New York Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog
PROPOSED RULE FOR INVESTMENT PROFESSIONALS
On April 20, 2015 the Department of Labor officially published a proposed rule change in the federal register. To put the matter in dollars and cents is approximately $17 billion dollars per year, according to one estimate by the White House council of economic advisors. The proposed plan seems simple enough, but whenever $17 billion dollars is at stake, many voices on both sides of the debate will weigh in and drown out that which seems simple. To add urgency to the matter, over 10,000 people per day are slated to retire over the next 15 years. Most particularly, the rule would require that retirement advisers give investors advice that is in the client’s best interest. The rule itself is called the “conflict of interest” proposed rule. Another name for the client’s best interest is the “fiduciary rule”. Registered-Investment advisors are already held to the higher standard, while brokers-dealers are held to a lower, “suitability” standard.
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