Commonwealth Financial eliminates commission-based retirement products in wake of DOL rule
Oct 24, 2016 @ 6:37 pm | By InvestmentNews Staff | Investment News
Commonwealth Financial Network late Monday said it would stop offering commission-based products in IRAs and qualified retirement plans, making it the latest BD to move more decidedly toward to an advisory platform to avoid what some see as the more onerous provisions of the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule.
At Commonwealth, the plug will be pulled on commission-based retirement products on April 10, 2017, the implementation date of the new regulation.
“This was a challenging decision culturally, however, as Commonwealth holds strongly to our founding belief of offering advisers both choice and the freedom to craft their businesses in the way that allows them to best serve their clients,” according to a press release put out by the company. “Nevertheless, we feel strongly that our decision to cease offering commission-based products in retirement accounts positions Commonwealth and our network of advisers, as well as investors, advantageously for the future.”
Less than 10% of Commonwealth’s revenue is derived from commissions on retirement accounts, according to the press release.
