Pesky commissions aside, the insurance industry is quickly and somewhat quietly blending into the larger realm of the securities markets, at least from a regulatory perspective.
That was among the takeaways Wednesday in Las Vegas during the opening session of the Carson Group’s Excell conference.
“What’s happening in the regulatory marketplace is Wall Street and Main Street are continuing to come together,” said Ron Barrett, senior vice president of annuity distribution at F&G. “Regulation is pulling annuities into a fiduciary landscape.”
As fee-based advisory services continue to dominate the wealth management industry, the commission-heavy insurance industry is taking notice and trying to react accordingly.
After posing the question of whether insurance and securities “will be viewed exactly the same at some point,” Barrett added that advisers need to be thinking along those lines.
“That’s one area I see changing and changing very quickly,” he said, before slipping in a pitch for the “importance of strategic partnerships” with insurance product providers.
“You cannot be an expert in everything,” Barrett told the audience. “Between strategic partnerships and the regulatory environment, a new holistic view is occurring inside the platform.”
In terms of fee-based options for insurance products, Barrett recognized the need, but said progress has been sluggish.
“We recognize that there is the need we have to fulfill for you,” he said. “You see other carriers moving there, but the adoption rate is slower than anticipated.”
Dylan Tyson, president of Prudential Retirement Strategies, also acknowledged the need for the insurance industry to migrate toward fee-based models but said it was more complex than just placing commission-based products on fee-based platforms.
“To be able to serve customer needs, we really need to look at building something from ground up,” Tyson said. “You’ll see us continue to look at how we do things that fit well for customers. Over time, fee-based and fee-only will become more dominant.”
Driven by robust transaction activity amid market turbulence and increased focus on billion-dollar plus targets, Echelon Partners expects another all-time high in 2025.
The looming threat of federal funding cuts to state and local governments has lawmakers weighing a levy that was phased out in 1981.
The fintech firms' new tools and integrations address pain points in overseeing investment lineups, account monitoring, and more.
Canadian stocks are on a roll in 2025 as the country prepares to name a new Prime Minister.
Carson is expanding one of its relationships in Florida while Lido Advisors adds an $870 million practice in Silicon Valley.
RIAs face rising regulatory pressure in 2025. Forward-looking firms are responding with embedded technology, not more paperwork.
As inheritances are set to reshape client portfolios and next-gen heirs demand digital-first experiences, firms are retooling their wealth tech stacks and succession models in real time.
