Brad Campbell and Fred Reish Speak with ThinkAdvisor About What’s Next for the DOL Fiduciary Rule

In the article, “Trump’s Team ‘Will Not Have Final Say’ on DOL Fiduciary Rule: Lawyer,” ThinkAdvisor turned to benefit and executive compensation partners Brad Campbell and Fred Reish for their insight on what’s next for the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed fiduciary rule.

Brad Campbell told ThinkAdvisor that the timing of the final rule landing at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) “presents challenges for the department.”

Campbell explained that the DOL’s proposal “was identified as a significant rule, which normally requires 60 days before it can become effective. That would put the effective date after Inauguration Day, providing opportunities for the incoming administration to try to delay or rescind the exemption.”

Regardless of the fate of the rule, Campbell added, “we will all be waiting eagerly to see the final text once released, and given OMB’s recent history of moving DOL regulations very rapidly, that may happen within the next two weeks.”

Reish also said, “it is now impossible to publish the final rule in time to prevent the Biden administration from reviewing and revising it.”

Reish added that developing the rule was slowed down “by the significant negative reaction from the financial services sector, and particularly from broker-dealers and insurance companies.”

Due to these concerns, the DOL “decided to hold public hearings and, I assume, to rewrite parts of the rule. Those steps added weeks, if not months, to the timeline. As a result, the Trump administration will not have the final say on this rule,” Reish explained.