Expect to see more articles on the subject of Fiduciary Education in the months to come e.g., (Investment News) and do not be surprised to see the following Department of Labor (DOL) position on training from the preamble quoted in those articles:
“In particular, Financial Institutions must ensure that Advisers are provided with information and training to fully understand all investment products being sold, and must similarly ensure that customers are fully advised of the risks.”
While we await the DOL’s response to many questions, a plain reading of the statement above implies a new fiduciary standard of product expertise, not previously expected of advisers in the past, has been established. Although adviser success has historically been measured by who they know, it now appears that adviser success will be based on what they know especially if fiduciary risk mitigation is an adviser priority.
More specifically, does the adviser fully understand the risk associated with the recommendation and has the adviser fully educated the investor of all risks so s/he can make an informed decision? Furthermore, is the adviser educated on the role a recommendation might fill under an ERISA standard of care? In other words, the adviser not only needs to be educated about the products they recommend but also why the products recommended are prudent and meet the best interest standard of care.
With less than 7 months before April 10, 2017, effective date, product manufacturers are under the gun to provide the necessary product education to their distribution channels. Smart compliance officers will demand documentation to support a claim their adviser has been adequately trained on each product they sell before permitting an adviser to sell that product after April 10, 2017. I also foresee a compliance officer prohibiting any adviser from selling products without documented proof they have been properly trained to mitigate litigation risk. Unfortunately, it is impossible for a product manufacturer to train all the advisers they have agreements with by April 10, 2017, if the education is delivered face to face. To reach all advisers that have or may sell your products you must establish an online Learning Management System (LMS) deliverable.
In other words, training must be web-based, on-demand, and gamified. Training tracks should include multiple modules that are content-rich. Between the education and the test, it should take no more than 15 minutes per module. Upon completing each module and successfully passing the test the adviser should be given a certificate of completion with a compliance officer access to pull reports that track adviser activity. Content must not only cover the product comprehensively, it must also address ERISA nuances especially fiduciary duties. ERISA training should be provided by a law firm since plaintiff attorneys tend to hold training from the peers in higher regard than ERISA laypeople. In short, training provided by an attorney on ERISA statutes, regulations, and judicial decisions is a strategy that maximizes risk mitigation. However, product modules should be prepared by the product manufacturer to avoid liability for education that cannot be controlled by a party outside of the product manufacturer.
FRA PlanTools and Wagner Law Group have partnered together to provide a low-cost solution that can be provided for free to advisers if structured properly.
To learn more about this solution visit www.erisatraining.com. For more information, contact David Witz at 704-564-0482 or dwitz@fraplantools.com
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