Close Close
Sign In
Newsletters
Popular Financial Topics Discover relevant content from across the suite of ALM legal publications From the Industry More content from ThinkAdvisor and select sponsors Investment Advisor Issue Gallery Read digital editions of Investment Advisor Magazine Tax Facts Get clear, current, and reliable answers to pressing tax questions
Luminaries Awards
Podcast Center Video Center Webcasts Resource Center Events
About ThinkAdvisor Contact Us Advertise With Us Asset & Logo Licensing Sitemap Terms of Service Privacy Policy Copyright © 2024 ALM Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
ThinkAdvisor

Regulation and Compliance > Federal Regulation > DOL

DOL fiduciary rule said ready for release April 6

By Nick Thornton

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

The Department of Labor will release its finalized fiduciary rule on Wednesday, April 6, according to reporting in the Wall Street Journal.

The Labor Secretary is expected to make the announcement at 11:30 EST, at an event held at the Center for American Progress, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that advocates for progressive policy issues.

The event will come almost a full year after the proposed rule was released to the public.

The proposal attempts to address what DOL and the White House claim are systemic conflicts of interest in broker advisor models. The White House’s Council of Economic Advisors estimates that investors lose $17 billion a year to conflicted advice under existing regulations.

The proposed rule clearly favors fee-based compensation models for advisors to retirement plans and IRAs. The proposed Best Interest Contract Exemption would insist extensive new disclosure requirements on advisors hoping to earn commissions. Opponents of the proposal say that could make advisory services too costly to deliver for low-income Americans and low-balance retirement accounts.

The Journal reported that Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, is expected to attend next week’s event with Sec. Perez.

Last year, Warren flanked Perez at an AARP event marking the release of the proposal to the Office of Management and Budget.

Recently, Warren, an inveterate supporter of DOL’s proposal, has been critical of annuity providers for exaggerating the negative impact of the proposal on investors hoping to annuitize retirement savings.

Now, Warren is asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to formally investigate whether Prudential Financial, Transamerica, Jackson National Life Insurance Co., and Lincoln National misled investors in publicly voicing concerns over DOL’s proposal.

In a letter sent to SEC Chair Mary Jo White dated March 31, Warren noted several instances of implied double-speak by company executives.

In a comment letter to DOL, Dennis Glass, CEO of Lincoln National, said the proposed rule “would be so burdensome and unworkable that financial advisors and firms will not be able to use it.”

Before that, Glass communicated to investors in an analyst call that he “didn’t see the proposed rule as a significant hurdle for continuing to grow” the firm’s business, according to one example in Warren’s letter to White.

The letter notes that U.S. securities law requires public company executives to provide complete and accurate statements that may impact a company’s value.

“Both sets of industry claims — that the proposed rule will harm them and their business model, and that the proposed rule will not harm them and their business model — cannot possibly be true,” wrote Warren in calling for an investigation.

“And if one of these public statements is materially false, it would appear to violate long-standing interpretations of our securities laws,” added Warren.

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.