With the fate of the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule up in the air, investors and brokerages are looking for a way forward. For investors worried about doing business with a broker held to the much less stringent suitability standard, the easy solution is to simply work with an investment advisor held to the higher fiduciary standard. Michael Wursthorn reports for the Wall Street Journal on the next steps brokers are taking in the face of uncertainty about the rule.
The fiduciary rule, due to take effect April 10, is unpopular with Republicans and some in the financial industry who say it would harm consumers more than help by limiting investment options, elevating costs and potentially cutting off low-balance customers from some forms of professional advice.
Some of the rule’s backers say the work firms have done to become compliant and heightened consumer awareness mean it is too late to squash the spirit of the rule. Experts handicap the scenarios surrounding the rule’s fate: delay, revision, repeal, as well as Congressional or SEC action.
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