Fiduciary Duties of a Pension Consultant
You are a pension consultant with an investment advisory firm that also employs traditional investment advisers. You have been tasked with discussing the topic of fiduciary duty at an upcoming firm meeting.
In the memorandum, clearly explain how the fiduciary duties of a pension consultant differ or are like that of a traditional investment adviser.
Discuss best practices that may be implemented to improve business operations.
Additionally, discuss whether separate policies and procedures need to be created for investment advisers versus pension consultants.
If so, why, and if not, why not: PLAGIARIZED SAMPLE-ORDER YOUR PAPER NOW
Purpose
This memorandum discusses duties fiduciary duties, improvements and addition of policies and procedures to Pension consultancy and investment advisers.
Summary
Fiduciary duties are activities that a person within a business is liable to do. This memorandum explains instances where the tasks of the Pension Consultant and those of an investment adviser tend to differ or are similar. Moreover, practices which can improve the above functions will be explained. Finally, there will be a discussion whether additional policies have to be formulated for the two positions.
Background/discussion
The duties are similar in that they offer advice and recommendations to their clients. The consultant advises the client which options and pension schemes to adopt when entering into the contract. The latter recommends which investment securities are ideal to an investor. For instance the bonds, stocks and mutual funds. Secondly, the two are sources of reliable information to their customers. Complex issues such interest rate calculations, maturity period and valuation methods are simplified for the customers to understand. Lastly, both parties maintain healthy relationships with their clients. It is their work to see the people enjoy after adopting the suggestions from the consultant and advisors.
However, the two parties differ. First of all, the pension consultant focuses on the retirement ideas solely. The latter participates in as many industries as possible. The advisors are said to be undertaking diversified tasks while the consultants only venture on the pension sector alone. Pension’s schemes are meant to be long-term processes. That implies the experts perform decisions and strategies based on very many years. Contrary, the investment advisors conduct both short-term, medium-term and long-term plans. That means they must apply greater expertise than the consultants.
For the two parties to operate smoothly, they need to adopt transparency in all their activities. Transparency refers to the full disclosure of agenda, information, and conditions within a business. Most clients believe the advisors and the consultants have fraud-based ideas. They may opt to conduct the investment without involving them. If the two parties practice integrity, transparency and accurate information, there will be an increase in the number of customers. Their operations will then be better.
Besides, the parties need to conduct high-speed diagnostic processes. It means the experts should practice quick diagnostics to give their reports to the clients within the shortest time possible[5]. Investors are time sensitive and may change plans or enter into faster deals if the consultant or the advisor takes too long to respond. The parties should have immediate reports and updated information, ready to use when a client offers his or her plans.
Eventually, the advisors can improve organizational effectiveness. When an investor approaches them, they should utilize their knowledge and expertise to come up with an investment strategy which is a must-win in the market[6]. The advisors should, therefore, be cautious, perfect and wise decision makers. If the investment collapses or generates losses, the advisory or consultancy company will be at risk. No more investors will approach the firm.
Additionally, investment advisors need to have additional policies and procedures than the pension consultants. The pension schemes are known to most people. The life assurance implies that money is contributed in the form of premiums which after a given period, the insured or the beneficiaries are compensated. However, the advisors deal with diverse portfolios; they need to make it clear to their clients by issuing extra policies and procedures. For instance, preparing small handbooks for each investment deal organized by the advisor.
The policies will clarify the issues to the clients. Showing rules applied by the advisory company, the advisory charges deducted from the cash inflows of the investment and describing consequences for the breach of the contract. That would make the company operations easier for the investors will know what they are supposed to do.
Conclusion: PLAGIARIZED SAMPLE-ORDER YOUR PAPER NOW
The memorandum has compared and contrasted the fiduciary duties of the two parties. Implementations have been discussed on how the two can make their operations quite easy. Lastly, the investment advisors are recommended to add extra policies and procedures to make their business efficient.