From: TERESA VOLLENWEIDER [mailto:nlpedometers@gmail.com] 

Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2015 7:57 PM

To: EBSA, E-ORI - EBSA

Cc: TERESA VOLLENWEIDER

Subject: RIN 1210-AB32

Things that must be addressed to protect savers with money to 

invest--specifically successful small business owners with fewer 

than 100 employees who do the short form 5500.

- Successful small business owners with little or no knowledge 

of Wall Street tactics and little or no knowledge of investing and 

little to no knowledge of retirement plans are being led to the 

lion's den by their most trusted service providers--tax/estate 

attorneys, 401(k) plan third party administrators (TPAs) and socalled financial advisOrs/advisErs who are nothing more than 

brokers masquerading as advisOrs/advisErs.

- Tax attorneys/estate attorneys develop relationships with TPAs 

and "financial advisOrs/advisErs" or vice versa and they, what 

amounts to, sell/exchange client names. This may be a wink and 

a nod agreement, but the client is unaware of the center of 

influence relationships and all the conflicts of interest. These 

relationships are referred to as centers of influence.

- The successful small business owner's tax/estate attorney who 

works at a firm with an ERISA attorney who has a relationship 

with a 401(k) plan TPA has brochures on hand for 401(k) TPA 

and gives them to his successful small business owner clients 

and tells them they should start a 401(k) plan, because they will 

be able to sock away the most money (and protect it from taxes) 

and pay their employees the least by starting a 401(k) and they 

should use this TPA.
- The successful small business owner has built up years of trust 

with his/her tax/estate attorney so he/she does what tax/estate 

attorney says. The recommended TPA provides the client with a 

notebook with a 401(k) plan in it and he--the TPA--recommends 

(not refers) recommends what he calls a Financial 

Advisor/Adviser to help the small business owner with the 

401(k) plan. A meeting with tax/estate attorney, TPA and 

"Financial AdvisOr/AdvisEr" occurs. Because of successful 

small business owner's long time relationship with tax/estate 

attorney, the successful small business owner trusts the TPA and 

the Financial AdvisOr/AdvisEr since they were recommended 

by a very trusted professional--the tax/estate attorney. They--the 

TPA and "Financial AdvisOr/AdvisEr"--in essence, obtain a 

short-cut to the client's trust.

- Unbeknownst to the client, the TPA has a 

relationshi/agreement (written or unwritten?) with the Financial 

AdvisOr/AdvisEr that he recommends to the successful small 

business owner. The Financial AdvisOr/AdvisEr picks high fee 

mutual funds for successful small business owner

and the mutual fund companies that offer those mutual funds 

provide kickbacks to the TPA. The successful small business 

owner is never told what the responsibilities of a plan sponsor 

are; he/she is an accidental fiduciary. None of the successful 

small business owner's trusted service providers inform him/her 

of those responsibilities or explain what a fiduciary is. The 

successful small business owner is more lucrative if kept illinformed.

- The TPA who does not have a fiduciary relationship with the 

client (but the client doesn't understand that) pools resources 
(money received from mutual fund companies?) and distributes 

it to the centers of influence.

- Ultimately the prize/the goal is to obtain control of the 

successful small business owner's taxable assets so that the BIG 

money can be made. It's just pure luck if the successful small 

business owner figures this scheme out, as he/she is running 

ragged just trying to keep all the plates of home and business 

responsibilities spinning. And, of course, he/she thinks that 

he/she has done the right and responsible thing by hiring trusted 

professionals/experts.

-----

Important things to consider:

Successful small business owners or any small business owners 

for that matter are NOT and should not be considered 

institutional or sophisticated investors. Small business owners 

seek the help of a Financial AdvisOr/AdvisEr, because they--the 

small business owner--has little or no knowledge of retirement 

plans or investing. They think that they are hiring someone that 

will work in their best interest and that will not harm them 

especially when he/she has been obtained through his/her 

tax/estate attorney's professional relationships.

Financial AdvisOrs/AdvisErs are manipulating ill-informed 

clients' risk tolerances. They deceptively set the client's risk 

tolerance to MODERATELY AGGRESSIVE. I wondered why 

they did this. It happened to me and two of my sisters. We 

WERE at a couple of the big 4 wire houses which I have learned 

are where the conflicts of interest between customers/clients and 
brokers/advisOrs/Ers are among the worst. Mercer Bullard in 

DOL Hearing Panel 4 provided the answer to why brokers 

masquerading as advisOrs/advisErs are doing this. The higher 

the "Financial AdvisOr/AdvsiEr" can get the client on the Risk 

Tolerance scale the more suitable the highest fee, highest risk 

products become. Therefore, the "Financial 

AdvisOr's/AdvisEr's" goal is to get the client at least to 

Moderately Aggressive. AND THEREFORE,

IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THE BEST 

INTEREST CONTRACT BE SIGNED 

BEFORE THE BROKER "FINANCIAL 

ADVISOR/ADVISER" DISCUSSES RISK 

TOLERANCE WITH THE CLIENT.

Teresa Vollenweider

NEW LIFESTYLES

Lee's Summit Missouri 64064