July 30, 2008
I am an independent insurance agent and had many years in securities
as well although I am not currently licensed.
This regulation will needlessly put a stranglehold on millions of independent and general insurance agents and deprive them of their livelihood.
We spend years educating ourselves about equity indexed annuities and are well qualified to sell them, as opposed to securities brokers who have little or no interest in showing them to clients.
Who will lose? The clients. They will go into risky variable annuities, to the benefit of the securities brokers, rather than being in safe investments to preserve their money without market risk.
Who will gain? The stock brokers. They'll effectively squeeze out the competition, to the detriment of clients. And the SEC will gain, because they will have more power to regulate more people.
Is that the goal of this new rule? To make more money for brokers and to give more power to the SEC?
If there is any interest at all in the welfare of the client, then this rule should not pass.
But maybe I'm an idealist...