By Mack Bekeza
For those who work for Broker-Dealers and Registered Investment Advisers, no one is certain whether Donald Trump or the Republican Party will attempt to eliminate the Fiduciary Rule or keep it intact. But before we get ahead of ourselves it is important to ask one question, will Donald Trump or the Republican Party be able to dismantle the Fiduciary Rule before it becomes enforceable on April 10th, 2017?
Although we cannot answer this question in confidence just yet, repealing this legislation will be quite a task for a few reasons:
- With the Fiduciary Rule being effective since April 2016, the rule cannot just simply be thrown out by an executive order. It is also worthy to note that the legislation took 6 years to be written, so the likelihood of the DOL eliminating it is extremely slim.
- Broker-Dealers, Insurance Firms, and Investment Advisers have already spent significant resources in designing compliance friendly products and re-inventing their business platforms. So, if the rule were to be thrown out, the government could have dozens of lawsuits on their hands, especially from those who were for the rule.
- Despite the Republican Party holding the majority in Congress, they still do not have enough seats to overthrow a filibuster from the Senate. In addition, repealing legislation can take months or even years, during which the rule could have been enforceable for a notable amount of time.
- With Donald Trump already planning to tackle dozens of issues in his first 100 days, repealing the Fiduciary Rule is more than likely not his top priority. The rule will also become enforceable by the 80th day of his presidency.
Although it appears that the Fiduciary Rule is here to stay, we will keep you updated if there is anything that will threaten the rule.
©2016 Castle Rock Investment Company. All rights reserved. Please share your insights and comments with us at Mack@castlerockinvesting.com