Fiduciary Governance

Renowned French author André Gide once famously remarked, “Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again.” So it felt at times during Day Four of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) public hearing on its fiduciary rule.To be fair,... READ MORE

Responding to a bipartisan (though primarily Republican) letter from more than a dozen members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez says his agency will “move forward towards issuing a Final Rule” on the agency’s “conflict of interest” proposal.In a letter addressed to... READ MORE

The second day of public hearings on the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule reproposal was highlighted by a debate over the economic impact that the rule will have on the financial services industry.When a rule of this significance is issued, it must be accompanied by an analysis from the... READ MORE

The public comment period may have closed, but a group of U.S. Senators has weighed in on the proposed fiduciary regs — and lent their support to a recommendation of the American Retirement Association.The letter, signed by Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden (Ore.), as well as fellow... READ MORE

Among the more than 800 comment letters filed on the Labor Department’s fiduciary proposal is one from a fellow federal agency that claims the proposal fails to adequately estimate its cost or the number of firms affected by it.The filing by the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy... READ MORE

Taking a cue from the boss, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez has said that the DOL will issue guidance to help facilitate state-based retirement plans. Perez made his remarks on the DOL blog.As President Obama did on July 13, Perez hailed state-based plans as a tool to strengthen retirement and noted... READ MORE

The Pushmi-Pullyu, a two-headed animal character from author Hugh Lofting’s Doctor Dolittle series of children’s books, does not actually exist. But the back-and-forth over the Department of Labor’s proposed fiduciary rule is enough to make one wonder if maybe they really do after all.July 21... READ MORE

“Have we got a crisis, or merely a series of hard problems?” That question, posed by American Enterprise Institute Resident Fellow Alex Pollock at a July 15 discussion at AEI’s Washington, DC offices, captured the ultimate issue the expert panel addressed.Charles Ellis, founder of Greenwich... READ MORE

Efforts to stop or roll back the Department of Labor’s proposed fiduciary rule will continue, according to Steve Saxon of Groom Law Group. Saxon made his remarks at the Insured Retirement Institute’s recent Government Legal Regulatory Conference in Washington, D.C.According to zinsurance, Saxon... READ MORE