Morningstar Inc. and the American Retirement Association are partnering to provide retirement plan professionals and providers with guidance in complying with new financial regulations, the two organizations announced Tuesday.

The association has created the IRA Fiduciary Advisor education program that will be integrated with the Morningstar Advisor Workstation, providing access to fiduciary advisor education and best practices.

“Regulations come, go and change all of the time,” says Brian Graff, CEO of the American Retirement Association, an advocacy and education association for retirement plan professionals and providers.

“While there has been an enormous focus on complying with the Labor Department’s new fiduciary regulation, the SEC and Finra have both already signaled their intent to introduce additional fiduciary regulations,” he adds. “The professional advisor of the future must build his or her practice on proven fiduciary advisor best practices that look beyond today’s requirements and that’s what our IRA Fiduciary Advisor program will provide.”

Jeff Schwantz, Morningstar's head of advisor and wealth management solutions, North America, says Morningstar has enhanced its investment research coverage and developed new technologies to help advisors and providers operate under a fiduciary standard of care.

“Advisors who work with retirement accounts, particularly IRAs, will need to conform to a higher standard of care, but that’s only the beginning,” Graff explains. “More than education, this program sets a new standard for fiduciary practices that goes beyond the mere letter of the law, elevating advisory practices to an entirely new level of excellence.”