The Department of Labor continues to debate the meaning of fiduciary, as broker-dealers, investment advisors, and plan sponsors wait — until the bitter end.
As it stands, the definition for fiduciary can differ depending on who you are.
"In the investment advisor world, a fiduciary is able to disclose conflicts that exist," said David Bellaire, general council and director of government affairs for the Financial Services Institute. "By virtue of providing fair and reasonable disclosure, the fiduciary can continue to operate even within the conflict — they can obtain informed consent. Under ERISA, if a fiduciary has a conflict, he cannot provide the services that result in the conflict. So there is no ability to simply obtain informed consent and move along."
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