Conflicting Interests and the Effect of Fiduciary Duty: Evidence from Variable Annuities
研究变额年金市场中经纪人的利益冲突，发现销售对经纪人利益的敏感度是投资者的四倍；2016年受托责任规则提案使高费用产品销售下降52%，投资者福利整体改善。
Abstract We examine the variable annuity market to study conflicts of interest and the effect of fiduciary duty in brokerage markets. Insurers typically pay brokers higher commissions for selling more expensive annuities. Our results indicate that sales are four times as sensitive to brokers’ interests as to investors’. To limit conflicts of interest, the Department of Labor proposed a rule in 2016 holding brokers to a fiduciary standard. We find that after the proposal, sales of high-expense products fell by 52$\%$ as sales became more sensitive to expenses. Based on our structural estimates, investor welfare improved overall. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online.