DOL Fiduciary News: February 27, 2018

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State Regulator Galvin Is Putting Teeth in DOL Fiduciary Rule

ThinkAdvisor; February 26, 2018

Editor’s note: This interview first appeared in Human Capital, a newsletter by Washington Bureau Chief Melanie Waddell about the people who shape the financial regulatory space. Melanie writes:

“I just had to speak with Massachusetts Securities Regulator William Galvin this week about the action his office took last week against Scottrade for violating the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule – the first state action of its kind. There’s been some debate among ERISA attorneys about whether the Massachusetts action was indeed directly related to DOL rule infractions. Galvin’s take: It most certainly was.”

As Massachusetts secretary of state, William Galvin oversees the state’s securities division and is considered one of the most active state securities regulators when it comes to cracking down on financial wrongdoing (though he begs to differ). A graduate of Boston College, he received a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School and has served a stint as the state’s acting governor.

In levying the action against Scottrade on Feb. 15, Galvin alleged that Scottrade violated the impartial conduct standards laid out in Labor’s fiduciary rule, which took effect on June 9, 2017. Galvin charged the broker-dealer with “dishonest and unethical activity and failure to supervise” for conducting internal sales contests that violated Labor’s impartial conduct standards.
(http://www.thinkadvisor.com)