Funds Not Caged by SEC Names Rule Amendments: Roaming Room Remains -
The SEC recently adopted amendments to its investment company “names” rule that apply to most SEC-registered funds, including underlying funds in which...more
1/11/2024
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
Life Insurance ,
Proposed Rules ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Traders ,
Whistleblowers
For broker-dealers distributing and selling variable annuities, examinations will test for compliance with Reg BI and FINRA Rule 2330 because both standards apply to variable annuity sales. Firms distributing and selling...more
More than 25 years have elapsed since the SEC adopted Exchange Act Rule 17a-4(f) governing electronic recordkeeping by broker-dealers. In an effort to update the rule to reflect “technology neutral” concepts, the SEC adopted...more
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts recently diverged from other decisions interpreting the term “actuarial equivalent” in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) class action, finding that...more
Insured’s annual planned premium did not implicate New York statute requiring refund of premium “actually paid for any period” beyond an insured’s death....more
The New Hampshire Supreme Court recently determined that regulations limiting premium rate increases for long-term care insurance policies exceeded the state insurance commissioner’s rulemaking authority and were therefore...more
The California Supreme Court recently handed Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. a decisive victory in a putative class action challenging the insurer’s assessment of compound interest on policy loans, holding that...more
A federal district court in Ohio recently attempted to shed some light on when internal communications between an ERISA plan administrator and its in-house counsel are discoverable and when they are protected by the...more
10/14/2019
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Beneficiaries ,
Death Benefits ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Document Productions ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Exception ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Internal Communications ,
Life Insurance ,
Plan Administrators ,
Retirement Plan ,
Wrongful Death
The End or the Beginning for Suits Over Disappointed Index Interest Expectations?
Security Benefit Life Insurance Co. and Guggenheim Partners recently secured an important victory in a class action challenging a fixed...more
10/14/2019
/ Annuities ,
Appeals ,
Dismissals ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Indexing ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Life Insurance ,
McCarran-Ferguson Act ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Racketeering ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Reverse Preemption ,
RICO ,
State Law Claims ,
Unjust Enrichment
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation Best Interest faces a bumpy road in the wake of recent lawsuits challenging the appropriateness and effectiveness of the rule....more
10/10/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Jurisdiction ,
Life Insurance ,
New Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions ,
Standard of Conduct ,
Sua Sponte ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
The identity crisis appears to be over for one insurer using independent contractors. In Jammal v. American Family Insurance Co., the Sixth Circuit reversed the district court and held that a putative class of insurance...more
The Southern District of New York recently declined to certify a class in a suit relating to investments in certain closed-end mutual funds, holding that individual questions overwhelmed the class-wide questions in...more
12/21/2018
/ Breach of Contract ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Class Certification ,
Closed-End Funds ,
Financial Crisis ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FRCP 23 ,
Government Bonds ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Junk Bonds ,
Mutual Funds ,
Predominance Requirement ,
Puerto Rico ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Suitability Requirements ,
Typicality ,
UBS
EXPECTFOCUS® is a quarterly review of developments in the insurance and financial services industry, provided on a complimentary basis to clients and friends of Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, P.A.
...more
5/1/2018
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Best Interest Standard ,
CAFA ,
Class Action ,
COI Rates ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Elder Abuse ,
Failure To Pay ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statute of Limitations ,
TCPA
In a November 16, 2017 ruling, a California appellate court affirmed a summary judgment ruling in favor of several financial advisors, and insurer American General Life Insurance Company, holding that plaintiffs’ fraud and...more
4/10/2018
/ Appeals ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Financial Adviser ,
Financial Planning ,
Fraud ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Investment Products ,
Life Insurance ,
Negligence ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Summary Judgment ,
Tax Advice ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Shelters ,
Time-Barred Claims