LA VISTA, Neb. - July 10, 2012 - Jim Nagengast, CEO and president of Securities America, recently helped lead a grassroots effort on Capitol Hill with the goal of preserving Americans' access to affordable, unbiased financial advice and protecting consumers. Nagengast met with members of Congress and their staffs as part of the Financial Services Institute (FSI) team on June 6, 2012.
"Speaking directly to a member of Congress and letting them know what hard-working Americans are going through every day is invaluable," Nagengast said. "This was an incredible opportunity for us to educate them on what Americans need in terms of financial advice today and for retirement and how what Congress and the administration is doing affects their lives. For example, we are very concerned about proposed changes to existing rules of the Department of Labor, which would price out millions of Americans from access to financial advice on their IRAs. Another issue is the regulatory gap that exists between how some financial advisors are regulated. We asked the members of Congress to support a bill by Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) that will close that gap and protect consumers."
The independent financial advisor members of FSI serve more than 15 million American households. They are affiliated with independent broker-dealer firms who serve more than 180,000 independent financial advisors registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Members of Congress with whom FSI members met serve on House and Senate committees important to the investment community including the Senate Banking Committee, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, House Financial Services Committee and House Education and Workforce
Committee.
About Securities America
Headquartered in La Vista, Neb., Securities America Inc. is the nation's eighth largest independent broker-dealer (as ranked by Financial Planning magazine, June 2012, based on 2011 total revenue). For more than 25 years, Securities America's mission has been to foster the success of financial professionals so they can provide quality, objective counsel and services to their clients. Advisors benefit from the firm's industry-leading programs in practice management, advisory services and retirement income distribution, supported by state-of-the-art technology. Founded in 1993, Securities America Advisors Inc. is an SEC-Registered Investment Advisory firm that offers investment management, financial advice and financial planning through a national network of independent financial advisors. Securities America Financial Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. (NYSE MKT: LTS). Securities America received the inaugural Thought Leadership Award from the Retirement Income Industry Association in March 2011. Additional information is available at www.securitiesamerica.com.