaranteed and results may vary. Investment returns cannot be predicted and will fluctuate. Investor results may be more or less.These stories aren’t possible without comfortable retirement savings. Rather than a funny family story, this could easily be a sad tale of an elderly woman who crashed into something and had to move out of her residence because the cost of damages were too high. In a worldwide Future of Retirement survey, 18% of US citizens said they would never be able to retire from all paid employment.

You don’t know where your passions will take you, or whether your spouse’s bad driving will become the stuff of family legend. Saving for retirement should not be taken lightly. Though you may not like to think about growing old, you will need an income one day when you’re no longer capable of earning one. Care for your 401(k) by saving as early as you can.

In case you can’t picture it, Merrill Lynch offers a free face aging service on their website. If you’d like to peek into the future and see what you’ll look like at 90, try it out.

 

Katherine Brown completed a Master’s degree in Global Finance, Trade, and Economic Integration from the University of Denver. Her research and writing focus on international monetary economics and central banking. She can be reached at Katherine@castlerockinvesting.com.