Fred Reish Comments on Future of the DOL’s New Fiduciary Rule for ThinkAdvisor

In the ThinkAdvisor article, “DOL Fiduciary Rule Mania: What's Happening and Where It's Headed,” benefits and executive compensation partner Fred Reish commented on the uncertain future of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) new Retirement Security Rule. 

The rule redefines financial and legal services as fiduciary in nature, ensuring the client’s best interests are prioritized. The rule also creates a “one-time advice” caveat that triggers fiduciary responsibility, and extends fiduciary standards to anyone selling investment advice, including insurance agents and brokers.

The article highlights that lawsuits filed by the insurance industry have cast an uncertain future for the DOL’s rule. In June, the DOL filed a reply-brief to the lawsuits, Reish noted.

“I thought that the reply brief was very solid,” Reish said. “The DOL did a great job of explaining why this [new rule] is not like the Obama-era rule. And certainly, if the court were a neutral court, without any particular philosophical approach to interpreting the law, they [DOL] would probably have muddied the water enough that it would be difficult for a stay to be granted.”