Since the announcement from the DOL that the Fiduciary Rule would be delayed by 60 days, we’ve felt just like Charlie Brown screaming in frustration!
We were SO CLOSE! At Castle Rock Investment Company, we’ve been eagerly awaiting this day and fighting for its arrival for 10 years now. We made it within 4 days of retirement advice becoming conflict free in America. FOUR DAYS!
Not only is the administration favor of the delay, they provided an out for advisers who weren’t prepared for the rule to become applicable. As they were determining whether or not to delay the rule, they announced that businesses would not be penalized for not being prepared if the rule ended up not being delayed.
Companies were able to discontinue preparation as there would be no penalty had the rule not been delayed and they still were not prepared.
But no matter. It is delayed. 60 more days of consumers having no legal recourse if their retirement adviser chooses not to put their clients first. 60 more days of the government placing a stamp of approval on American’s losing $17 Billion a year due to conflicted advice. That’s $279,452,954 we stand to lose.
We’re still thinking positively. We’re still assuming the Fiduciary Rule will become law once those 60 days are up. In the meantime, we’re going to stay focused and encouraged because consumers are becoming more savvy and ensuring their adviser is a Fiduciary. We’ll remain encouraged that several large companies are making changes to their structure and becoming fiduciaries even though it’s not legally required. We’ll continue fighting for all investment advisers to be legally required to be fiduciaries.
However, for now we feel like this: