The Financial Planning Coalition has fired the latest volley in the battle over the Department of Labor’s proposed fiduciary rule.
And while it’s already been made clear that Congressional Republicans, portions of the financial industry, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce may be firmly opposed to the proposed rule, that doesn’t mean that everyone hates it.
In fact, some groups positively love it—and we’re not talking about consumer advocates here. At least not per se.
The Financial Planning Coalition, made up of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board), the Financial Planning Association(FPA), and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), has issued a statement supporting the DOL’s proposed rule, which would amend what it calls “the outdated definition of “fiduciary” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).”
The Coalition’s statement reads, “Secretary Perez and the Department of Labor have developed a comprehensive, carefully constructed fiduciary rule that will secure critical protections for American retirement savers and preserve financial advisers’ flexibility and adaptability, regardless of business model. This proposal to update a 40 year-old rule is long overdue, especially given significant, historical changes to retirement planning, requiring Americans to be more responsible than ever for making complex retirement saving and financial decisions
“While the Coalition partners believe there are areas in the proposed rule that can be clarified or modified to improve its application across business models as the Coalition will outline in its comment letter the DOL has made it clear that it wants input on particular ways to better operationalize the rule. The DOL clearly listened to many of the concerns articulated by firms, industry organizations and consumer and public interest organizations in response to 2010’s proposed fiduciary rule and the Coalition is confident it will do the same with the re-proposed rule.
“A secure retirement is an essential part of American life often the result of years of hard work and saving. Any financial advice Americans receive related to their retirement savings should be squarely in their best interests. The DOL’s proposed fiduciary rule will significantly benefit and protect retirement savers, and should be allowed to proceed to full and open public evaluation and comment and then to implementation, without further delay or obstruction.”
Among the criticisms leveled at the proposed fiduciary rule are the potential for increased costs and greater liability for advisors to small plans and the possibility that it could be more difficult for consumers to get advice, depending on the compensation models of potential advisors. Consumer interest groups and unions, among others, have supported the rule.
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