Howdy - Working on a high-quality prospect who asked me why he would

have been notified by his NW Mutual rep that the fees for his fee-based

account with them were increasing due to a “new government ruling that

says you can’t have flat fees for fee-based accounts anymore”. He doesn’t

know what he, or his rep, is referring to, but I’m quite sure its the Merrill

Lynch Ruling.



I understand the basics of the rule - read all the articles on RR, but don’t

understand if there’s any truth to his NW Mut increase in fees due to this

rule, and, more importantly, why that increase would occur or what

changes NWM may be making to fee based accounts that would cause an

increase specifically due to this rule.



Additional clarity would certainly help me get my foot in the door a little

further.



Any thoughts?