Carpenter Group and DALBAR, Inc. introduce the Regulatory Action Program

The financial services industry is in the midst of fundamental change. Converging regulations from the SEC, Department of Labor and the IRS are rapidly moving major purveyors of investment products toward adopting a fiduciary standard as they provide investment advice. Additionally, limitations on embedded product fees combined with the continued growth of lower-cost investment products are impacting how both product distributors and manufacturers conduct business. Compounding this, investor awareness and skepticism is at an all-time high, with financial scandals and industry missteps saturating news for the past two years.

With this in mind, Carpenter Group and DALBAR, Inc. have joined forces to create the Regulatory Action Program, which offers the business counsel, advisor training and brand messaging and communications to help financial services companies understand and adapt to the pervasive regulatory and environmental changes facing them today.

“Firms that realize early how significantly legislative, regulatory and market changes will impact their business are the ones who can position themselves not only to survive, but thrive in coming years,” stated Bruce Long of Carpenter Group. “But an undertaking of this magnitude can be daunting. It’s intricate, and requires changes to their overall business, organizational structure, product line, advisor training and accountability, as well as to their overall brand positioning,” Mr. Long continued.

An offering that blends planning, training and communication

The Regulatory Action Program brings together a professional team and a range of resources to offer end-to-end solutions to enable firms to respond and adapt in ways that create a competitive advantage. The program has three distinct phases that can be engaged in total or individually.

Business Planning The Regulatory Action Program offers collaborative advice and counsel to help firms understand the current regulatory environment and its potential impact on their specific business model. The Regulatory Action Program team will assess each client firm’s particular business model to identify structural and functional changes required, and provide customized assistance to implement them.

Registered Fiduciary™ Training & Accreditation This leading professional designation, administered by DALBAR, Inc., provides approved curriculum for company leadership and advisors resulting in certification as a Registered Fiduciary™. The curriculum is built on the 2010 fiduciary standard-of-care established by the Foundation for Fiduciary Studies.

Branding, Marketing and Strategic Communications Carpenter Group has a 30-year legacy of helping financial services firms position themselves and tell their stories effectively. Changes in business model and modus operandi are inevitably going to impact a firm’s marketing. The Regulatory Action Program can review and assess a firm’s brand and revise its positioning, messaging and value proposition to reflect new business practices. Further, Carpenter Group can provide the strategic and implementation services required to review and revise advisor and wholesaler materials, client collateral, websites and other tools and materials.

About the Regulatory Action Program Team

The program brings together experienced financial services leaders with the expertise and experience to assist your team.

Bruce C. Long Bruce consults extensively on contemporary business issues and management challenges in the financial service industry. Previously, he was EVP, Equity Products at The Guardian Life Insurance Company, and served in a variety of other roles including President of both Guardian Investor Services LLC and The Guardian Insurance and Annuity Company, Inc.

Louis S. Harvey Louis S. Harvey is the President and founder of DALBAR, Inc. He has been at the forefront of major changes facing the retirement plan business, including Social Security reform, disclosure reform, participant advice, qualified default investment alternatives and the transition from plans that require “elections by participants” to ones that make “elections for participants.”

Joanne Mack Joanne Mack is a high impact financial services executive with particular expertise in individual retirement, life insurance and retail broker-dealer businesses. She has been Head of IRA Products and Services at AllianceBernstein Investments, President of Park Avenue Securities and President and Chief Operating Officer of Companion Life Insurance Company.

Polly Carpenter Polly Carpenter, President and Founder of Carpenter Group, has managed the firm for over 30 years. She has worked with the country’s best known financial services and insurance brands in areas such as asset management, retail distribution, advisor platforms, wealth management, alternative investments, retirement and annuities.

To learn more To learn more about the Regulatory Action Program, please contact:
Bruce Long at 212-431-6666 or Polly Carpenter at 212-431-6666 or

About DALBAR, Inc. DALBAR is the nation’s leading market research firm focusing on insurance and investment companies and continues its three-decade commitment to raising the standards of excellence in the industry. With offices in the U.S. and Canada, DALBAR develops standards for, and provides research, ratings, and rankings of, the many factors that influence the overall customer-service experience in the financial services and health care industries. Such factors include print communications, Internet, interactive voice response, call center, and financial-professional touch points. www.dalbar.com

For more than three decades, Carpenter Group has helped financial services organizations grow their businesses and improve profitability through objective business advice, branding and marketing solutions, and creative services. Carpenter Group brings together seasoned professionals from the financial services, branding and creative industries to develop and implement solutions that drive business goals forward.

Our clients include many of the most prominent firms in the asset management, investment banking, insurance, brokerage and commercial banking sectors.

Carpenter Group
72 Spring Street, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10012
212.431.6666 tel
212.334.9723 fax