DOL Fiduciary News: April 6, 2016
Please Note:
These links will take you directly to the homepage of the website that features the article.
To reach the article directly, copy and paste the article title into the search feature on the homepage of the publication website.
Final U.S. retirement advice rule addresses industry, political concerns
Reuters; Wed Apr 6, 2016 8:31am EDT
The Obama administration on Wednesday unveiled its final version of a retirement advice rule aimed at ensuring that broker-dealers put their clients' interests ahead of their own profits, though it was softened in response to industry complaints.
The rule, requiring broker-dealers who provide advice to follow a "fiduciary standard," will take full effect on Jan. 1, 2018, according to the Labor Department.
(http://www.reuters.com)
Fact Sheet: Middle Class Economics: Strengthening Retirement Security by Cracking Down on Conflicts of Interest in Retirement Savings [White House]
April 6, 2016
Middle class economics means that Americans should be able to retire with dignity after a lifetime of hard work. But today, the rules of the road do not ensure that financial advisers act in their clients’ best interest when they give retirement investment advice. Instead, some firms incentivize advisers to steer clients into products that may have higher fees and lower returns. These conflicts of interest in retirement advice cost America’s families an estimated $17 billion a year.
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/04/06/fact-sheet-middle-class-economics-strengthening-retirement-security
DOL Announces Major Changes to Final Fiduciary Rule
Financial Advisor; April 6, 2016
The Department of Labor today rolled out the final version of its fiduciary rule for advisors with significant changes from what it proposed last April.
Labor Secretary Tom Perez said the regulations have been streamlined, simplified and clarified.
(http://www.fa-mag.com)
New Retirement-Account Rules: What Individual Investors Need to Know
The Wall Street Journal; April 6, 2016 6:00 a.m. ET
New rules from the Labor Department are expected to have a big impact on the way Americans save for retirement. Scheduled to go into effect in phases, starting in April 2017, they extend to individual retirement accounts a revamped version of the “fiduciary” standard that governs corporate retirement plans like 401(k)s.
(http://online.wsj.com)
Where advisor firms will have to spend money after DOL rule
BenefitsPro.com; April 5, 2016
A new paper exploring where financial advisory firms will have to spend money after tomorrow’s release of the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule says ERISA-qualified accounts represent about 50 percent of a typical wealth management firm’s asset base.
That translates to a considerable amount of potentially impacted revenue for advisor firms, according to research of broker-dealers and RIAs from Beacon Strategies, a Denver-based consultancy to the financial services industry.
(http://www.benefitspro.com)