ActiveAllocator Receives Legal Opinion Confirming Fiduciary Standard Compliance
Opinion Affirms ActiveAllocator's Key Role in Helping Financial Advisors Meet Higher Fiduciary Standards
New York, NY, February 6, 2017 (Newswire.com) - Opinion Highlights Operations and Compliance Benefits of ActiveAllocator’s Consistent, Comprehensive and Unbiased Asset Allocation Technology
Allocator Holdings LLC ("ActiveAllocator"), a financial technology company that owns the world's first and only asset allocation portal that seamlessly integrates traditional, illiquid and alternative investments within portfolios, has received a legal opinion from ERISA expert Wagner Law Group (the “Wagner Law Group Opinion").
Despite ongoing uncertainty over when the long-awaited DOL Rules will be implemented, professional standards and client expectations of financial advisor behavior will continue to rise.
Brian Jones, CoFounder
The Wagner Law Group Opinion, issued in connection with U.S. Department of Labor regulatory guidance scheduled to go into effect in April (the "DOL Rules") states that using ActiveAllocator helps financial advisors meet their Best Interest Standard of Care. It further states that this is consistent with the broker dealer fiduciary requirement to adopt compliance measures that are reasonably and prudently designed to prevent conflicts, as well as meet a Registered Investment Advisor’s Prudent Man Standard of Care.
Highlights from the Wagner Law Group Opinion include:
Using ActiveAllocator to Meet Best Interest Standard of Care
“… ActiveAllocator would qualify as an investment analysis and evaluation tool that a fiduciary advisor would be able to utilize in evaluating the possible inclusion of alternative investments as part of a strategic asset allocation in accordance with its duty to act with the care, skill, prudence and diligence of a prudent person under the [Best Interest Contract Exemption’s] BICE’s Best Interest Standard of Care.”
Requiring Use of ActiveAllocator as BICE Compliance Policy
”… when adopted as part of a complete set of compliance policies and procedures, the adoption of a written policy that requires [Financial Advisors] to utilize high quality analytic techniques and software such as ActiveAllocator, when advising Retirement Clients regarding the possible inclusion of alternative investments as part of a strategic asset allocation, would be consistent with the BICE's requirement for [broker dealer] Firms to adopt compliance measures that are reasonably and prudently designed to prevent conflicts.”
Using ActiveAllocator to Meet RIA's Prudent Man Standard of Care
“… ActiveAllocator would qualify as an analysis and evaluation tool that [broker dealer] Firms and their [financial advisor] Reps would be able to utilize in evaluating whether alternative investments should be part of a strategic asset allocation in accordance with its duty to act with the care, skill, prudence and diligence of a prudent person under ERISA's Prudent Man Standard of Care."
Commenting on the Wagner Law Group Opinion, cofounders Brian Jones and Sameer Jain stated, "despite ongoing uncertainty over when the long-awaited DOL Rules will be implemented, professional standards and client expectations of financial advisor behavior will continue to rise. ActiveAllocator allows financial advisors to provide customized asset allocation recommendations to their clients that are consistent, comprehensive and unbiased. Clients deserve, and increasingly expect, this level of professional, thoughtful advice to be delivered free from conflicts of interest.”
The complete opinion can be accessed at: https://www.activeallocator.com/media/
About Active Allocator
ActiveAllocator.com is the world’s first portal that seamlessly integrates traditional, illiquid and alternative investments within portfolios. A fintech digital disruptor, it offers RIAs and broker-dealer’s financial advisors a simple way to understand and explain alternative investments’ benefits within the context of their client’s holdings; to allocate appropriately, as well as to access exposure by investing with the right set of active manager funds.
Source: Active Allocator
