(August 2020)

Since the new version of the DOL’s fiduciary rule was announced, the general attitude of the wealth management industry has been ambivalence. No one really wants a new regulation, but this one was created in coordination with the new SEC Best Interest rule and is much less stringent than the dreaded iteration that was defeated in court many months ago. That said, a new development has occurred in the last week which might mean the rule comes in tougher than expected. Critics of the rule have been ardent about its failings, and in particular, that the DOL seems to be rushing to implement it. The public comment period for the rule closed on August 6th—a period Democrats said was far too short—and now that it has ended, the DOL has surprisingly announced that it will hold a public hearing on the new rule on September 3, where individual commenters will be able to give ten minute video presentations about their objections to the rule.

(Washington)

FINSUM + Magnifi: It is hard to tell at this point whether the DOL is offering this public hearing as a simple concession to critics, or if it is a sign of genuine backtracking. If the latter, a tougher rule could be on its way.

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