Fiduciary Rule Delayed

WSJ Wealth Adviser Briefing: Fiduciary Rule Delayed
By
Brian Hershberg
Mar 2, 2017 5:30 am ET
Will it stay? Will it go? Or will it be revised?
We’re talking about the fiduciary rule, of course, in light of the Labor Department’s proposal to delay its April 10 implementation by 60 days (at least). And while many in the industry welcome a delay in the rule’s implementation and are hopeful that it will be watered down or reversed, the 60-day delay prolongs the period of uncertainty that has loomed since the election. So what next?
The delay in the April 10 implementation gives the department time to re-evaluate the fiduciary rule, which requires brokers to act in the best interests of retirement savers, after President Donald Trump last month ordered a review of its economic impact on business and investors.
Economists at the department will conduct a new analysis of the rule’s potential implications, looking specifically at issues raised by Mr. Trump’s executive order: whether the regulation is likely to restrict consumers’ access to financial advice, disrupt the financial-services industry and cause an increase in litigation. …
… Arjun Saxena, a partner at consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP who has been following the debate over the rule, said he doesn’t expect the Labor Department to rescind the regulation. More likely, he said, is that the department kills some parts of the rule “that are causing more heartburn than others,” such as the private right of legal action and an industry exemption to the rule that many say is onerous and disruptive. The fiduciary rule “will survive, but probably in a modified form,” Mr. Saxena said.