The industry now has 10,000 Fi360 designees, but with $5 trillion in assets and 55 million active retirement plan participants, it could probably use a few more.
The Pittsburgh-based provider of fiduciary-related education and tools announced on Tuesday that it had reached the milestone, and added that the total number of designees on the Fi360 platform has “increased substantially over the past few years, with total designees rising 80 percent since 2012.”
The Department of Labor’s on-again, off-again fiduciary rule has sent some 401k advisors scrambling for new avenues of competitive differentiation and separation, something fiduciary designations offer.
“The transition to greater transparency and objectivity in financial services is undeniable,” Fi360 chairman Blaine Aikin said in a statement. “As the regulatory environment changes and more investors demand fiduciary oversight, the need for highly skilled and educated professionals has skyrocketed.”
Fi360 offers three designations for financial professionals.
The Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) is the firm’s flagship credential and provides designees with “comprehensive education on investment processes and fiduciary standards of care.” Initially offered in 2002, the AIF mark is “widely recognized as the standard of fiduciary excellence among financial services professionals,” according to the company.
Fi360 added the Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst (AIFA) designation in 2006 to provide professionals with “advanced fiduciary concepts and knowledge in order to assess whether an investment fiduciary conforms to the Global Fiduciary Standards of Excellence.”
It also offers the Professional Plan Consultant (PPC) designation for retirement plan advisors to manage the legal and regulatory environment and efficiently administer plans.
“The Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule is certainly adding momentum to the fiduciary trend but we have long recognized that aligning business practices to serve clients’ best interests provides a major competitive advantage in the marketplace that is at the heart of the trend,” Aikin concluded.
Fi360 is aiding with their designees’ business development with the introduction of the Fiduciary Essentials for Defined Contribution Plans (FEDC) training course, a curriculum which the later can share with plan sponsors and participants in a face-to-face setting.
“The program is an ideal way for advisors to foster relationships with investment stewards while adding significant value to their services,” according to the company.
The updated course will be available in the fall.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
