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Approved Representatives

Q. Suppose you have a public school client whose annuity company wanted to know who the approved representatives for their company are and what procedures the district had for naming new representatives. The district approved you as a vendor and recognizes you as the representative for that company. You have existing clients that continue to contribute but no new accounts have been sold. The district is telling the insurance company it recognizes you as the vendor, but the company is trying to dictate to the district who they can name as a representative since they are named on the plan document. How should the district respond?

A. There is a difference between the vendor and the advisor assisting the employees. The vendor is the entity that provides the annuity contract or the custodial agreement; you would be listed among the vendors also serving as contact for investment information. Advisors typically don’t change unless the employer asked for a replacement or the advisor retires or gives their book of business to someone else. The employer should be involved in the selection choosing the advisor, so I would tell the employer to tell the insurance company that they are happy with their advisor!