Recruiters on whether advisor headcounts matter; new DOL fiduciary rule hit by lawsuit; tax planning after death of small business shareholder

PRACTICE AND CLIENT MANAGEMENT: If anyone had reason to care about advisor headcounts, it would most likely be industry recruiters whose jobs are in part to keep tabs on comings and goings at big firms.

But with fewer and fewer wirehouses now reporting how many advisors they have on their payrolls, many recruiters are instead responding almost unanimously: Good riddance. Here’s why some veteran recruiters say the statistic has outlived its usefulness.

Read: Advisor headcounts are going away. Recruiters say it's about time

REGULATION AND COMPLIANCE: In the first lawsuit challenging the Labor Department's new retirement advice rule, a trade group for independent agents and five other insurance industry plaintiffs seek to block the regulation.

The Federation of Americans for Consumer Choice — a nonprofit regulatory advocacy group for marketing organizations and agents that pushes for "fair and even-handed" regulation of fixed insurance — accused the agency of exceeding its authority by applying the fiduciary duty to rollovers and other advice about retirement products to 401(k) and 403(b) savers, according to the May 2 lawsuit in the Eastern District of Texas. The filing came a week after Labor's Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration issued the final version of the rule.

Read: Trade group suit first to target DOL's retirement advice rule

TAX: A Supreme Court case about certain life insurance policies and estate valuations presents a fresh rationale for exploring planning strategy for business owner clients, two experts said.

Financial advisors, tax professionals and their clients are waiting on a ruling this summer in Connelly v. Internal Revenue Service, a case revolving around the estate tax impact on a closely held family company's value from receiving the proceeds of a life insurance policy upon the death of a major shareholder. The case marks the second of the term in which most experts agreed that the justices sounded inclined to rule for the government's side on a tax question rather than upend existing laws and standard practices.

Read: Supreme Court case highlights planning strategies for family businesses

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