Fred Reish Discusses New DOL Fiduciary Rule With RIABiz

Benefits and executive compensation partner Fred Reish spoke with RIABiz about the United States Department of Labor’s (DOL) confirmation of a new fiduciary rule, which follows a separate and recently finalized environmental, social and governance (ESG) rule.

Reish said that the DOL’s announcement is notable for its immediate and tangible results. “It clearly replaces the Trump-era regulation, which was somewhat adverse to the use of ESG factors for selecting plan investments, and which prohibited ESG-factor-qualified default investment alternatives,” he explained.

Reish noted that the DOL is starting from scratch but will use its past decade of work to help it craft the new rule. He said the Biden rule may fall somewhere between Obama’s and Trump’s rules, adding, “the new proposal will be different than the Obama-era regulation. That is necessary to take into account the decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which vacated the Obama regulation.”