September 3, 2008
Re: Proposed Rule 151A
The proposed rule to regulate Indexed Annuities by the SEC is an unfortunate attempt to overstep the original intent of the organization (SEC) under the guise of complaints about a few agents that should lose their licenses and be fined. The state insurance commissioners and the NAIC have been working together to stregthwen the suitability rules and therequirements agents must pass before they can sell Indexed Annuities.
It would seem to me that the proposed rule and the comments by Mary Shapiro (FINRA CEO) indcating she wants to regulate the insurance industry. That would make the state insurance departments and the NAIC Null and Void. Sounds to me like a poorly thought out power play. It doesn't coinside with the reality of the SEC's history of compliance and control. We have an unregulated Hedge Fund industry, countless complaints in the Variable Annuity industry, a total disregard concerning the SIV's and SPIV's, the misrepresentation of securities that resulted in record fines for Merrill Lynch and Citicorp, etc.,etc.etc. ....
What makes the SEC believe that they could do a better job than the state commissioners and the NAIC? The record doesn't back them up. I'd love to testify.
David L Spinner, MA, CEP, CLTC