Human Capital with Melanie Waddell Charles Garnar

For today’s conversation, we’re taking a different approach in order to highlight ThinkAdvisor’s new industry recognition program: The LUMINARIES, which is recognizing top advisors, broker-dealers, RIAs, asset managers and other firms, as well as their outstanding programs, products and services.
The 2021 finalists of this groundbreaking program will be announced soon online at ThinkAdvisor.com. They’ll also be featured in print in Investment Advisor magazine’s September and November issues.
The Luminaries awards shine a spotlight on excellence in four key areas by telling the stories of those leading the industry forward in: Diversity & Inclusion, Thought Leadership, Executive Leadership and Dealmaking/Growth.
Today, we're speaking with one of the esteemed judges of the LUMINARIES program: Mark Tibergien. We’ll be speaking with more of the VIP judges, as well as some of the LUMINARIES’ winners, in a new podcast series that kicks off soon as part of this new recognition program.
Mark Tibergien -- who started his professional life  in journalism, radio and sales -- went on to lead BNY Mellon Pershing’s Advisor Services business.
The now retired industry veteran continues to support and participate in exciting programs like the LUMINARIES.

In this episode of Human Capital we talk with David Bellaire, general counsel for the Financial Services Institute in Washington, about FSI’s lawsuit against the Labor Department for withdrawing its independent contractor rule.
FSI filed a lawsuit on May 13 against the Labor Department for withdrawing its final independent contractor rule and is now actively lobbying Senators about a legislative remedy.
“I think that there is a deeply held view in the Biden administration that all workers are benefited by being employees rather than independent contractors -- that the protections provided to them are greater and therefore all workers should be employees of their firms," Bellaire said. "Our members would see that very differently. … They chose this model because they want to own their own business, they want to serve clients in the best way they could without interference.”
Listen in as Bellaire talks about the lawsuit’s timing, how withdrawal of the rule is impacting firms as well as why FSI worries that Labor and the Biden administration may pursue a more stringent independent contractor standard.

In this episode of Human Capital, Ed Slott of Ed Slott & Co. relays important tax advice related to potential changes to the stepped-up basis and estate tax, and also warns that the potential boosting of the required minimum distribution age to 75 is likely “useless,” and that lawmakers may actually be “creating a bigger problem” with such a change.
Slott also zeros in on how rollover advice is a central aspect of both the Labor Department’s new fiduciary prohibited transaction exemption as well as the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest, and warns that advisors need to up their game on their rollovers smarts.
“For advisors, all they need to know, and it’s a lot to know, they have to do a better job putting clients’ interests first," Slott said. "...There’s a lot of money in these 401(k)s, employer plans, and there’s big rollover opportunities for advisors….but in all of these they want advisors to use a best interest, a fiduciary-type approach.”

 

In this episode of Human Capital we talk with Susan Schroeder, former chief of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s enforcement division, who’s now a partner at WilmerHale and vice chair of its Securities & Financial Services Department. Schroeder sees enforcement actions related to Regulation Best Interest compliance “coming soon” — likely this year.
Listen is as Schroeder also weighs in on what Gary Gensler’s likely arrival as SEC chairman means for Reg BI.
Schroeder also talks about the likelihood of enforcement actions related to Form CRS and more.

In this episode of Human Capital, we catch up with Skip Schweiss, the 2021 president of the Financial Planning Association.
Schweiss, former president of TD Ameritrade Trust Company and managing director of advisor advocacy for TD Ameritrade Institutional, talks about FPA’s priorities, including boosting FPA’s membership.
 “…FPA will continue to deliver content that can not only keep a planner’s skills sharp and evolving with the times and with trends but also to provide them that continuing education credit. We just know and acknowledge we aren’t the only game in town anymore and that cannot be the reason to belong to FPA.”
“…We’ve got to evolve our value proposition beyond just providing CE and community.”
Schweiss also weighs in on the Reddit GameStop incident, the future of the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest

In this episode of Human Capital, we talk with IRA and tax specialist Ed Slott of Ed Slott & Co. about his upcoming book, “The New Retirement Savings Time Bomb,” to be released in March.
What’s it about? “The big message is to control the taxes,” Slott says.
“We’ve had lots of tax law changes, but every time something happens it seems to effect retirement accounts more than anything else and that’s where most people have most of their savings for retirement – an IRA or 401(k).
“The reason those accounts are most affected is the way they were set up.”
Listen in as Slott also explains why he still sees 401(k) plans and IRAs as likely sitting ducks for future tax increases under the Biden administration.