DOL Fiduciary Rule: Political Grandstanding, Fearmongering Overshadow Investor Needs
As the Department of Labor, Congress, and the investment industry spar over a proposal to raise investment advice standards for retirement accounts, it’s easy for some to lose sight of what’s important: the need to protect investors and help them discern broker-dealers from investment advisers.
In this interview John L. Bowman, CFA, managing director for the Americas region at CFA Institute, and Jim Allen, CFA, head of Americas capital markets policy for CFA Institute, discuss where things currently stand in Congress — including attempts to tie the DOL proposal to legislation to keep the government open — and the conspicuous absence of the US Securities and Exchange Commission from the debate.
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Image credit: iStockphoto.com/alicescully
I have Republican (small town SC) roots and I laud the DOL’s efforts. In fact, I would prefer an ERISA fiduciary standard rather than the 40 Act standard (though I am clearly solo in that view) because at some level, all funds are potentially “retirement” funds. While I cannot see any real enforcement mechanism other than “in arrears” lawsuits – at least some consequences may mitigate the embedded agency risks. Then again, perhaps we just add disclaimers (like on cigarettes?) on the risks of using a non-fiduciary …