Battle lines are drawn in fiduciary regulations fight
by: Todd Berghuis
Long ago, in distant elementary and junior high school days, some of the most galvanizing words on the playground or in the neighborhood were heard in the battle cry “Fight…fight..” Brawls major or minor have always had the power to stir the blood and draw a crowd. Back then, the motivation was likely to be nothing more serious than someone’s wounded pride, pecking order conflicts, or the mistaken belief that the opposite sex was impressed by such macho behavior.
Times change, and we hopefully outgrow the need for those juvenile tests of strength and will. But that doesn’t mean that the appetite for combativeness goes completely away. It’s a part of everyday life, from the competitiveness of business to the sparring of politics and policy making. We’ve been treated to a classic demonstration of this combativeness in the aftermath of the Department of Labor’s April release of proposed regulations on – how apropos – “conflicted investment advice,” much better-known as fiduciary definition regulations.
The avowed intent of these regulations is to assure that those saving for retirement receive investment advice that is in their best interest, not advice biased in some manner that favors the advisor over the saver. Proponents believe some version of these regulations will do this. Opponents believe the rules as proposed will result in such advisor anxiety over possible fiduciary liability that smaller investors – particularly IRA investors – will be left without the investment advice they need.
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