Mitchell C. Atkins, FirstMark’s founder and FINRA broker-dealer consultant will present on the fiduciary duty of agents and advisors at the 21st Annual Spring Life Settlement Conference in Boston on May 5, 2015. He will discuss the obligations of registered persons related to life settlement options when a variable policy is lapsing or is surrendered. Some states require disclosure of life settlements as an option, but this is not universal. Many customers who lapse or surrender a life insurance policy receive less money than if they considered a life settlement. The panel will address where there is an obligation under a fiduciary standard or FINRA Suitability Rules, and how recent DOL proposals regarding the fiduciary standard might impact life settlements. Mitchell C. Atkins has extensive experience in variable insurance products, including variable life settlements and the obligations of representatives and broker-dealers selling these products. While he was employed with FINRA (previously NASD), Atkins was designated as a national regulatory expert in mutual funds and variable insurance products by FINRA. Atkins worked at FINRA (previously NASD) for 20 years and has presented at numerous industry conferences on the topic of variable insurance. For more information about the conference, please visit the Life Settlement Association (LISA) internet site.

LISA is the nation’s oldest and largest organization representing participants in the Settlement Industry with a current membership of over 85 Companies, doing business in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  LISA’s membership consists of Brokers, Providers, Financing Entities, and Service Providers to the industry.

FirstMark Regulatory Solutions was founded by Mitchell C. Atkins in December of 2013 and is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  FirstMark offers a broad range of broker-dealer compliance consulting services, including AML independent testing, FINRA membership applications, internal controls testing, SRO relationship management, strategic advisory, and litigation support.