Displaying items by tag: fiduciary rule

(Washington)

In may seem like an eternity in market terms, but 2021 is right around the corner if you are a regulator. The DOL is reportedly racing to get a new DOL rule finalized and implemented before a new administration may takeover in January 2021. The DOL is reportedly set to release a new version of its signature rule this December. But even if it does so, experts say it will a tight push to get a rule implemented before a new administration might take over. In fact, many say the DOL will need to debut its proposal for the new rule by October in order to achieve the January 2021 deadline.

FINSUM: So we know this rule is supposed to be “harmonized” with the SEC’s rule, but there is preciously little additional information. We do think the tight timeline will push the department (which has a new chief after Acosta resigned) to issue a rule more quickly than most in our industry probably realized.

(Washington)

While it has largely gone unnoticed by the wealth management media, New York state has just enacted a new best interest rule for annuities. As of August 1st, advisors must now consider the best interests of clients before selling annuities. Additionally, annuities sellers cannot call themselves advisors unless they are licensed to do so. The rule came about to try to fill a gap after the defeat of the DOL’s fiduciary rule last year. New York follows Connecticut and Nevada in making their own best interest rules governing certain products.

FINSUM: Annuities have been cleaning up their act in the last few years, and this will be another step in the process. Best interest rules notwithstanding, we do think the improving business climate for annuities is a good thing because they make sense for many clients.

(Washington)

The SEC rule has received a lot of attention. Those in the industry have been moderately positive on the rule because of its degree of leniency, but no one really thinks it is a good rule, especially not investor protection advocates. Today we ready an opinion of the rule by an industry laywer, and it was so compelling, we had to share it in its entirety. The below is from Steven Lofchie of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP: “Now, in many respects, we have ended up with the worst of all possible situations: (i) the Reg. BI adopting release fails to make any strong intellectual argument for why it is not reasonable to expect that broker-dealers can be fiduciaries to their clients; (ii) Reg. BI fails to make any distinction between sophisticated and unsophisticated natural person clients (treating Warren Buffett no different from a high school dropout); (iii) Reg. BI imposes significant new obligations on broker-dealers that very well may reduce the willingness of broker-dealers to provide "full-service" brokerage to retail investors and instead result in retail investors seeking any level of advice to potentially pay a much higher charge to an investment adviser; (iv) Reg. BI fails to satisfy any of the critics who wanted a fiduciary obligation imposed on broker-dealers; and (v) states are adopting their own "suitability" rules - urged on by Commissioner Jackson - thereby moving U.S. securities regulation away from a unitary system of regulation to a fractured Brexit system.”.

FINSUM: We have never read any commentary that does justice to the new rule better than Mr. Lofchie’s. It hits the nail on the head on why it is a failure from all sides.

(Washington)

Astute observers will have noticed that President Trump last week nominated Eugene Scalia to head the DOL following Acosta’s resignation. Even sharper readers will know that likely means the DOL’s newest version of the Fiduciary Rule is likely dead. Scalia was instrumental in the first version of the rule’s defeat last year. He was the lead counsel for SIFMA and the body of trade groups that defeated the rule. With him becoming head of the DOL, it seems highly unlikely the Labor Department would advance the newest version of the regulation.

FINSUM: We think Eugene Scalia is the DOL head that most of the industry has been waiting for. He has a reputation as a fierce anti-regulation warrior, so is hard to imagine him advancing the newest version of the Fiduciary Rule to any degree.

(Washington)

The wealth management industry has been holding its collective breath for the last week or so. Ever since DOL chief Acosta resigned, it became very unclear what sort of Fiduciary Rule might be released later this year. Would it be a more onerous version, or a more lenient one? Well, the answer seems very likely to be a lighter-touch version of the rule. That is because Trump has just announced his nomination to the position—Eugene Scalia, son of the former Supreme Court Justice. Scalia has a long and quite conservative track record, and is seen as likely to deregulate more quickly than Acosta.

FINSUM: Scalia seems like an ideal choice for those hoping the DOL’s new Fiduciary Rule is significantly lighter than the 2017 version. Perhaps he even scraps it altogether?