DOL Fiduciary News: August 23, 2016

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Independent researchers seen easing DOL fiduciary burden for brokers

InvestmentNews; Aug 22, 2016

Big brokerage firms on Wall Street are shining a light on how broker-dealers may manage their duties under the Labor Department's new fiduciary rule before it takes effect next year.

UBS Group AG's wealth management group for the Americas announced in 2015 that Mercer would give it access to 9,000 asset-manager research opinions, a move that helps UBS screen which funds it makes available to its high-net-worth clients. And in May, Bank of America Merrill Lynch expanded its relationship with Morningstar Inc., which will provide due diligence on about 1,000 mutual funds on its platform by the end of 2017.(http://www.investmentnews.com)

DOL rule bad for fund company profits 

InvestmentNews; Aug 22, 2016

For many years, you could have made better money for your clients by investing in the stocks of mutual fund companies rather than the funds they offer. No more — and the Department of Labor's new fiduciary rule may well have something to do with that.

If you were to look at the list of the companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index with the best stock returns over the past 25 years, you'd be surprised to see that T. Rowe Price, which has gained 7,668% with dividends reinvested, ranks just below Apple, which has gained 7,682%. Charles Schwab & Co. has more than doubled those returns: It's up 16,892%. Imagine what American Funds, Vanguard or Fidelity would be worth if they were publicly traded.
(http://www.investmentnews.com)