Quinn & Hary is excited to be working with Futurity First Financial Corporation (FFFC) in Hartford, CT, to build awareness for its annuities, life insurance and other financial products. We have also been charged with re-branding the parent company, made up of three subsidiaries: Dressander|BHC, Imeriti Financial Network, and M3 Financial. Work is well underway on developing the new brand name and logo, to be revealed soon!
Futurity First Financial Corporation is preparing for major changes coming to the financial industry. Beginning in April 2017, retirement investment advisers will be required by the Department of Labor to expand the types of financial advice covered by fiduciary protections. Under the new rules, any individual receiving compensation for providing advice to investors who are making a retirement investment decision is now considered a fiduciary, and must provide impartial advice that is in their client’s best interest and can’t accept any payments that create conflicts.
Our PR team is positioning Michael Kalen, CEO of Futurity First Financial Corporation, as a renowned authority on retirement planning and we are setting up media interviews for him to discuss the importance of saving for retirement and investing in the right products for a secure future.
“Our goal is to clarify issues that impact insurance agents, registered representatives and financial planners that sell insurance and ultimately affect their clients,” said CEO Michael Kalen. “The new DOL Fiduciary Rules are largely principle-based versus a prescriptive list of concrete rules. To prepare, we are one of only 6 independent marketing organizations that have applied to become a financial institution, a requirement to allow insurance agents and financial planners to recommend commission-based insurance products. We expect to invest $1 million dollars in new training, tools, technology and oversight processes to ensure we meet the new requirements.”
“While we are supportive of higher standards for advisors related to retirement planning, we believe the new rules may negatively impact the amount of advice given in the long run if not carefully implemented,” added Kalen. “We also believe the fear of frivolous litigation may scare away quality advisors and sponsoring organizations. We are working with the DOL and various other components of the financial services industry to come up with workable guidelines to allow quality advice to continue to flow to clients who need these products to protect and grow their retirement savings.”
For more information about the new Department of Labor rules, visit: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/fact-sheets/dol-final-rule-to-address-conflicts-of-interest
